Chickpea Salad | Vegan Recipe

I love to eat sandwiches. And as a type 2 diabetic, many people I couldn’t have sandwiches anymore because of the carbs in bread. In fact, I thought I was relegated to only being able to eat some weird whole grain bread that tasted like cardboard (and many of them do). I also thought the only thing I would ever be able to put between the bread was raw veggies.

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After I became plant-based, I stumbled upon this recipe as a replacement for chicken salad. Some people refer to chickpea salad as a fake tuna salad, but I disagree for this recipe.

If you are using canned chickpeas for this, smell the can after you open it. Doesn’t it smell like chicken? I swear it does!

Anyway, this is a pretty simple recipe and I love it because I can pull the salad out of the refrigerator and make a quick sandwich. 

How to Make Chickpea Salad

As I said, the process is pretty simple. All you need are chickpeas, celery, and vegan mayonnaise. You can dress it up even more if you like, add salt and pepper, put tomatoes and onion on your sandwich. 

You don’t even have to make it a sandwich at all! You can take the chickpea salad and put it on a bed of leafy greens and have an awesome salad.

Start with 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. If you choose to use dried chickpeas, be sure to soak them before you cook them. I like to do a quick soak in the Instant Pot but you can simply set the beans in a bowl of water in the fridge overnight. You can even cook them in the Instant Pot as well. Check out this recipe to learn more.

While your chickpeas are cooking, chop one celery stick and set out 3 tablespoons of vegan mayonnaise. It doesn’t really matter which brand you choose. I use Follow Your Heart Veganaise with no added flavor. But it’s really up to you. 

You can also make your own plant-based mayonnaise by following this recipe.

After the chickpeas are done and cooled a little, take a potato masher or fork and smash the beans. They don’t have to be smooth. It’s okay if it’s a little chunky.

When the consistency is where you want it to be, add in the celery and mayo and stir until all are combined. If you like it a little creamier, simply add more mayonnaise.

Even though I only added celery for the crunch, you can also add in white onions, red onions, or relish.

I like to have my chickpea salad chilled so I let the mixture cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.

All that’s left to do is make your sandwich or salad and enjoy!

If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @chefwendycoop on Instagram.

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