Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich
The best Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich (aka Chickpea Mash) is quick, easy and healthy! It’s also easily customizable, and can be used as a wrap filler or served on a bed of leafy greens!
Meet the great mashed chickpea salad!
This salad makes a great chickpea salad sandwich and reminds me very much of an egg or tuna salad. It’s one of my favorite to-go lunches and I figured it was time to add this versatile smashed chickpea salad to the recipe collection!
Typically, when I make this recipe, I’ll graze on it for most of the day. It’s completely satisfying and tastes great while giving me more than half of my required protein and fiber for the day!
Made with ingredients you probably already have on hand, it’s super quick and easy, and perfect for everyday eating and to-go meals.
So without further ado, let’s get mashing!
Ingredient Notes
The ingredients for this easy chickpea mash can be changed to suit your taste and keep it interesting!
- Chickpeas – Use canned or freshly cooked garbanzo beans.
- Celery – Great for a cool crunchiness, but can be omitted.
- Carrots – I diced up baby carrots, but shredded carrots will work too.
- Scallions – Try red onion in place of green onions for variation.
- vegan mayo – can sub with thinned hummus or tahini (If using hummus or tahini, I highly recommend adding a few tablespoons of water to thin it, making for a wonderfully creamy texture.)
- Mustard – Use Dijon or whole grain (I forgot to add the mustard to the picture above, but it’s in the recipe)
- Garlic powder – For good measure, add a nice flavor.
- Pepitas – Sunflower seeds are a great option too!
- Lemon – I love lemon on just about anything, it adds brightness and zing.
Optional Add-ins
- Add diced red bell pepper for more color.
- Vary it up by adding olives, capers, sweet pickle relish, etc. Maybe not all together, but pick and choose.
How To Make Mashed Chickpea Salad
- Start by prepping your veggies.
- Mash the chickpeas. Add the chickpeas to a serving bowl and roughly mash them with the back of a sturdy fork. You’ll want to mash about 3/4 of the chickpeas so the mash holds together. If you find you didn’t smash enough now, you can always mash a little more once everything is combined.
- Assemble chickpea mash. Add the carrots, celery, green onions, mustard, vegan mayo or thinned hummus, salt and pepper (shown above). Combine it all together (as shown below).
Now you’re ready to rock this salad any way you like!
Top Tips
- Double the recipe. This recipe can easily be doubled as is the batch pictured in the photos. Trust me, you’ll be glad to have the leftovers!
- Mash or unmash. Although this recipe calls for mashing the chickpeas, which helps bind them together, feel free to skip the mash if you prefer.
How To Store + Meal Prep
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, in a covered container. Mix well before serving.
- Meal prep: For meal prep, make the salad as directed and store it in the refrigerator. You can also use reusable containers with leafy greens to make sandwiches or wraps.
Ways To Serve Chickpea Mash
- Sandwich: I love to eat this chickpea mash in a sandwich. Use your favorite bread, toasted or untoasted, layer with avocado, and add sliced tomato if you like. If you’re a sandwich lover, I know you’ll love this one. Even tucked in a wrap or pita bread would be great!
- Salad: I often serve this on a bed of chopped romaine lettuce with sliced cherry tomatoes and a big squeeze of fresh lemon overtop (shown below), and sometimes I add a dash of paprika for a bit of extra flavor and pop of color.
- Scoop It Up: This chickpea salad also works great scooped up as a hearty dip for crackers, sliced cucumbers and bell pepper slices. Serve it as a party appetizer for your next gathering with friends and family.
More Mashed Chickpea Recipes!
- Chickpea ‘Egg’ Salad Sandwich
- Cranberry Walnut Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad
- Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad
- ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Vegan Tuna Salad
- Curried Chickpea Salad
- Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich
- Mediterranean Smashed Chickpea Salad
If you try this chickpea mash recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make. Cheers!
PrintMASHED CHICKPEA SALAD SANDWICH
The great Mashed Chickpea Salad works well as a sandwich filler, lettuce wraps, served on a bed of leafy greens or scooped up with sliced colored bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, etc.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Salad, Appetizer
- Method: mash, mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup celery, sliced
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1/4 cup scallions, sliced
- 1/3 cup vegan mayo (1/4 – 1/3 cup or so hummus or tahini + 2 – 3 tablespoons water), see notes
- 1 – 2 tablespoons dijon mustard (stoneground ok too)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt + pepper, to taste
- juice of 1 lemon, optional (adds brightness)
- small handful pepitas (pumpkin seeds), optional
- paprika (regular or smoked paprika), to garnish
To Serve
- Bread of choice or tortillas
- Leafy lettuce
- mashed avocado
Instructions
Mash chickpeas: Place chickpeas in a medium size bowl and roughly mash about 3/4 of the garbanzo beans with the back of a sturdy fork, potato masher or pastry blender.
Assemble salad: Add the remaining ingredients and combine to mix. Add more vegan mayo or hummus if you like it creamier. Taste for seasoning.
Ways to serve:
- Sandwich: Using bread, layer the bottom half with leafy greens and the top half with mashed avocado. Spread the chickpea salad on the bottom half and top with the top half. Slice in half and enjoy!
- Wraps: Lay a tortilla on flat surface, add a few leafy greens in the center, top with chickpea salad and roll. Alternatively, stuff pita bread with salad and leafy greens.
- Salad: serve on a bed of leafy greens.
- Dip: Scoop up with crackers or sliced vegetables like cucumbers, bell peppers, celery sticks, etc.
Store: Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 – 6 days.
Notes
*If you find your hummus is a bit thick, thin it out with 2 – 3 tablespoons of water, you may find you need 1 more tablespoon. I always do this with my humus when using as a binder. This will make for a perfect consistency to use as a binder without being overly thick and/or drying as well.
Try using diced red onion for a little different color.
Add in diced red bell pepper for crunch and color.
Vary it up by adding olives, capers, sweet pickle relish, etc. Maybe not all together, but pick and choose.
You may like to try this Simple White Bean Hummus as a binder.
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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I love this website but I have to be honest about this recipe. It was really dry. I had to keep drinking lots of water with it. (But drinking water is good for you! So I guess that's okay.) I ended up adding a little over a tablespoon of olive oil and ate in romaine leaves. That did the trick! I don't think the lemon juice should be optional. It really adds a lot.
I'm glad you liked it anyway! If you use hummus I would suggest thinning it out with water as most hummus can be a bit thick. I always thin mine out. If using vegan mayo, just use more as needed so it's not dry. I'm sure the olive oil worked great too and is another alternative. And yes, the lemon sure is great! The romaine leaves sound wonderful and fresh.
Thank you sharing your experience and the kind words! At least you know the next time what you might need to do to make it not too dry for you. I'm sure your comment will help others too. Cheers :)
This sounds wonderful. I like to enter things into my nutrition counter. About how many servings would you say this is?
I would say this is about three servings. Enjoy!
Recipe looks great! FYI you have a typo on one line: "Drain and rinse your chickpea's" should not have an apostrophe! :)
Thank you Sharon! All corrected. I hate it when I don't catch those. lol So glad you pointed it out! Cheers :)
What a great idea! Just recently found your site and I'm loving it!
Thank you! So glad we have connected :)
For any juicers out there, this could be a good way to use that leftover vegetable pulp, especially if you like a smoother salad mixture. I'm getting bored from making sand castles out of my leftover pulp.
lol! And genius idea!! I had been giving mine to my guinea pigs.
Vegi pulp can also be used in breads, like zucchini bread…that sort. Or you can use it to thicken stews and add extra fiber and vitamins.
what would you say a serving size for this is?! I can't wait to make it :)
I would say it serves anywhere from 2 – 4, depending on how your having it. If making sandwiches, 3 servings. If topping on a bed of leafy greens, 2 serving. If making smaller versions of these, than 4 servings.
I know you will love this, it is so good! Hope you enjoy it often. Cheers :)
This recipe looks delicious! Am going to try it out {will be substituting 0% Fage Greek Yogurt for the hummus/tahini}
Try it with Artichoke hearts too!
Yes, I love it…sounds wonderful! ♥
I added a half of a large honeycrisp apple, chopped small–amazing!
Oh my…that sounds delicious! A nice cool, sweet, crisp apple…will try that too! Thanks for the inspiration :)
I am totally making this for my future school lunches! :) Looks delicious!
This is a great to go lunch. Be warned you will love it and have it often. :)It will help keep you energized for you classes too….