Curried Chickpea Salad
Curried Chickpea Salad – Full of flavor and texture, this vegan curry chickpea ‘chicken’ salad is quick and easy to make and perfect for a healthy salad, wrap, or sandwich filler!
Why We Love This Recipe!
Creamy chickpea salads are 100% crave-worthy! I can literally sit and eat the whole bowl within a day.
You may already be familiar with the classic Mashed Chickpea Salad, Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad, or this flavorful Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad. All are full of fiber, protein, and well-balanced!
Honestly, I can’t say that I love one more than the other. They each have a different flavor and are equally delicious in my book. But if you’re a curry lover, you will be smitten over this curry chickpea salad!
I love the combination of curry with the sweetness of the raisins, along with the crunch from the carrots and cashews. It’s a perfect blend of flavor and texture!
The ingredients for this curry chickpea salad are simple and can be put together easily, within 10 minutes. Make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week for easy-to-go lunches or to have on hand for snacking.
But I can almost guarantee this will not be in your fridge for that long. It will be gone almost as soon as you make it!
Ingredient Notes
Inspired by a trip to Trader Joe’s, I saw their Curry Chicken Salad and made us all a vegan version. The ingredients came from the ingredient list on the package and did not disappoint!
Here is everything you will need:
- Chickpeas – use canned or fresh cooked
- Carrots – replace with diced red bell pepper for variation
- Raisins – adds a touch of sweetness, offsetting the curry
- Green onions
- Cashews – omit if you have nut allergies
- Vegan Mayo – use store bought or use this easy homemade vegan mayo (can also sub with thinned hummus or tahini, as noted in the recipe card)
- Cilantro – adds a touch of herbaceousness, can omit if you’re not a fan
- Lemon – adds overall brightness
- Curry + garlic powder
- Salt + pepper
How To Make Curry Chickpea Salad
- Mash chickpeas (or leave them whole): In a medium mixing bowl, add chickpeas and roughly mash about 1/2 – 2/3 of the beans with the back of a sturdy fork or potato masher.
- Dressing: Whisk together the vegan mayo or thinned hummus/tahini with curry and garlic powder.
- Assemble: Add in the carrots, scallions, raisins, cashews, and pour dressing over top along with a big squeeze of lemon, mix well to combine. Taste for flavor, adding salt and pepper to taste.
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 is great too!
- Add a little zing. Vary up the dressing by adding a tablespoon or so of apple cider or white wine vinegar for a slight tang.
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: Curried Chickpea Salad is great for meal prep, using any of the suggestions below, and can be stored in serving size portions for grab-n-go meals or snacks.
How To Serve Curried Chickpea Salad
- Enjoy this salad alone or on a bed of leafy greens.
- Scoop it up with fresh sliced red bell peppers or crackers.
- Turn it into a hearty Curried Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad Sandwich.
- Make lettuce wraps (shown below) or roll up in tortillas with leafy greens.
- It’s great with fresh grapes for sweetness and juiciness.
However you choose to serve your curried chickpea salad, I encourage you to gather your ingredients and give it a try.
I think you will find it to be as good as the other chickpea salad recipes here. In fact, it may just become your new favorite!
More Easy Chickpea Salad Recipes
- Cranberry Walnut Vegan ‘Chicken’ Salad
- Mashed Chickpea & Avocado Sandwich
- Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad
- ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Tuna Salad Sandwich
- Mashed Chickpea Salad
- Mediterranean Smashed Chickpea Salad
If you try this healthy chickpea salad recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintBEST CURRIED CHICKPEA SALAD
Creamy chickpea salads are a favorite in our home! They are highly addicting and so healthy. If you’re a curry lover, I know you will fall in love with this vegan Curried Chickpea Salad! Inspired by Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Curried Chicken Salad.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: mash, mix
- Cuisine: American, Indian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 2 – 3 carrots (about 1 cup), diced
- 3 – 4 scallions/green onions (about 1 cup), sliced
- 1/2 cup raisins, dried currants, or chopped dates
- 1/2 cup cashews (pref. raw)
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup vegan mayo (or thinned hummus or tahini, see notes)
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon curry powder, + more to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Curry Dressing: In a small bowl, combine vegan mayo with curry, garlic powder, and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until combined. Set aside. (If adding vinegar or maple syrup as per the notes below, add to the hummus at this time.)
Mash chickpeas (or leave them whole): In a medium mixing bowl, add chickpeas and roughly mash about 1/2 – 2/3 of the beans with the back of a sturdy fork or potato masher. Mashing is great when used as a sandwich filler, helping it to bind together.
Assemble: Add in the carrots, scallions, raisins, cashews, and pour dressing overtop along with a big squeeze of lemon, mix well to combine. Taste for flavor adding salt and pepper to taste.
Serve: Serve as is, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens, with crackers or made into a Chickpea Curry Salad Sandwich with bread of choice.
Serves 4 – 6
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days.
Notes
The raisins add such a nice sweetness, feel free to use up to 3/4 cup so each bite has a taste. Try subbing with chopped dried cherries, dates, or currants.
If using hummus and it’s on the thick side, thin it out with water until desired thinness. Using a small bowl add a couple rounded tablespoons of hummus with 1 tablespoon of water. Adding more of each as you go until you have a thinner hummus. Do the same if using tahini. Feel free to use more for a super creamy salad. If measuring by tablespoons: 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup and about 11 tablespoons = 2/3 cups (technically 10T + 2t).
You can try tweaking this recipe by adding a tablespoon or so of apple cider or white wine vinegar to the dressing. It will give it a slight tang.
You may also like to try adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice to add a little sweetness all around.
Adjust curry, adding more or less, to suit your taste.
Try replacing the carrots with diced red bell peppers for color variation.
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Updated: Curried Chickpea Salad was originally published in January 2014. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in June 2020.
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I made the chickpea ‘egg salad’ last week and it was so tasty and easy. Wanted to try another similar recipe. This one is also delicious! I used dates. Only thing I’d do differently next time is grate the carrot. Such an easy lunch prep.
Thanks for sharing, Wendy! So glad you loved them both – they are so delicious! I have a few other delicious chickpea salads you definitely need to check out too. That way you have a variety in your lunch prep arsenal!
This continues to be one of our family’s favorite recipes! All of the flavors combine so luxuriously, and I’ve been asked to share the recipe so many times! I always sub golden raisins for the black, and use 1-2 minced fresh garlic cloves for the garlic powder. Yum!
My new favorite recipe. So simple to put together and love that I can eat it all week for lunch. I made it with vegan mayo and did add in a little maple syrup and yum!
I mixed vegan mayo with tahini and served this with couscous and vegan bbq sausages. It was a delight :)
I love this recipe so much! I left out the raisins (don’t like them) and added slivered almonds instead of cashews. The family went back for seconds and thirds! I had enough left over to have it for lunch today. Put it in a sprouted grain wrap with avocado and microgreens. It was wonderful! I highly recommend trying this recipe.
Love this! I was skeptical of how all the ingredients would come together but i just made it and ate some in tortillas with spinach as recommended in the post. Its so yummy, i was surprised at how good it tastes – was easy to make too!! Thank you!
I did the same and added a touch of cinnamon to the curry powder! This recipe was sooooo good. I used Angelic sweet potato wraps. Yummmy
Just made this and it is yummy, reminds me of the curried chicken salad sometimes served at the deli counter at my local Whole Foods. I don’t eat meat anymore so this is a fantastic alternative with the chickpeas. I made it with currants but otherwise stuck to the recipe.
Thank you!
Thanks, Patty! So glad you enjoyed this, and love the use of currants!
love your recipes, wish I could make them all,but is only me, they are great!! keep up the good work, thanks
Thank you Marcy! Cheers :)
OMG! This was super easy 10 minutes??!!?? And super yummy. This is by far my favorite salad of all-time! I did substitute minor areas because of what I had handy (veganaise, almonds). I was too excited to wait for this to “set” –where all ingredients merge and blossom together, so I am even more enthusiastic about the leftovers! I eat this as a salad or on light toasted La Brea Bakery bread or lavash bread. (And of course I just dip-in my clean fingers + eat of of the bowl!!) THANK YOU! This is a wonderful easy recipe (that will seriously impress…)
Julie, I’ve been making this for years and everyone still loves it!! Thank you.