The Vegan Smashed Chickpea Salad is attempting to mimic a vegan Tuna Salad. Made with chickpeas, veggies, and vegan cream cheese as a binder.
This recipe for vegan smashed chickpea salad was dreamed up as an alternative for tuna salad, a lunch staple pretty much all year long.
With back to school and Labor Day BBQ season rapidly approaching, we wanted something versatile to serve that would still be vegan. One of the things people love about tuna and chicken salads is the way they can be served in a bowl or on a sandwich. Either way, they are delicious and perfect for days when you don’t want to work over a hot oven or grill. Whether you need something portable for an outdoor event or something you can pack in a lunch for the kids, this smashed chickpea salad is a great vegan alternative that everyone will love. It can easily go into a sandwich to be sent off to school, to eat outside at a BBQ, or to put into any other lunch plan.
What to Use Instead of Mayo
We often use GO Veggie! vegan cream cheese alternative when making dressings or sauces, because it adds a silky, creamy texture without adding any dairy as with this chickpea spread. And since it's a great substitute for mayonnaise, you'll get all the richness and flavor without any of the cholesterol and less saturated fat.
For this recipe, we combined GO Veggie! vegan cream cheese with mustard and lemon juice to create a super flavorful and creamy binder for our salad. The smashed chickpeas give it a great texture and the chopped veggies add freshness and a nice crunch. Vegan and gluten-free, this heart-healthy recipe is perfect for anyone with food allergies or special diets. Use your favorite gluten-free bread, or just grab a fork and eat it right out of the bowl!
Either way, we love this new chickpea salad and hope you do, too!
Enjoy 🙂
This post is sponsored by GO Veggie! Thank you for supporting the brands that support "May I have that recipe" All opinions are ours
Smashed Chickpea Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Chickpea Salad - Mock Tuna - You will not miss the tuna with this vegan, vegetarian, no mayo mock "tuna" salad made with chickpeas and veggies
Ingredients
- 1-15oz can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 medium carrots, diced small (yields about 1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks, diced small (yields about ½ cup)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro or parsley tightly packed, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp roasted sunflower seeds
- For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp regular or vegan mayo ( See note #1)
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon
- 1 tbsp brown mustard
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- A couple of splashes of hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Pulse the chickpeas in the food processor 4-5 times until they just start to break down (we like the chickpea salad chunky. If you like it smoother, pulse a few more times)
- Add the diced carrots, celery, cilantro, and sunflower seeds and mix well. Transfer to a bowl and set aside
- To prepare the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Add to the chickpea mixture, mix well and refrigerate until ready to use
- Enjoy it on a sandwich ( see sandwich add-on suggestion in note #3 below), eat it with crackers, or on a bed of lettuce
Notes
- If you want to make this chickpea salad mayo-free, you can use vegan cream cheese, cashew cream, or tahini sauce.
- You can add chopped red onion, capers, or scallions to this chickpea salad
- Sandwich add-ons: pickled onions, microgreens, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and potato chips if you want some extra crunch.
- Category: Spread
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 40
- Sugar: 1.2
- Sodium: 96
- Fat: 1.4
- Saturated Fat: .3
- Unsaturated Fat: .9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 5.1
- Fiber: 1.5
- Protein: 1.7
- Cholesterol: 0
Handmade by Lorna says
This looks delicious - will be making some of this for lunches next week. Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Vicky & Ruth says
our pleasure 🙂