This Chickpea Salad Sandwich is one of my favorite vegan lunch ideas. It tastes remarkably like an egg salad sandwich, but it’s made with chickpeas and avocado instead!
What’s in Chickpea Salad?
Instead of using mayo, this chickpea salad gets its creaminess from avocado. The avocado flavor isn’t super-noticeable when you add in the lemon juice and mustard, plus all of the other crunchy veggies.
The beauty of this salad is that the flavor is totally customizable. I love the traditional flavor of egg salads made with mustard and dill, but I have a feeling it would also be delicious with any of your favorite herbs and seasonings.
I recently started adding a few diced pickles to this chickpea salad, and I’m addicted to the flavor. I use bread and butter pickles, but dill pickles will work, too.
For a lower-sodium option, you can replace this with diced cucumbers for added crunch.
Are Chickpeas Good For You?
Chickpeas are a good source of fiber and protein, so they make a great option when you want a vegan or vegetarian meal.
Here’s what I love about chickpeas:
- One study suggests that eating chickpeas regularly may help keep you feeling full, and help you make better food choices throughout the day.
- Chickpeas may be one of the better sources of plant-based protein, since they contain almost all of the essential amino acids. (Except for methionine– but you can find that in avocado!)
- According to one study, individuals who eat at least one serving of legumes each day (like chickpeas) may lose up to 25% more weight than those who don’t.
- Eating chickpeas may help regulate your blood sugar levels.
- Chickpeas may help to improve bowel function, too, which isn’t surprising since they are high in fiber.
Overall, I think there are lots of good reasons to include chickpeas in your diet, and I hope this chickpea salad sandwich will become a staple for you, too. It’s so comforting and delicious!
How to Make It
This chickpea salad comes together in just about 10 minutes, and then it’s ready to serve! Start by mashing together the avocado, mustard, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl.
Once that’s creamy, you can add in the chickpeas and chopped veggies. This recipe is very flexible, so if you don’t measure everything exactly or make swaps, it will still turn out well.
The final texture of this salad is up to you. I like to mash about half of the chickpeas with a fork, so that there are still some chunks in this salad for texture– but you can mash it even more if you want to.
Taste and and adjust the seasonings once you’ve mashed everything together, then stir in the fresh herbs, if you have some on hand. Fresh dill is delicious in this!
How to Serve It
You can serve this mashed chickpea salad just like you would any other egg or tuna salad. It’s delicious between two slices of bread as a sandwich, but you can also serve it in lettuce wraps or on top of a salad for extra protein.
Keep in mind that this salad will start to brown after 24 hours in the fridge, so it’s the prettiest the first day you serve it, but you can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad
- 1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups cooked)
- 1 ripe avocado , pitted
- 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 1/4 cup diced pickles (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced dill (optional)
Sandwich Assembly
- sliced bread
- sliced red onion
- sliced tomatoes
- sprouts or lettuce
Instructions
- If using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them well. Set them aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the avocado, mustard, lemon juice, and salt. Use a fork to mash it together, until creamy.
- Add in the chickpeas, red onion, pickles (if using), and celery, then stir well to combine. Stir in the fresh dill, if using, and adjust any seasoning to taste.
- Serve the chickpea salad right away as a sandwich filling. I like to serve it on whole grain bread with sliced tomatoes, red onion, and sprouts, but you can use any toppings you have on hand. It tastes remarkably like an egg salad sandwich.
- Leftover chickpea salad can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It will brown slightly over time, because of the avocado, but it still tastes good!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this chickpea salad sandwich, please leave a comment below and let me know how you like it! If you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from each other’s experiences!
More Easy Vegan Meal Ideas:
- Veggie Wraps (My Favorite!)
- Vegan Nachos
- Quinoa & Black Bean Salad
- Vegan Mac n’ Cheese
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Easy Vegan Pasta
Check out my collection of vegan recipes for more ideas, including easy snacks and decadent desserts!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite easy lunch?
This was so good! I added some cracker black pepper and half a teaspoon of garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne. I also used a teaspoon of dried dill since I didn’t have fresh. I will definitely be saving this recipe and making again in the future
Delicious! I think the pickle and dill is essential! Yummm 😋
Delicious! Loved the dill pickle in it 🙂
Have you made it with mayo instead of avocado? My avocados aren’t ripe yet. Just curious
I’m excited to try this! I don’t eat eggs anymore and I really miss egg salad sandwiches.
This recipe is easy to make and tastes delicious! It’s a family favorite in our house!
Delicious. You use a lot of red onion in your recipes,which I don’t like. Do you have a suggestion for a substitute or just to omit from recipes?
Green onion is much more mild and less noticeable in texture, if you’d like to try that.
OMG! This is so good!!!
Delish! I mashed most of the chickpeas, added capers and served it over spring mix and quinoa. I have some leftover vegan cheese sauce from your quesadilla recipe so I put a few dollops of that on top. Yum!
I love that your recipes are so simple.
Thanks so much!
I love this recipe! I don’t always like the flavor of spiced brown mustard, so I opted for 1 tsp of spiced brown mustard and 1 tsp of vegenaise and it came out great! Just the right hint of mustard and sweetness from the vegenaise!
And would totally agree, this sandwich is perfect substitute to either an egg salad sandwich or tuna sandwich. Thanks for this great vegan version!
I made this recently and used small crusty rolls. We were going to the beach and needed something that would pack well. I removed some of the roll insides to make it more manageable + have more chickpea filling in the actual roll. Such a great idea to use avocado instead of mayo. I’m actually not a fan of egg salad sandwiches but my husband is. We used this for a couple of days and at the end of the week, there was still some left so we had it on a shredded kale salad. It was excellent.
This is such a delicious sandwich that I can bring with me to work! Thank you for all the fantastic recipes, Megan!
I keep coming back to this recipe over and over…so good! Thanks 😊