This vegan chickpea salad sandwich is loaded with a ton of colour, crunch and nutrition making it the perfect chicken salad swap!
Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad or whatever other mayo-laden salad you could dream up were staples growing up. I was always a bit skeptical of them all because the texture weirded me out, but as an adult, I can’t help but totally love them all.
SO I set out to make a “lightened up” vegan chicken salad swap – the vegan chickpea salad sandwich. Seriously, if you say chickpea salad sandwich fast enough, no one will even know the difference.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
This avocado chickpea salad sandwich is so simple to pull off and really comes together with whatever veg you’ve got in your fridge. I mix together mashed ripe avocado with canned chickpeas, lemon and a little hot chili. It’s kind of like a lazy guacamole.
We’ve got protein and fibre in the chickpeas, healthy fats from the avocado, more fibre and complex carbs in the bread, and tons of micronutrients from all the extra veg. What more could we want for lunchtime?
Key Ingredients
Chickpeas – Chickpeas are the star of the show in this recipe and the main protein. I prefer using a can of chickpeas with no added salt, just for convenience sake. But you can certainly cook up some dry chickpeas, just soak them overnight and cook for 1 hour.
Avocado – Avocado is used in place of mayo in this recipe and adds healthy fats and fibre to the chickpea salad. I just love the creamy texture when combined with the chickpeas! So delish.
Lemon – Avocado is not the same without a squeeze of citrus, in my opinion. So a bit of lemon juice really brings out the flavour and freshness. If you don’t have lemons on hand, you can definitely use lime juice instead.
Bread – I use whole grain sprouted bread, but thats my own personal preference. Use whatever whole grain bread you have on hand.
Veggie Toppings – I love to make this sammy as colourful and nutrient dense as possible! So I like to add heirloom tomato, microgreens, shredded carrot, and shredded beets. But any veg would go well with this avocado chickpea salad sandwich.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a bowl, mash the avocado until fairly smooth, add in the lemon juice, hot chili pepper, and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2: To assemble the sandwich, layer the slices of tomatoes on one slice of bread, add the microgreens, the beets, the chickpea salad and the carrots. Slice into the bad boy and enjoy!
Expert Tips
This vegan chicken salad swap is awesome all on its own, but let’s not stop there. I load this avocado chickpea salad sandwich right up. Sliced ripe heirloom tomato, microgreens, shredded cooked beets and shredded carrots. Seriously – could you imagine a more beautiful sandwich?
Now, if you’re in the mood for chicken salad, will this do the trick? Probably not. It’s really not the same, just a take on the concept. But I kind of like the supple texture of the chickpeas with the creamy mildly sweet flavour of the avocado. It’s lighter, brighter and holy hell, it’s good with all the fixins’.
Recipe FAQ
You got questions and I’ve got answers. Here are some common questions I get asked about this recipe.
I have never tried using any other bean besides chickpeas. But I would suggest white beans as a good alternative as they have a mild flavour and texture that is similar to chickpeas to get that same effect.
It definitely can be! Just use your favourite gluten free bread and you are good to go!
If you’re impartial to using mayo or cheese, you can definitely substitute avocado for a vegan mayo or cottage cheese. If you’re not vegan, of course, you can try with regular mayo and cottage cheese to make this sandwich super creamy and dreamy. Otherwise, if you don’t want to use a mayo or a cheese, you can try just using chickpeas on their own and blend them up with a little olive oil or tahini to give it a bit of a creamy hummus-like texture.
More Recipes You Might Like
If you liked this vegan chickpea salad sandwich recipe, you might enjoy some of other sandwich recipes on the blog!
- EVERYTHING BAGEL AVOCADO WHITE BEAN SANDWICH
- ROASTED VEGGIE, HUMMUS, AND HALLOUMI SANDWICH
- MOROCCAN CHICKPEA SALAD WRAP
- HUMMUS QUESADILLA WITH POMEGRANATE AND FETA
What would you put on your chickpea salad sandwich? What are your favourite loaded sandwich recipes? Leave me a comment below with your favourite sandwich toppers!
Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich with Avocado
Ingredients
- 1 can no salt added chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 large ripe avocado1
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp hot chili pepper finely minced
- Salt and pepper
- 4 slices whole grain sprouted bread
- 1 large heirloom tomato sliced
- ½ cup sweet microgreens
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup cooked and shredded beet
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash the avocado until fairly smooth, add in the lemon juice, hot chili pepper, and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper.
- To assemble the sandwich, layer the slices of tomatoes on one slice of bread, add the microgreens, the beets, the chickpea salad and the carrots. Slice into the bad boy and enjoy!
Notes
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Sheila K. says
Oh MY, it looks great! Can’t wait to cook em this Sunday!
Hayley B. says
Honestly thought I’d hate this. I’m a huge fan of meat and I haven’t eaten a chickpea (not in hummus form) since I was a little kid.
I really liked it. Made my lunch break super easy, didn’t have to cook anything and was super full afterwards.
I didn’t have chili’s but I used chipotle flakes and it added a nice Smokey flavor. I recommend!
HoVidos says
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that truly how to do running a blog.
SP says
What brands of bread do you recommend? Thank you!
Abbey Sharp says
I usually go to my local bakery!