Vegan Chicken Salad is a flavorful, quick and easy salad made with mashed chickpeas, cranberries and walnuts tossed with a creamy dressing for a healthy, WFPB wrap 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 Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad is another terrific use of this versatile bean!
This salad is full of fiber, protein and uses just 8 ingredients (plus salt + pepper) creating the most wonderful salad that will rival its chicken predecessor. And I know you’re going to love this healthy, quick and easy salad as much as I do!
Who will love this Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad? Those who are looking for an alternative to the chicken salad you might see at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
It has the same mouthfeel and is just as filling. I can almost guarantee you won’t be able to tell the difference between this plant-based version and the actual chicken salad.
I assure you this chickpea vegan ‘chicken’ salad with cranberries and walnuts will hit the spot and satisfy your craving for a chunky, sweet, peppery, crunchy style sandwich.
Full of texture and flavor, this has become a favorite and is hearty enough to leave you feeling completely satisfied!
For more faux chickpea salads, be sure to check out this ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Vegan Tuna Salad, Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad, and classic Mashed Chickpea ‘Egg’ Salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need
With only a few ingredients, this healthy salad comes together quick and easy.
Here is everything you will need, plus suggestions for substituting when possible. You can find the full measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chickpeas – use canned or fresh cooked garbanzo beans
- Cranberries – 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 or chopped dried cherries!
- Celery – cool and crunchy, but can be omitted
- Walnuts – feel free to change it up with pecans
- Green onions – sub with ¼ cup finely diced red onions
- Vegan mayo or tahini – use store bought or use this Easy Vegan Mayo or Homemade Tahini
- Apple cider vinegar – can also use white wine vinegar or TJ’s Orange Muscat Vinegar
- Pure maple syrup – coconut nectar or date syrup works too
- Salt + pepper
How To Make Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad
(Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)
- Prep veggies and nuts. 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.
- Mash chickpeas. Roughly mash your chickpeas using the back of a sturdy fork. A potato masher or pastry blender will do the job too.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together the mayo or tahini, apple cider vinegar, pure maple syrup. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to thin.
- Assemble. Add to the mashed chickpeas the celery, onions, cranberries and walnuts, top with dressing and mix to combine (shown below).
And there you have it, making this amazing vegan ‘chicken’ salad is about as simple as it gets!
It’s one of the reasons I love mashed chickpea salads!
Top Tips
- Mash the chickpeas or leave them whole. Mashing is great when using as a sandwich filler, helping it to bind together. Leaving them whole works too!
- Recipe can easily be halved. But I highly recommend making the full batch so you’ll have leftovers. You’ll be glad you did!
- Adjust to taste. As with all my recipes, feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to suit your taste.
How To Store + Meal Prep
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days in a covered container.
- Meal prep: This recipe is great for meal prep, using any of the suggestions below, and can be stored in serving size portions in multi-use containers (affiliate link) for a grab-n-go meal or snack.
How To Serve Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad
This quick and easy salad is super versatile and be served a variety of ways. Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy this delicious recipe.
- Sandwich: This tasty salad can be served with homemade Artisan Bread as a traditional or open faced sandwich.
- Wraps: Make fresh lettuce wraps using romaine, bibb, butter, chard, collards, or other large leafy greens. Alternatively, this salad would be great in tortilla wraps.
- Salad: Chop up leafy greens or use packaged spinach, spring mix or baby kale as a bed, top with a serving of vegan chicken salad.
- As is: 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. :)
- Fruit: Serve with a side of fresh fruit, such as grapes, cantaloupe, sliced apples, etc.
More Mashed Chickpea Recipes
- Mashed Chickpea & Avocado Sandwich
- Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad
- Chickpea of the Sea Vegan ‘Tuna’ Salad
- Curried Chickpea Salad
- Mediterranean Smashed Chickpea Salad
If you try this vegan chicken 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.
PrintVEGAN ‘CHICKEN’ SALAD
The chickpea strikes again, making for another great salad that will knock your socks off! This vegan ‘chicken’ salad is delicious as a sandwich filler, topped on a bed of leafy greens or make into lettuce wraps. Any way you serve this healthy salad is delicious!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Yield: Serves 6 1x
- Category: Entree, Salad
- Method: mash, mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup celery, diced
- ½ cup organic dried cranberries (chopped fresh would be great too)
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
- ½ cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced, white & green parts
- mineral salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (I used about ½ teaspoon each)
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons (⅓ cup) tahini or vegan mayo
- 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) champagne, white wine or cider vinegar (I used Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons water (as needed if using tahini)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
To serve
- leafy lettuce of choice
- bread of choice
Instructions
Dressing: 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.
Mash chickpeas: In a medium to large bowl, add your garbanzo beans and roughly mash with a strong fork or potato masher. Mash at least ¾ of the chickpeas so it binds well.
Assemble: 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: 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
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days, in a covered container.
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 ½ cup instead of ⅓. 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!
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Updated: Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad was originally published in November 2013. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in June 2020. The only change made was to the name, it was originally titled ‘Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad’.
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Dan says
I’ve Been No Oil Whole Food Plant-Based for about 10 years now and this is hands down the best plant-based recipe I have ever tasted and that includes my OWN creations! :) But I have to give credit where credit is due, this is a real winner! Anyone, Carnivore or Plant-Based loves or would love this recipe! It’s just darn good! I use Tahini and water as you describe in the recipe and I use Apple Cider Vinegar and it turns out perfect every time! This is such a crowd pleaser I always triple the recipe, it makes it easy for the tahini because that way when I triple it, I just dump the whole jar in! But, it’s great for sandwiches, stuffed in a tomato or whole wheat pockets for on the go or of course, for sandwiches! Anything you would do with chicken salad you can do with this! Only this tastes 100 times better than chicken salad and is 1000 times better for you, for the chicken and the planet! Thank you for this amazing Recipe! I have been making it so long, I have the old picture you used to use, the one you have up now is New! :) Take good care and Thank You!
★★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
You are an inspiration – 10 years with no oil is amazing! So glad you enjoy the recipe with the tahini, I love it too! Thanks for sharing, Dan!
Karen Lippman says
This was delicious!! I didn’t have scallions so used some finely chopped onions. This recipe is a keeper and I can’t wait to make this for friends for a girls lunch.
Cathy says
This is my favorite chickpea salad recipe. I use fresh cranberries that I cut into quarters. I buy enough at Thanksgiving and freeze them just so I can make this yummy salad all year. It’s delicious as an appetizer served in butter lettuce cups and super good served as a sandwich filling on toasted whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Angel says
Very good! I only had 1 can of chickpeas on hand, powdered onion, and eyed a lot of the other ingredients but it all turned out perfect. Was a very nice vegan lunch with pickle slices and baked sweet potato fries ❤ thank you!
★★★★★
Aubrey says
My new favorite chickpea salad! It’s so incredibly yummy!
★★★★★