Dressed in a tangy Italian dressing and packed full of fresh ingredients, this Italian avocado chickpea salad is loaded with flavor and an easy lunch salad or side dish!

Meet the salad you will never be able to stop eating! I’m serious, this bowl today is level 10 addictive and yes, we’re still talking about salad.
Your lunch game will never be the same again and honestly, that’s a good thing where this salad is concerned.
If there was world’s-most-colorful-salad award, this beauty today would take the grand prize. Don’t even get me started on the flavors + textures.

This salad is also unique in the fact that it’s super filling, thanks to the chickpeas! Can’t argue with salad that’s light and refreshing, yet still fills you up.
Also, I rest my case; salads are way more fun to eat when they’re loaded with color and tons of texture. And the mozzarella pearls certainly don’t hurt matters here.
This Italian Avocado Chickpea Salad features…
- Silky avocado and tender chickpeas
- Crunchy cucumber and juicy cherry tomatoes
- Fresh mozzarella pearls
- A fresh herby Italian dressing

Making the Italian Avocado Chickpea Salad
(scroll down to the bottom of post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Chickpeas
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onion
- Mozzarella pearls
- Dill
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- White wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Garlic powder
What to Serve with Salad
This salad can definitely be served on its own as a lunch salad or pair it as a salad side alongside any meal.
We’ve also enjoyed this salad as an appetizer with toasted French bread slices alongside it – to die for!

Tips for Perfect Avocado Chickpea Salad
- Cut ingredients in uniform sizes – this will help make your salad easier to eat and will look impressive.
- Use fresh herbs in Italian dressing – fresh herbs really do make a difference here! We use a combination of dill and parsley, but feel free to use what you like.
- Emulsify dressing – to achieve a perfectly-combined Italian dressing, we’re going to use Dijon mustard as an emulsifier, then slowly whisk in olive oil until dressing is smooth and homogenous.
- Dress salad just before serving – don’t toss the dressing into the salad until just before serving. This will help the ingredients stay crisp and fresh.
How to Meal Prep Salad
The majority of this salad can be prepped ahead of time. We recommend combining salad ingredients (minus the avocado so it doesn’t brown) and storing in fridge for up to 3 days.
The Italian dressing can be made up 1 week in advance and stored in refrigerator.
When ready to serve, dice avocado and toss into salad along with dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Variations
There are so many ways to make this salad a little different using what you have on hand!
- Use regular tomatoes – romas, heirlooms, whatever tomato you have on hand will work in this recipe.
- Change up the cheese – if you can’t find mozzarella pearls, you can tear whole fresh mozzarella into bite-sized pieces or use your favorite kind of cheese instead.
- Try a different bean – butter beans, black beans, etc. would all work great in place of the chickpeas.
- Use a premade dressing – any Italian-style vinaigrette will work fine in this salad.

This salad, y’all. It’s so bright, refreshing, and just loaded with so much fresh goodness. And the dressing? It just seals all the flavors together and brings a perfect level of acidity and tons of herby flavor.
If you can get away with only eating one bowl of this salad, consider that a win. Meet your new salad addiction!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More incredible lunch salads for you to try next!
Italian Avocado Chickpea Salad
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Ingredients
Avocado Chickpea Salad
- 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 medium avocados, pitted and diced into 1/2-in cubes
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium cucumber, diced into 1/2-in cubes
- 1/2 cup finely-diced red onion
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls
Italian Dressing
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Avocado Chickpea Salad
- In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Italian Dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, powder, parsley, and dill together until smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until dressing is smooth and combined. Season dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
- Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve salad immediately and enjoy!
Grandma says
This is delicious!
Thank you Sarah for the recipe and the gift of the dish!
I have stored it in the “Make it again soon” file.
Sarah says
Love you Grandma! <3