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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This is probably one of the best recipes I have found on Pinterest! It is absolutely delicious and I make a huge batch every single week!!! I Love it with a TBSP of hot sauce too! Thank you for such a great recipe:-)
Thank you so much! The hot sauce sounds delicious!
Hi! I love this recipe! It's so versatile! I like adding a bit of prepared grated horseradish and fresh parsley to my salad mix. It's delicious with sundried tomato pesto (dairy free). basil pesto would probably be great too!
What great spins on this you've got! I'll have to try them all! :)
I don't know if anyone has suggested this or not, but I added a bunch of curry powder…AMAZING!
Curry would be delicious! I have a curried chickpea salad to you may like! Cheers :)
I just made this, and it's delicious! I used mayo, and omitted the celery because I didn't have any, and it's wonderful! Will definitely be making it again!
So glad you loved it! :)
Loooved this! May have eaten half the bowl for lunch… Will be great for work tomorrow!
Do you have any good substitution recommendations for the raw celery and carrots? I'm allergic to both (as well as apples, stone fruit, almonds, hazelnuts)it's kind of a crap shoot sometimes because all these things that I'm allergic to are so good for you. Thanks! I'm loving your blog so far… I need to bookmark this or something. I'm bad about making new recipes. ):
I would suggest subbing colored bell peppers in place of the celery and carrots. Will be just as good!
How about radish? That would add a nice crunch if you're not allergic to it. The English Breakfast type are milder than the little red ones that you see on salad bars. And maybe use the stalks of rainbow chard in place of the celery. It has that watery crunchy flavor that celery has. Bummer that you're allergic to carrots! Pears could be substituted instead of apples, pick a firmer one, like an Asian pear, both sweet, tangy and crisp!
Made this for lunch today. So good! Very filling without any guilt. Thanks for the recipe!
Great! So glad your feeling good. :)
Yum! This looks great. I love your blog, thanks!
Thank you!
This looks so delicious! Can normal mustard be subbed in for the stoneground/dijon mustard?
Yes, please use your favorite mustard or whatever you have on hand. Enjoy :)
I just happened to have chickpeas sprouting and was thinking what I could make with them when I received an email post from your website suggesting this dish…sooo needless to say I tried it out over the weekend and it was amazing!
I've had it on crackers, in a few wraps and stuffed in mushrooms! Yummy!
Thanks for the recipe : D