The Chickpea Spread

These days I tend to eat leftovers a lot for lunch, but Betsy still relies on good old packed lunches.

This is great news because it gives me a chance to experiment on good packed lunch options!

In the summer, I think a nice crisp sandwich is pretty hard to beat and the best thing about this Chickpea Salad Sandwich is that it’s filling is light, but at the same time super-crunchy.

I like this salad really chilled and cold, but if you don’t have access to a fridge, this salad is actually fine to store at room temperature for a morning before lunchtime.

Oh, and it’s probably the healthiest thing I’ve made all month. I have a hard time envisioning a healthier sandwich!

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

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4.41 from 5 votes

Author: Nick Evans

Servings: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Chickpea salad sandwich recipe with mashed and spiced chickpeas and loads of crunchy veggies makes the perfect vegan salad for sandwiches!

Ingredients 

Chickpea Mashed Salad:

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 scallions, diced
• ⅓ cup hummus
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Dash of paprika
• Salt and pepper

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Instructions

• Drain chickpeas and mash them well using a potato masher or a large fork.
• Dice celery, carrots, and scallions and mash them into the chickpea mix.
• Add lemon juice, hummus, and olive oil along with seasonings and continue to mash. Stir together well and adjust seasoning to your liking.
• To make a sandwich, toast two pieces of bread and lay down some lettuce. Top with big heaps of the chickpea spread and sliced avocado.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Sandwich | Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5168IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Main Dishes, Salad, Sandwiches

Chickpea Salad Sandwich Basics

I just used canned chickpeas for this version because they are fast, but you could use dry ones if you like them. If you do use dry, cook them really well so they mash nicely. Canned chickpeas tend to be softer than the cooked, dry variety.

Just drain and rinse the chickpeas but don’t worry about the annoying skin on the outside of the chickpea. They will mash up just fine.

A potato masher will make quick work of the chickpeas but you could also just use a big fork to get the job done.

This isn’t a hard recipe, but do take some time dicing up the carrots, celery, and scallions. You want them to be in even-sized bites so you don’t get a huge chunk of something in your salad or sandwich.

If you taste this now, it will be crunchy, but bland as hell.

Let’s change that. Add in some hummus, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. I like a big pinch of paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Most importantly, stir this together well and taste it.

Adjust the salad to your tastes. Maybe you want it spicier or saltier? Adjust it and make it yours!

Sandwich Time!

You could just eat this stuff with a spoon but I think it’s really best on some toast with a few pieces of lettuce and some sliced avocado. The lettuce really just keep the moisture in the salad from making the toast soggy.

I’m not sure that this is necessarily better than a chicken salad would be (if you replaced the chickpeas with shredded chicken), but it’s a really nice change I think.

If you’re bored of your lunch routine these days, maybe try out this healthy mix. You can mash it up on a Sunday afternoon and have lunches for the whole week!