This simple chickpea salad sandwich is a creamy and filling vegetarian lunch idea that we whip up all the time! Like a chickpea tuna salad but totally vegan, made with a few flavorful but simple ingredients. My husband asks me to make this for him to take to work ALL the time!
Why This Chickpea Salad Sandwich Is So Good
- This chickpea salad is based on my popular Costco-style chicken salad recipe, but is completely vegan!
- Even dedicated meat-eaters will love the flavor and texture of this chickpea salad. Chunks of rich chickpeas, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, and fresh veggies make this the perfect lunch (or dinner!).
- This recipe is perfect for chowing down on right away, but also great stored for super easy meal prep or boxed lunches.
How To Make This Recipe
- Simmer the chickpeas in the liquid from their cans for 10 minutes in a large skillet or saucepan.
- Drain the chickpeas in a colander or strainer, then add them to a bowl and mash.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir or mash until combined well.
- Serve on bread, in a lettuce cup, or in a pita. Add any veggies you like, such as sprouts, tomatoes, or lettuce.
Top Tips For Making Chickpea Salad
- If you’re not on a vegan diet, you can use just regular mayonnaise.
- The simmering makes a big difference in the softness of the chickpeas. Ideally cook them from dried at home for the most tender chickpea, but simmering works if you use canned.
- Your chickpea salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.
- Just FYI, chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans! You may see them canned as such at your grocery, but they’re the same thing!
More Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Chickpea Gyros
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- BBQ Jackfruit Bowls
- Bean and Cheese Taquitos (4 Ingredients)
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Chickpea Salad Sandwich
This vegan version of my Costco chicken salad is just as creamy and delicious, but totally meat-free.
Ingredients
- 2 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas about 3 3/4 cups
- 4-5 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
- 2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion minced
- 2 tablespoons celery minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Simmer the chickpeas in liquid from their cans for 10 minutes.
- Drain chickpeas in a colander or strainer, then add to bowl and mash.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir or mash until combined.
- Serve on bread, in lettuce cup, or in pita.
Notes
- Vegan: Be sure to use vegan mayonnaise.
- Simmering: Important as it makes canned chickpeas much softer.
- Storage: Keep chickpea salad in airtight container in fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 9gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 276mgPotassium: 313mgFiber: 8gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 152IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 3mgNet Carbs: 21g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This salad is delicious and healthy. I love making it and do it regularly!
This is super yummy. I added a few diced cornichons to the recipe, otherwise made it as listed. I
A definite do over!
This is even better than chicken salad. I make this about every week and eat with crackers, flat bread or whatever. Love, love, love this.
So glad you love it! 🙂
I loved this recipe! My husband did too. I added avocado to the sandwich as well. I think adding tomato slices would have made this perfect because chickpeas have kind of a ‘dryness’ to them and tomatoes would have added that moisture. I’ll definitely make this again!
Thanks for sharing, Rachel! We discovered that tomatoes added to this sandwich were amazing!
Can this be made with a combo of yellow mustard and Dijon? That’s all I have in my fridge right now 😫😫
Yes, that will work!
Ive never heard of cooking the chickpeas. I use Goya and they are so much plumper and larger than other brands. I use an immersion blender to mostly break it up and leave a few chunks. That way it incorporates the skins into the salad.
This works too!
Simming the beans was the step I have been missing. Without this, the beans can feel a bit grainy. So glad I found this, thanks for posting!
You are so welcome! I’m glad you loved it!
My daughter (who hates beans:) and I love this recipe! Thanks so much for it. I am vegan and she is vegetarian. We eat it on soft pita.
So glad!!!
I recently stumbled across your blog and I’m glad I did. I lived in Memphis from 2004-2015 and I miss the food there.
I wanted a healthy lunch recipe that I could make ahead of time for the week and decided to try this today. It’s so yummy. I’ll admit I made a few tweaks but only because it was easy and foolproof. I added extra onion, celery, parsley, mustard and decided not to measure the mayo but eyeballed it. I also tossed in a sprinkle of pepper. It was so delicious and super easy to make! I’ll definitely be making it again.
I’m so glad you liked it! I try to do Memphis-inspired recipes pretty regularly, so I hope they can give you the fix you’re craving!
This is my first time reading and doing a recipe from this blog. I love this one! I did it with the ingredients that I had, that means that it wasn’t vegan, but still IS DELICIOUS! I use a little bit of olive oil and garlic powder because I like those, and it turn out pretty well. I can’t stop thinking of the many ways you can eat this, like with whole weat crackers, tortilla chips or tacos, maybe use it like a dip too! Thank you for sharing this recipe!