Chickpea “Chicken” Salad

We’re giving cauliflower the day off from being the world’s most versatile plant (you’re welcome, cauliflower). It’s chickpea’s time to shine in Chickpea “Chickpea” Salad – an incredibly delicious, plant-based, vegan swap for chicken salad!

This healthy chickpea salad will trick your taste buds in the very best way. It tastes EXACTLY like chicken salad but is meat free, a cinch to whip up, fresh, protein-packed, and make-ahead so you can have healthy filling lunches on hand all week long.

If you’re looking for an easy vegan or vegetarian lunchtime idea — this recipe is a MUST TRY!

Watch How to Make It

Quick and Healthy Lunch Idea

Recently I worked with a dietitian friend to develop an ebook of plant-based recipes for her clients, and this smashed chickpea salad was a stand-out favorite.

When she shared the concept, I thought there was no way I’d be able to use chickpeas to create a dish that not only resembled but TASTED like chicken salad…

I have never been more happy to be wrong!

Chickpea “Chicken” Salad is not only a healthy lunch idea for work or school that’s full of protein and fiber, but it tastes incredible. Fresh, crunchy, crispy, creamy, herby – it hits all the right flavor and texture notes.

Ingredients Needed

This creamy chickpea salad is made with fridge and pantry staples in about 10 minutes. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Chickpeas: I use canned chickpeas to keep the recipe in the quick and easy lunch category. Mash the chickpeas as much as you like to achieve your desired “chicken” salad texture.
• Celery: provides an irresistible crunch. I don’t love celery in my chicken salad, but it’s must in the chickpea version!
• Pickles: provide a tangy crunch. Use whatever you’ve got in the fridge – spears, slices, cornichons, etc.
• Shallot or Onion: provides more spicy crunch. Are you sensing a theme here? Feel free to use red onion or green onion if you have it on hand instead.
• Mayonnaise: I use Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise to keep this recipe vegan, though you can use the mayo of your choice if eggs are ok for you.
• Fresh lemon juice: a drizzle really wakes up and brightens this salad.
• Dijon mustard: provides a nice depth of flavor. You could use yellow mustard in a pinch.
• Fresh dill: I truly love fresh dill best in this chickpea chicken salad. You can use dried dill if you must, but give it a try at least once with fresh — it’s a treat!

Put Your Own Spin On It

As written, this is a fantastic base recipe for chickpea “chicken” salad. That said, feel free to dress it up and make it your own. Here are some ideas:

1. Add sweetness: dried cranberries, sliced grapes, or minced apple are delicious.
2. Go Med: swap the pickles for drained capers, minced green olives, and/or minced kalamata olives to give the chickpea salad a Mediterranean spin. A sprinkle of feta cheese would be divine too.
3. Add nuts: chopped pecans, chopped almonds, or sliced almonds are great for adding additional crunch and flavor.
4. Leave it chunky: I like to mash the chickpeas pretty smooth, but feel free to mash less of the chickpeas for a chunkier-style salad.

How to Serve Chickpea “Chicken” Salad

Just like chicken salad, this vegan chickpea salad is super versatile in terms of how to serve it. Here are my favorites:

• On toast. I love Canyon Bakehouse GF bread which, like the majority gluten free breads, is best toasted. Dollop the chickpea salad on top of a piece of toast, or sandwich between two toasted slices.
• In lettuce cups. Use butter lettuce cups or romaine hearts to enjoy this salad as a lettuce wrap.
• Pita bread. I like MyBread or BFREE gluten free pita breads.
• In a wrap. I like Mission GF tortillas, and have been loving EggLife egg white wraps, too.
• With crackers. Simple Mills almond crackers are great for turning this salad into a tasty dip.
• Over greens. Scoop over a bed of greens for a protein-packed salad.

Great for Meal Prep

Since this chicken chickpea salad is plant-based, it will keep really well in the fridge for 5 days / the typical work week. That said, feel free to portion the vegan chicken salad into individual-sized storage containers and keep in the fridge for grab and go lunches.

This recipe also makes for AWESOME mason jar salads! Scoop the smashed chickpea salad into the bottom of a 16oz wide-mouth mason jar then pack the rest of the jar full of greens (arugula is super tasty.) When it’s time to eat, pour the mixture into a bowl then dig in.

How to make Chickpea “Chicken” Salad

Start by adding a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) into a large bowl.

Use the back of a fork or a potato masher to mash them up. I like to mash nearly all the chickpeas up, but feel free to leave some whole / chunky if you prefer.

You’ll see the peels pull away from the beans as you mash, which is fine. You won’t notice them in the final salad.

To the mashed chickpeas add minced onion or shallot, minced celery, minced pickles, fresh dill (dried dill pictured here), vegan mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then mix the ingredients well to combine.

As you can see, all the crunchy ingredients are finely minced so each bite is full of crunch!

That’s all she wrote — told you this was a simple dish! My advice is to RUN to the kitchen to raid the fridge and pantry and whip up this simple, vegan version of chicken salad ASAP. Let me know what think – enjoy!

More Fresh and Healthy Lunch Ideas

• Jennifer Aniston Salad
• Berry Chicken Quinoa Salad
• Greek Chickpea Salad
• Italian Chickpea Salad
• Italian Sub Salad
• Italian Quinoa Salad
• Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Photos by Ashley McLaughlin

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