This tasty Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich is a plant-based powerhouse of a lunch! Make it in advance for a party or picnic or to take along as an easy weekday lunch for work or school.
Paul just informed me that I’m a millennial and it straight up ruined my day.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!
Somehow I thought I was exempt…
I mean sure I don’t answer my phone when it rings. I obviously Instagram my food every dang day. And of COURSE I don’t have cable, surviving entirely off Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video for all my entertainment needs. My laundry detergent is plant-based, my back yard is teeming with home-grown veggies, and after working out I trade my sweaty yoga pants for a clean but identical pair, because stretchy pants are LIFE, people! LIFE!
I guess I have no choice but to wave the white flag on this argument. I’m a millennial. The kind of millennial who makes tuna salad out of smashed chickpeas and veggies and offers no apologies because IT’S DELICIOUS, YO!
I’m hopelessly obsessed with this chickpea salad. There. I said it.
It’s so fresh and full of flavor that it puts every tuna or chicken salad I’ve ever had to shame.
Seriously!!! I have no problem eating it straight out of the bowl, though it’s also stellar in sandwich form, and atop a bed of leafy greens and veggies. Hellooooo versatility!
The first round of photos I took of this recipe failed to justify just how scrumptious this dish is so I had to reshoot the following week. Was this self-sabotage in an attempt to enjoy yet another round of chickpea deliciousness? Maybe.
Probably.
Absolutely.
Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Another fun fact about this recipe? Everyone can enjoy it! Ok fine, everyone except my primal paleo peeps who don’t do legumes. Man they’re missing out right now! This crunchy chickpea salad is vegetarian with an easy peasy swap to make it vegan. It’s also dairy-free and gluten-free and packed to the brim with all things veggie.
Whether you raid your garden, your local farmer’s market, or even the grocery store produce aisle, this salad is sure to rock your plate and veg up your eats!
:: pin it for later ::
Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Prep
Total
Yield 2-4 servings
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD:
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained + rinsed
- 3 stalks green onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1/4 cup chopped shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
- 1/4 cup store bought or homemade mayonnaise (vegan or regular)
- 1-2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/8 tsp dried dill (or fresh, to taste)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 3 TBSP unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
- 2 TBSP fresh chopped basil, plus extra to taste
FOR THE SANDWICH:
- multi-grain sandwich bread
- arugula or romaine lettuce
- extra basil as desired
- optional tomatoes and/or red onion
- sandwich spread of your choice
- spicy mustard
- mayo
- hummus
- anything goes!
Instructions
- Drain and rinse your chickpeas and add them to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher until texture appears flaked, almost like tuna salad. I use both a potato masher and follow up with a fork to make sure every chickpea is deliciously smashed. You could also use a food processor and skip the arm workout!
- Chop your green onion, celery, shredded carrots, pepper, and pickles.
- Add to the bowl with your chickpeas, then add mayo, dijon, yellow mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir well to coat.
- Fold in sunflower seeds and basil (as much or as little as you'd like) and adjust any ingredients to taste.
- Pile high on bread with all your sandwich fixings or enjoy as a wrap, with crackers, on a salad, or simply dive into the bowl spoon-first - anything goes!
Notes
This makes a FABULOUS make-ahead dish for lunches during the week and is great on the go too. Pack a sandwich or salad for lunch/school or make it ahead to serve at a party or picnic.
The salad will be great for approx. 4 days in the refrigerator so make it for now, or for later!
Adapted from (affiliate) The Oh She Glows Cookbook
special diets and swaps
- Vegansaurus Chefs: Use your favorite vegan mayo and you’re good to go!
- T-rex Chefs: Pretty please promise me you’ll try this?! Put down the bacon and pencil in some plant based lovin’ for lunch today!
- Gluten-Free Chefs: Serve this crunchy chickpea salad in lettuce wraps, salad-style on a bed of greens, or on your favorite GF bread. I’m no stranger to eating this stuff straight out of the bowl with a spoon – so good!
:: pin it for later ::
Seriously LOVING this healthy Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich — I can’t wait for you guys to try it!
Nancy Strine
I tried this because it looked good in the photo. I didn’t expect it to be so delicious! I have tried other “healthy” recipes and many times I’ve only made them once. I’ll be eating this one often!!
Mindy
I absolutely love this! I rarely comment on a recipe, but I just couldn’t not let you know how amazing I found this chickpea salad…. thanks!!!
Frances
Excellent, even without any bread. Added Oasis brand roasted red pepper hummus. A favorite!
Jenn
So happy you enjoyed it Frances! Love the addition of red pepper hummus!
Mackenzie
LOVE this! Very easy to make and could be adapted to fit a variety of tastes. Always a huge fan of something I can make ahead.
DianeF
Hi, Jenn! The pic with your recipe had me stop and look into the ingredients. Didn’t have the sunflower seeds or basil on hand, but I’m glad that didn’t stop me from making this! I really couldn’t figure out what the taste was going to be like, as I don’t add veg to tuna or egg salad, but the reviews were enough for me to give it a go. Just had some in lettuce wraps. Delicious! I have girlfriends who I know will love this, too, so I’ll be passing it along, Thanks! 😋
DianeF
Jenn, my dh tried a spoonful and he really likes it! Said it’s reminiscent of both potato salad and egg salad. 2 thumbs up!
Jenn
Yayyy!!! Thanks Diane!
Tammy
Tasty!
Jamie
This was so delicious. The flavors blend so well and it was great in a wrap!
Jane
This is perfect! I love chicken salad, but don’t care about the chicken part. And I usually have chick peas in the pantry. Whipped this up for lunch the other day and it totally hit the spot. Thanks!
Anne Lantz
I didn’t notice the nutritional breakdown for this recipe. Is it available?
Thank you
Jenn
Hi Anne! I don’t typically include them because so many readers use different ingredients/mix-ins/swaps for the recipes and I don’t want to mislead anyone. The best way to get a nutrition breakdown is to use your favorite calculator and enter what you’d like to use. I’m loving myfitnesspal.com and it’s free!
Ashli
Thank you so much for sharing. This sandwich is truly amazing . It will be my go to lunch. Awesome recipe !
Jenn
So happy you enjoyed it Ashli and that it will be your go-to lunch – thank you so much!
Xochitl
Thank you for your recipe, I changed it with the ingredients that I had on hand. I added avocado ,Brussels sprouts ,and walnuts.I did not add any mustard, but added Grey salt. The pickles,carrots and scallions really added to the flavor. I liked the combination of mashed garbanzo beans with vegtables. Very versatile recipe.
Tina servis
Great recipe, I was looking for something new. Made a few changes only because I didn’t have the ingredients. I added dill paste because I didn’t have any dill pickles, I didn’t have any carrots, so I used banana peppers. Yummy dish thank you
Lisa Walterson
Can yoU replace the vegan mayonnaise with anything? We are on a p plant-based diet but we use a lot of vegan recipes.
Jenn
Hi Lisa! 🙂 I’m unfamiliar with what other vegan alternatives might be used in place of vegan mayo (aside from traditional mayonaise or greek yogurt, both which would not be vegan) – if you have a swap you make at home on the regular and enjoy I’d for sure think it’s open to experimentation! I think I’ve seen hummus used before as a swap for mayo and that may be interesting! Let me know as I’d love to know what you try/like! xoxo
Traci
Wondering if quacamole would be a good sub for mayo????
Jenn
Yesssssss do it!!!! I make a chopped salad that uses a homemade mayo-free avocado dill dressing and it’s crazy good! I think that the same concept would work here too – LMK how it goes! I’d say start with a little and then keep adding more to taste and you’re good to go 🙂
Shania
Am definitely making this for a school lunch sandwich! Hope the bread doesn’t go to soggy though but thanks for the recipe
Jenn
Hey Shania! So excited you’ll be trying it! The chickpea salad isn’t super wet like tuna salad is so if you put lettuce on each side touching the bread and the salad in the middle the fluffy bread should be a-ok! 🙂
Anita
I can my own chick peas and have 27 jars awaiting…guess what I’m making tonight?! YUM! This looks heavenly, thanks for sharing!
Jenn
Sooooo excited for you to try it Anita! LOVE that you can your own chickpeas – totally one of my bucket list goals! 🙂
Crystal
This was FABULOUS!!!! This was the first time I have ever tried chickpeas and was thoroughly impressed! I don’t like dill pickles, so I used pickle relish instead and it came out great! So in love with this recipe and I will be making it again and again!
Jenn
So super happy you enjoyed it Crystal, thank you!! 🙂
Stacy
This is the first vegan recipe I made on my first day in my vegan lifestyle. This was amazing! Thank you so much for this…it will be a regular in the rotation! Easy, flavorful and super filling. I made a whole sandwich and probably could’ve done with half and a small cup of soup! Thanks again!
Cathy Bender
I love this recipe as well as the basil tomato version. Everyone who has tried it loves it. It is super easy to double and triple recipes for a potluck. I eat with a bed a greens- dandelion greens add a wonderful bitter taste to the overall blend.
Jenn
Thank you so much Cathy! I’m so thrilled the recipe has been a hit and love the idea of serving it over a bed of dandelion greens 🙂
Andrea Wilson
This makes a fabulous salad sandwich! I didn’t have any dill pickles or dried dill, so I used a 1/4 cup of sweet relish. I toasted some whole wheat bread and put a little mayo on the toast, added some romaine lettuce leaves and piled on the chickpea salad. Heavenly! I can’t wait until tomorrow’s lunch… and dinner!
Steph
Just made this and was so delicious! i substituted the celery for cucumbers and used low fat light mayo. unique and fun recipe that can be used as a dip or for a sandwich
Jenn
Thank you Steph! Brilliant use of cucumbers – I’ve got to try them in place of the celery next time I make this 🙂
Lisa
Made this today and it is my new favorite salad! Used red onion and fresh dill. Will make this again and again! Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Jenn
Yay!!! Thank you Lisa — so super stoked to hear it!
Beverly
Can you freeze this?
Jenn
Hi Beverly! The fresh veggies in this salad wouldn’t freeze well unfortunately.
Dianne
Love your recipes—- would REALLY love to see nutritional info! Am I missing something?
Jenn
Hi Dianne, thank you! I do not currently have a nutrition calculator in place because I find them to be wildly inaccurate at times, especially since everyone uses different ingredients and makes swaps to suit what they have on hand or preferences/allergies and such. This particular recipe is so up in the air based on what bread is used or if lettuce wraps, crackers, pita, etc.. are used instead, but you can 100% paste the recipe into myfitnesspal.com with the options you choose to get the nutrition info custom to the serving method/ingredients you choose. For sure let me know if there’s anything I can do to help! xoxo
Jami
Made a giant bowl of your chickpea salad. It’s super yummy!! Substituted the mayo for Greek yogurt and added an avocado, bc I needed to use it. Thanks for the recipes!
Zoe
Do you have a suggestion for a dill pickle substitute? I love them but those aren’t available in my country. We have sweet pickles but I don’t like those and that doesn’t seem like a good sub anyway.
Jenn
Hey Zoe! I’m not a fan of sweet pickles either. You can actually skip the chopped pickle entirely and the recipe will still be stellar! I make it both ways depending on what I have available and love it with and without.
Michelle
5 stars! It is a keeper. Excellent taste. I just put mine on top of a piece of toasted pita bread. Highly recommend this. Thank you for posting this!
Jenn
Ahhhh yah thank you Michelle! So glad you enjoyed it and tossed pita bread sounds like a marvelous pairing! 🙂
Cindi
Making this tomorrow!!! ❤️
Jenn
Eeeeee! So excited, Cindi! Hope you love it as much as I do! 🙂
Erin
We just started making a chickpea salad at the bakery where I work and it is AWESOME, but this one looks amazing. I’m going to have to give it a try!
Tami
I just made this veggie chickpea salad using onion flakes since I was out of green onions. This is delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I had a can of chickpeas in my pantry staring me down. If it was animated it would ask me, “Are you ever going to make something out of me?” Lol. Why yes chickpeas, you are now a yummy veggie salad sandwich. Thanks again, I’ll be making this often.
Jenn
Your neglected pantry goods talk to you too?! So relieved it’s not just me… bahaha! Super glad the onion flakes stepped up to the plate in place of their scallion counterparts and thrilled you enjoyed the chickpea salad! Thanks so much Tami! 🙂
Abbe@This is How I Cook
I’m not a millennial so maybe that’s why I never thought of doing this! Sounds fabulous!
Jenn
Haha hope you get a chance to try it Abbe! SO GOOD! 🙂
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables
Uhhhh don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here drooling on my keyboard. YUM!!!! This looks so good, Jenn!
Jenn
Girrrrrrl you need this sandwich! Thanks love!
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