If you’re craving a tuna salad minus the tuna, this is the recipe for you! We made this Chickpea Salad as a vegan option that’s super tasty eaten by itself or put into a sandwich.
This recipe for vegan smashed chickpea salad was dreamed up as a vegan alternative for tuna salad, a lunch staple pretty much all year long.
One of the best things about tuna salad is that it can be eaten in a bowl with crackers, on a sandwich or to top a healthy salad. Either way, they are delicious and perfect for days when you don’t want to turn the stove or oven on. Whether you need something portable to take to work for lunch or something to pack into lunch for the kids, this smashed chickpea salad is a great vegan alternative that everyone will love.
Chickpea Salad Ingredients
This vegan tuna salad is made with chickpeas and veggies for a colorful, crunchy, and satisfying dish that’s loaded with nutrients! Here are the nutritional highlights of this crowd-favorite dish:
- Chickpeas - Chickpeas are one of the best sources of plant-based protein while also having plenty of fiber. They give this vegan tuna salad a great texture!
- Carrots - these are high in vitamin C and potassium! They also add great crunch and color to your chickpea salad.
- Celery - Celery is high in water content and low in calories. It also offers calcium and iron!
- Fresh cilantro or parsley - This fresh and bright flavor makes your chickpea salad come alive.
- Roasted sunflower seeds - Sunflower seeds have iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. They pair perfectly with the other ingredients in this chickpea salad!
What to Use Instead of Mayo
We used vegan mayo for this chickpea salad recipe, but it's not the dominant flavor. It’s mixed in with mustard, lemon, and black pepper with an optional splash of hot sauce if you like some spice! Instead of mayo, you can use Cashew Cream, or Tahini Sauce. These maintain the richness and flavor with some added nuttiness while still keeping it vegan.
How to Enjoy Chickpea Salad Sandwich
This delicious chickpea salad can be eaten
- As a sandwich on your favorite bread (toasting it makes it even better!). Add pickled onions, microgreens, fresh tomatoes, or avocado for a super filling sandwich.
- In a tortilla wrap
- As a dip with crackers or chopped veggies (celery, bell peppers, carrots, or cucumber for scooping!)
- On a bed of lettuce as a salad with our favorite salad toppings
- Sometimes we even eat it with a fork straight out of the refrigerator! It’s a snack with plenty of plant-based protein and lots of yummy flavor.
Either way, we love this new chickpea salad and hope you do, too!
How to Store Garbanzo Bean Salad
You can keep this salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. We recommend waiting until you’re ready to eat before putting it on bread or lettuce to keep everything fresh!
More Lunch Recipes
- Peach Caprese Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes & Avocado Pearls
- Baked Feta & Cheddar Zucchini Frittata
- Quinoa Pomegranate Salad with Orange Tahini Dressing
- Tempeh and Mango Bowl
- Shawarma chickpeas Rice Bowl
- Purple Kale and Farro Bowl
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Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Diet: Kosher
Description
If you’re craving a tuna salad minus the tuna, this is the recipe for you! We made this Chickpea Salad as a vegan option that’s super tasty eaten by itself or put into a sandwich.
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 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.
- This post was originally posted in August 2015, the recipe and images have been updated.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- 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
Keywords: gluten-free, kosher, parve, sandwich
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 🙂
Dorie Kosche says
This is so colorful and tasty. I like the addition of purple onion and chopped pickles. Wonderful on my homemade sourdough bread. Thank you for your healthy recipes
★★★★★