Tomato Cucumber and Chickpea Salad

Ripe, juicy tomatoes and cool, crunchy cucumbers come together in this refreshing salad recipe – a perfectly delicious way to enjoy two of the best vegetables summer has to offer.

Aug 06, 2024

Today’s salad recipe showcases a summer flavor combination that’s tough to beat – tomatoes and cucumbers. If your garden is overflowing with these two fabulous vegetables, this simple side dish is a delicious way to make good use of them.

I used plum tomatoes (also known as Roma tomatoes) in this recipe, but any variety will do. In fact, if you stumble across heirloom tomatoes, they would be beautiful in this salad as they provide a stunning array of colors (pink, red, green, purple, yellow, and orange).

Heirloom tomatoes image by Vince Lee from Unsplash

Tomatoes have many nutritional attributes, supplying dietary fiber, iron, potassium, and a hefty dose of vitamin C. They also contain the antioxidant lycopene, the pigment that gives tomatoes their red color. Some research shows a diet rich in tomato-based foods is linked to a decreased risk of cancer, most notably prostate cancer, as well as heart disease.

My cucumber of choice for today’s salad was a standard, garden variety. Recipes often call for removing the seeds of cucumbers as they can be bitter tasting and have a tough, chewy texture. Typically, the larger the cucumber, the larger the seeds. Since the seeds in my cucumber were small, I left them intact. Deseed your cucumber if you prefer or use a seedless (or nearly seedless) cucumber such as an English (hothouse) or Persian cucumber. No matter the variety you use, leave the peel on. Cucumber peel is a surprisingly good source of lutein, a beneficial antioxidant essential to eye health.

I added a can of chickpeas to this salad for a little protein and fiber boost. For convenience, I used canned chickpeas. If you’re watching your sodium intake, be sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas. According to the Canned Food Alliance, draining and rinsing canned food reduces sodium content by up to 41 percent. Interestingly, draining alone results in a 36 percent reduction in sodium.

To your health,

Darlene

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TOMATO CUCUMBER and CHICKPEA SALAD

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: about 2/3 cup

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups fresh tomatoes (cut into small wedges)
1 1/2 cups cucumbers (sliced into half moons)
1 can (15 ounce) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

To prepare dressing, whisk together oil, vinegar, sugar, oregano, mustard, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
Place tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, onion, and parsley in a large bowl. Add dressing, toss to coat, and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving

99 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 197 mg Sodium, 10 g Total carbohydrate, 2 g Dietary fiber, 3 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 3 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 21 mg (2%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 162 mg (4%) Potassium