Makes enough for 4 sandwiches
Total time: 10 minutes || Active time: 10 minutes
“Um, Isa?”
“Yes, Internet?”
“Do you think we’re stupid?”
“What?”
“Don’t.”
“What???!”
“Let’s not play this game. Just write your childish Chickpea Salad Sammich post, as difficult as we’re sure it will be, and then maybe we can move on to matters that require a little more brainpower. Like, I don’t know, tying our shoes, or a game of tic-tac-toe, or I know, let’s count to ten*!”
OK, I get it. Why don’t I just put up a recipe for Peanut Butter And Jelly. But, listen.
Not everybody knows! Not EVERYBODY knows that you can mash chickpeas up, just like tuna, and it is fanfreakintabulous. You can throw it on some whole wheat bread with tomato and lettuce and it will taste like childhood, but better. Most people, yes, but not everybody knows. And so I’m here to spread the word. Not to you. Of course YOU are brilliant and you’ve known this forever and maybe you even invented it you’re so freaking smart. But this is for the lost souls in the far corners of the internet. If you don’t know, now you know.
*OMG why is the internet so mean??!
This post is part of my Homemade Mayo series, where I’m highlighting a few basic recipes that call for mayo. However, you can use storebought, if you like!
Notes
Ingredients
1/4 cup vegan mayo, homemade or storebought
1 medium carrot, peeled and very finely chopped (almost minced)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons onion flakes
Salt and pepper to tasteFor the sammiches:
Sliced tomatoes
Romaine lettuce
Whole wheat bread
Extra mayo for a’spreadin
I just, for the first time ever, ate “tuna salad” at a vegan restaurant. It was awesome, so of course, I came to your site to see if you had a recipe. THANKS!!! I can make this and have it all week for 1/3 of the cost.
Didn’t make/have any mayo, so I followed the tahini sub advice. It tasted a bit “off” – but I spread the bread with mustard/pickle relish combo. Problem solved! Next time I may mix it in. Hubs is enjoying it.
This is a game changer—I love this recipe!! Tunafish sandwiches has been the only thing I have missed in the vegan world and this recipe made my summer. Only addition was some spicy mustard- throw it all in the food processer and it’s great every time. Thank you!!
Wow! I am one of those lost souls that did not know about mashed chickpeas! I am not a vegan, but I am vegetarian, so I adjusted the vegan mayo for olive oil mayo. I have to say this is probably one of the best tasting sandwich salads I have ever put in my mouth. This is so good that my father, who complains if there isn’t a visible meat on his plate, loved it!
OH MY GOD! Never thought of it!
I’ve had almonds stand in for tuna salad, but never chickpeas.
Being gluten and dairy free and the boyfriend being a vegetarian has seriously done nothing but improve our cooking for each other.
Hello again…I’m so excited right now about coming across your site and am looking forward to giving your mayo a go and this recipe as well! Will it be okay for us to use fresh chickpeas rather than the canned and if so, how long should I soak them for? Will it be okay overnight or will I have to soak then cook them in order to be able to mash/blend them? This is a start of a new journey for both my husband and I and this’ll be my first time preparing chickpeas.
You can soak them overnight and then boil for about 30 minutes, but it will depend on the chickpea, it could take longer. Make sure they are soft enough to easily mash with a fork and then you’re good to go!
I followed some of the suggestions left in the comments: I added dill, used my food processor, and added one diced dill pickle resulting in a fab, quick, and easy sandwich spread!
Although we already tons of chick peas as Hummous is a staple every night in the country I I live in (we have chopped salad and hummous and Tehina) I decided to try this this evening. We liked it a lot. I want to add that I remove most of the clear skins of the chick peas- less uhm tummy issues, and all. You can add fresh parsley, pickles, olives and corn for a different taste each time.
I make mine more like chicken salad I suppose, and use grapes, almonds and celery. It’s just so genius!
I am one of those who never made this before today and it is delicious! I added some nori that I tore into small pieces which really made it taste tuna-y. I could hardly stop eating it while my bread was toasting but I did have enough for the sammich.
Thank you so much for the great recipe!!!
I’m a long long long term veggie head. I’ve never thought of this. So Thanks from ME! 🙂
I made these 4 days in a row, ate them for lunch and dinner and they were delish every time.
Thanks! it is true not everybody knows! I got a curried chickpea salad sandwich at a gluten free bakery last week and have been obsessing about it ever since…and so now will make this at home.
http://www.kaledcsa.wordpress.com
This is so simple but so delicious. I love your website and recipes. Working my way through the recipes now I have discovered you.
I made this recipe tonight after attempting to make a vegan tuna melt the night before with a can of vegan “tuna”. Your recipe is a much better alternative to tuna fish. I had to throw the vegan “tuna” melt out because it was so gross.
I’m planning on making this again with some relish or capers, fresh onion and sunflower seeds. Yummy!
I love this! And I’m one of those people who never knew that you could smash garbanzo beans to taste amazing! Thank you so much! I LOVE ALL of your cookbooks!! And I LOVE your caldo verde with tempeh soup recipe!!! YUM.
OMG so amazing! I ate the entire batch for lunch then went to the store for more chickpeas so I could have this again for dinner!
Haha, after my own heart.
I didn’t know either! So nice to have another lunch option. Had to play with seasonings, my storebought vegan mayo isn’t the tastiest and/or I’m more like Isa’s sister, not much of a mayo person (but my sister was!). But it was still yummy and I will make again a few different ways, most definitely!
Where do you purchase kelp/seaweed powder? I want to make again going the more ‘fishy’ angle? thanks! Bev
Where do you purchase kelp/seaweed powder? thanks! Bev
WHAT?!! I didn’t know about this whole chickpea salad craze. Just made a batch and it is freaking amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
I will be making this A LOT during my upcoming mat leave I’m sure. Quick to make and can be eaten with one hand – BONUS!
I throw a little kelp granules in, just because. Also I made Isa’s mayo and I’ll never buy Veganiase again. (Well, maybe if I’m lazy…)
I love the idea of using chickpeas in place of tuna! I made this for my friends, but used green onions and sunflower seeds instead of celery and carrot and served it in endive leaves as an appetizer.
I also did a curried version with apples that I created a recipe for on my site, it was sooo good!
I’ll have to try that homemade vegan mayo, I found a grapeseed vegan mayo that I use now, but I’m all about making stuff from scratch.
Please, please, please continue to post for those of us lost in the corners of the internet!
I am 9 days into my vegan adventure and know virtually nothing!!!
I do now, thanks to you, know that I can(did!) make a killer vegan mayo,(it’s wonderful) and that I can whip up chickpea sammiches!!!( we use that word too)
Thank you, thank you!
I’ve NEVER thought of doing this! Spectacular. -just died- I added garlic, dill, and finely minced green bell pepper, then served on mild rye break with a wee-bit of mustard. It really tied everything together. I absolutely love this. Thank you Isa-my magical vegan recipe mentor! : DL
I love chickpeas. It has never, ever occurred to me to eat them this way!
This is an utterly glorious sandwich. I don’t like celery, so I substituted a couple tablespoons of minced fresh basil. Fantastically yummy.
Inspired! Delicious, easy and so customizable. Thank you, Isa!!
I usually eat this in a tortilla or lettuce wrap, tossed in a salad, or simply standing in the open fridge, scooping it up with pieces of butter lettuce (heh). It’s also fun to stuff in halves of those small sweet red/orange/yellow peppers. Appetizer!
BTW, I am a lifelong mayo hater, and usually bind this with hummus. Yum.
This has become one of my favorite easy go-to weeknight meals! I chop up avocado and mix it into the chickpea mixture at the very end… sooo good.
this recipe rules let the haters hate but every recipe that is “basic” on your site has helped me emmensley so thankyou!
I made these and went Chickpea Salad Sandwich crazy for about a week! 😀
How many servings would you say this makes? I’m going to make it for a crowd 🙂
I make this a lot- Try adding turmeric-
It’s fabulous! Put on toasted English muffins and top with sunflower seeds- great breakfast
Yeah everybody doesn’t know!!! Now I do an I am trying to learn how to keep myself n my new fiancé alive n healthy OK…please be more patient with us slow learners OK..thank u
Isa! I need you to address the raw soaked sunflower seed/almond plus parsley camp! See here: http://ohmyveggies.com/vegan-tuna-salad/
In my dedication to you, I am prepared to call them heathens, for I love your chickpea salad sammiches, BUT! have you tried this? How is it? Whaddaya think? Is it Post Punk or not so much? We needs ta know from yeeww! 🙂 xo and Thanks