Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad – A flavorful mashed chickpea salad with cranberries and walnuts tossed with a creamy vegan dressing is a perfect salad or sandwich filler!
Chickpeas are just about the most versatile bean I’ve ever come across. They pair well with so many flavors making them the ultimate bean in my book. No wonder they are loved by so many, and this Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad is another terrific use of these versatile beans!
They may not have as much protein or fiber as black beans and cannellini beans, but chickpeas come in close enough with 15 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber per 1 cup. They are a nutrient dense food with good carbohydrates the body needs and are low in fat with only 4 grams of fat per 1 cup.
Other beans are not nearly as versatile as the chickpea. You can make savory chickpea pancakes with the flour, add them to ratatouille, stews, salads, make hummus, falafels, roast them as a snack and the list goes on and on. They are the greatest bean ever and I can’t wait to put them into new recipes here in the future. I have lots of ideas for these little guys!
We’ll start by adding this super awesome Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad Sandwich to the collection. If you didn’t already know, chickpeas make for great sandwich fillers too!
You may already be familiar with my ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Vegan Tuna Salad and my other classic Mashed Chickpea Salad. This one is just as delicious but with a sweet flair that I just know you’ll fall in love with!
I assure you that this cranberry walnut chickpea salad sandwich will hit the spot and satisfy your craving for a chunky, sweet, peppery, crunchy style sandwich. Full of texture and flavor this has become my new favorite. It’s a hearty salad that will comfort you and leave you feeling completely satisfied!
How To Make Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad
- Slice your celery, feel free to add in some celery leaves if you can. For the scallions, when slicing use both the green and white parts. Roughly chop your walnuts. When buying cranberries, use organic whenever possible (I like the ones from Trader Joe’s, they’re so brightly colored too!). You can also use fresh chopped cranberries!
- Roughly mash your chickpeas (shown below left). I doubled this batch using 3 cups of chickpeas instead of 1 1/2 so I’d have plenty of leftovers. If you double the batch you’ll be glad you have them too!
- In a small bowl mix together the dressing ingredients.
- Add to the mashed chickpeas the celery, onions, cranberries and walnuts, top with dressing and mix to combine (shown below right).
And there you have it, making this cranberry walnut chickpeas salad is about as simple as it gets, which is why I love chickpea salads!
How To Serve Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad
This mashed chickpea salad can be served as a traditional or open faced sandwich. Or simply serve on a bed of lettuce and skip the bread. You may even find that you love the salad all by itself without any accompaniment! I can easily eat this straight from the bowl all day long. :)
More Chickpea Salad Inspiration
- Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Mashed Chickpea & Avocado Sandwich
- Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad
- Chickpea of the Sea Vegan ‘Tuna’ Salad
- Curried Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Mediterranean Mashed Chickpea Salad
If you try this mashed chickpea salad recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintCRANBERRY WALNUT CHICKPEA SALAD SANDWICH
The chickpea strikes again making for another great sandwich filler that will knock your socks off! If staying away from bread, serve this on a bed of leafy greens or eat as it right from the bowl. Any way you serve this salad is delicious!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Yield: Serves 6- 8 1x
- Category: Entree, Salad
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup organic dried cranberries (chopped fresh would be great too)
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced, white & green parts
- mineral salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon each)
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons (1/3 cup) tahini or vegan mayo
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) champagne, white wine or cider vinegar (I used Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons water (only needed if using tahini)
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
To serve
- leafy lettuce of choice
- bread of choice
Instructions
Start by mixing your dressing. In a small bowl combine tahini/mayo, vinegar, water and maple syrup. Set aside so the flavors come together. This can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add a tad more water, or vinegar if you’re a vinegar lover, to thin out dressing as desired. If using vegan mayo, you may like to add 2 more tablespoons.
In a medium to large bowl, add your garbanzo beans and roughly mash with a strong fork or potato masher. Add in celery, cranberries, nuts, scallions, salt, pepper and dressing, mix well. Serve at room temp or let chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.
Serve on your favorite bread as a closed or open faced sandwich, or on a bed of leafy greens. You may even opt to simply enjoy the salad as is.
Serves 6 – 8.
NOTES:
Add extra of anything you like, and vice versa, if you’re not keen on an ingredient use less or omit! One particular ingredient may be the vinegar. I’m not much of a vinegar fan but I loved the orange muscat champagne vinegar and found I used quite a bit and loved it!
Change up the walnuts, using pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. If using sunflower seeds, use half the amount called for.
For the dressing, I have only made this using tahini since I do not use any kind of store bought vegan mayos. If using vegan mayo, adjust accordingly adding more mayo as needed, maybe 1/2 cup instead of 1/3. I do recommend trying this recipe with tahini…it is seriously so good that you would never know and it is much better/cleaner for you than the store bought mayos!
