This smashed chickpea salad sandwich serves as a vegetarian and vegan alternative to chicken and tuna salad! It’s cheap to make and packed full of plant-based protein for a flavorful and filling lunch. It’s perfect for making ahead and meal prep. This chickpea salad sandwich features chickpeas, partially smashed, and tossed with a creamy lemon garlic mayo, green onions, and fresh herbs. Serve on bread, on crackers, lettuce wraps, or any way you’d serve chicken or tuna salad!
Chickpeas are such a versatile and delicious plant-based protein. They’re inexpensive, extremely nutritious and high in all kinds of vitamins and minerals. And because they are high in both protein and fiber, they’re satisfying and keep you feeling full.
I almost always have a couple cans of chickpeas in my pantry, whether it’s for this chickpea salad, or some of my other favorite chickpea recipes like chickpea curry, homemade hummus, or crispy roasted chickpeas.
This chickpea salad can be made ahead of time and assembled for sandwiches when you need it, making it perfect for meal prep. Bonus: my kids LOVED it. I can’t WAIT to make it again and again, and I know you’ll love this delicious easy recipe!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Canned Chickpeas – or the equivalent of cooked chickpeas. Another legume like white beans may be used here, though the texture won’t be quite the same.
- Lemon Juice
- Fresh Garlic
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Mayonnaise – this can be omitted or a vegan alternative used if needed.
- Green onions – finely diced red or sweet onion may be used instead, and will have a more potent onion flavor.
- Herbs – I used dill, mint, oregano, and parsley. Use what you have here – chives, basil, tarragon, a small amount of thyme, and other delicate fresh herbs will be great depending on what you have and your flavor preferences. I don’t recommend rosemary, as it can be a bit tough in texture when fresh.
- Crushed red pepper – optional, but adds a nice subtle kick.
- Salt and Pepper
- Bread – or a halved croissant, pita pocket, lettuce wraps, or crackers, for serving.
- Lettuce, tomato, or other sandwich fixings – whatever you want! Sprouts, sliced avocado, sliced onion, etc. all work well here.
How to make Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
Just mix together the mayo (vegan if necessary), lemon juice, herbs, green onions, red pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice in the bottom of a large or medium bowl. Then, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and use a potato masher to mash to desired consistency. Stir it with a spoon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then, assemble your sandwiches and enjoy!
As an alternative, you can use a food processor or blender instead. The only reason why I didn’t is I hate cleaning them, hah! Just add everything except the chickpeas and blend together, then add the chickpeas and pulse until you reach the desired consistency. Season to taste.
Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to rinse your chickpeas thoroughly. Drain the canned chickpeas in a colander and rinse well until you see no foam at all and the water runs clear. This will remove the canning liquid, which both contains a lot of excess salt and also is the stuff that can cause indigestion with beans.
- When mashing the chickpeas, your goal is to make it a more homogenous texture that will hold together in a sandwich. If you didn’t mash it, the chickpeas would just come rolling out of the sandwich! So make sure you mash it enough so that it sticks together enough to hold up well in a sandwich.
- The only ingredient that isn’t vegan that is listed is mayonnaise. Just be sure to use a vegan substitute if needed (or for an egg-free version). Or, you can replace it with more olive oil or a half of an avocado, mashed up.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to around 5 days.
Other vegetarian sandwich recipes
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Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
These smashed chickpeas salad sandwiches are a vegetarian and vegan alternative to chicken and tuna salad sandwiches! Packed with protein and fiber, tossed with fresh herbs and a creamy lemon garlic mayo, you’ll love this cheap, healthy, easy, and flavorful recipe. It’s perfect for easy lunches, especially since you can make it ahead for meal prep.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 307kcal
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Ingredients
- 2 15 oz. cans chickpeas drained and rinsed thoroughly
- ¼ cup mayonnaise vegan if necessary
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from about one lemon
- 1 small clove garlic minced finely using a microplane zester
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper more or less according to spice preference
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, dark and light green parts
- ¼ cup fresh herbs parsley, mint, cilantro, dill, chives, thyme, oregano, tarragon, and basil all work – use what you have!
- bread or pita pockets, a baguette, crackers, or whatever else you want to serve the chickpea salad on.
- sandwich fixings optional, such as lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, avocado, sprouts, etc.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large or medium bowl, add the ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, minced 1 small clove garlic, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, 2 green onions, and ¼ cup fresh herbs. Stir together well.
Add the drained and rinsed 2 15 oz. cans chickpeas to the bowl. Use a potato masher to smash the chickpeas a bit, being sure to leave some texture. Use a spoon to stir everything together after you’ve mashed the chickpeas to the desired consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the chickpea salad on the bread with sandwich fixings if desired.
Notes
- Nutrition information is for chickpea salad only and does not include bread or sandwich fixings.
- Storing leftovers: store the leftover chickpea salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to around 5 days.
- The amount of salt needed will depend on the chickpeas you use. Different brands contain different amounts of salt, which is why I didn’t specify an exact amount. I ended up using about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper for mine.
- For a vegan version, be sure to use a vegan mayonnaise, or simply omit and add more olive oil instead. A mashed avocado would also be great instead of mayonnaise.
- If you prefer, you can mix this in a food processor or blender. Just add everything except the chickpeas, blend together, then add the chickpeas and pulse until you reach the desired consistency.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.75cup | Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
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