A new chickpea salad flavor-sensation is coming your way!
You may already be familiar with the Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich, Curried Chickpea Salad, Cranberry, Walnut Chickpea Salad, and ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Salad Sandwich. All of which are satisfyingly delicious! Now we can add another variation to the list to keep it interesting and your tummy happy. You can never have too many of these chickpea salads in the recipe collection!
This Sonoma Chickpea Salad is a veganised version of the classic, Sonoma Chicken Salad. Chickpeas work great as a replacement here and you won’t miss a thing. I promise!
It’s a tasty mix of hearty chickpeas, juicy grapes, crunchy celery, and pecans all tossed together with a creamy poppy-seed dressing, and makes for a great sandwich or wrap filling, or if you prefer, simply serve over top a bed of leafy greens. It’s flavorful, filling, and highly addicting!
The salad itself is very simple with only 4 ingredients and the dressing is just as simple, adding an irresistible creaminess. Feel free to use more or less of any ingredients to suit your taste.
- Add more grapes for extra juiciness. They are delicious here!
- If you prefer a very creamy salad, make a little extra dressing.
- Because of their rich flavor profile I highly recommend using the pecans here, but if don’t care for them walnuts will be just fine.
- Feel free to cut this recipe in half, but I think you’ll be more than happy to have some leftovers (unless you’re like me and finish it within the day).
To Mash or Not To Mash Your Chickpeas
Usually when making these types of chickpea salads I roughly mash half of the chickpeas. Here I will try to inspire you with two versions, un-mashed and mashed (last photo). You can choose which one you prefer.
- If making this as a sandwich filler, I would suggest roughly mashing the chickpeas before combining. This will help the mixture bind together, making it ideal to use between bread slices. Nothing worse than your sandwich filling falling all over.
- Alternately, use this as a filling for a wrap or served with leafy greens, in which case you wouldn’t need to mash the chickpeas, unless that’s your preference.
Both ways are delicious!
Once your ingredients are ready, throw them all together in a large bowl and mix well to combine!
Colorful, simple, and full of flavor!
Serve this un-mashed version with leafy greens as shown below or tucked in a wrap.
The above photo is the un-mashed version, great with leafy greens, in a wrap or simply by itself.
Below is mashed, and perfect as a sandwich filler or served as an open-faced sandwich. I paired it with a pecan raisin loaf. Delicious!
For more inspiration take a look at these other delicious chickpea salad variations!
- Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad
- Mashed Chickpea & Avocado
- Mashed Chickpea Salad
- Chickpea of the Sea Salad
- Curried Chickpea Salad
- Mediterranean Mashed Chickpea Salad
SONOMA CHICKPEA SALAD
This versatile chickpea salad can be partially mashed for a sandwich/wrap filler or un-mashed and served alongside fresh leafy greens. Either way is delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 3 cups cooked
- 1 1/2 cups of grapes (about 33), sliced in half
- 2 – 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Creamy Poppy-Seed Dressing
- 4 tablespoons tahini (1/4 cup) or vegan mayo
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- dash or two of garlic & onion powder
- pinch of salt & fresh cracked pepper
to serve, optional
- salad greens of choice
- slices of your favorite bread
- chopped chives, to garnish (not shown)
Instructions
Dressing: Place ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine. Add a tablespoon or two of water as needed to thin (keep in mind the dressing should be on the thicker side so it may not be needed). Set aside.
Salad: Add chickpeas, grapes, pecans, and celery to a medium-sized mixing/serving bowl. Top with dressing and mix to coat. Season with mineral salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Mashed Salad (perfect for sandwiches): Add chickpeas to a medium-sized mixing bowl, roughly mash 2/3 – 3/4 of the chickpeas using the back of a fork or spoon. Add in the grapes, pecans, and celery, top with dressing and mix to combine. Season with mineral salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Make sandwiches, wraps, or simply serve with leafy greens.
Serves 4 – 6
Store leftovers, if any, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Alex says
This looks so amazingly delicious!! I’m waiting (in vain it feels like!) for the weather to warm up here in Northern California so I can enjoy this with some fresh lemonade.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
We have had some cool weather in So Cal too, but nothing like up north where you are. California has had record rains this year. The sun will be in your neck of the woods soon! A nice tall glass of lemonade will be great with this. All while enjoying the sunshine. Sounds perfect!
Michelle says
This looks so good! I love the idea of serving on raisin bread. Definitely making this for a lunch get together!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
It was a delicious! The loaf was so fresh and paired perfectly. Enjoy!
Angela says
Alex I’m waiting for the weather to cool down here in South Australia…also it feels like it’s all in vain : ( Just hope that we aren’t heading for another drought – climate is similar to California.
Sorry Julie couldn’t help venting – I’m so hot : (
Your recipe as usual looks amazing and I look forward to this for my evening meal : ) I don’t do too well with beans but strangely enough I’m fine with garbanzo beans. Thank you so much.
Love Angela X
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Haha, no worries! Thank you for sharing, and the kind words! Cheers :)
Angela says
It’s 12.23pm on Aril 19 here as I speak : )
Trixilie & Bea says
Hi,
we tried it and it was really delicious. We used half of the celery and instead of the maple syrup we used agave syrup… yummy :) We mashed all chickpeas and wrapped the salad in rice paper… nom nom nom ;) Thanks for this great recipe.
Hugs and Kisses
Trixilie & Bea
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Yay! So glad you liked it. Your way sounds wonderful! Cheers :)
Michelle says
I have tried to save this recipe to Pinterest and it says this website won’t let me save it. Is anyone else having any problems with it?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hmm, I’m having the same trouble. I thought maybe it was just me. I’m not sure what it could be but I’ll be working on getting it fixed asap!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Update: You can pin directly from the photos now. Still working on the Share This pin it button on the bottom.
Liberty says
This looks so delicious!, making me so hungry
http://www.libertylife.me
Nikole O'Quinn says
Delicious – thank you!!!!
Debbie says
I just made this and the grapes make refreshing. I really like the recipe. It was easy to make.
MC says
Just made this! I upped the amount of celery and chopped the grapes into rounds so they stretch further. I had some slivered almonds to use up that I swapped for pecans, and they’re a great crunch without overwhelming flavor! I ran out of tahini so use cashew butter. Cashew butter took more water to thin out, so in hindsight I could have used half the amount of nut butter. I upped the garlic, onion, salt, vinegar, and poppy seeds a little to account for the added volume of water and dressing (which is great on other things or as a dip). I also swapped maple syrup for raw honey since that’s the sweetener in my cabinet right now.
It’s delicious! I wish I had tahini because I think that would taste better. I think I’ll use less syrup/honey in the future because it’s a tad sweet for my taste. This is definitely being bookmarked and added to my repertoire!
JERRI LYNNE MOLDER says
What is “mineral salt”?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Mineral salts contain beneficial trace minerals that are absent in other salts. Another benefit to mineral salts is they tend to have less sodium. The two mineral salts I’m familiar with are Himilayan Pink Salt and Celtic Salt. My favorite is the himilayan “pink” salt. It can be expensive so I suggest doing a little research to find the best price for you. I buy it in bulk from my local grocery store which is very reasonably priced. The amounts of minerals are very small so this may not make a big difference in your diet, but I simply love the flavor of my pink salt. Hope this helps!
Jennifer says
Just made this for lunch served on leafy greens. Really good. Just tastes like it’s missing something like a squeeze of orange or lemon juice. Or maybe I just need to add a bit more vinegar for my taste. But this is definitely a winner and i will certainly be making this on a regular basis!
Natalie says
I made this and it was pretty good but I would prefer if the dressing was less liquid-y! It mostly just collected in the bottom of the bowl.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
I might suggest next time using a little less water in the dressing, dressing should be somewhat on the thicker side. Hopefully that will help it cling better to the ingredients and not accumulate at the bottom of the bowl. I’ll add that to the notes too. Thank you so much for the feedback. Cheers :)
Donna says
This was delicious, my husband and I both loved this as well as the curried chickpea salad! I just made some of that to share in a Dept luncheon and it’s a hit! Thank you!!!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Awesome, makes my day!! Thank you for sharing. Cheers :)
Paula says
Love the simplicity of this dish. It’s almost too good to be true! Definitely going to make this for our BBQ Friday night this week. Thanks Julie! :-)
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hi Paula! Glad you loved this recipe, and I agree with everything you say! I hope everyone else enjoys it as much as we do. Yum, making me crave it as I type. Cheers :)
Christine McMahan says
This sounds really good! Is there a recipe for the bread?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Sorry, I wish there was! :)
Kathryn says
Looks amazing!! Love that it’s so colourful and super easy to make. I’m planning on taking this to a friend’s BBQ. Would it be best to take fresh or to make it the night before and let it marinate in the fridge overnight?
Thanks!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hi Kathryn,
Either way works well. So do whatever is easiest for you.
As for adding pasta, the salad itself is pretty filling. Personally, I don’t think it needs any. There is plenty of carbs and fiber as is, and it’s delicious! But, if you do try adding pasta, I’d love to know how it goes.
I hope everyone enjoys the salad! Cheers :)
Kathryn says
Also, just wondering what you think it would be like if I threw in some pasta to beef it up a bit? Any thoughts on how much or how much more dressing I’d have to add? Or do you think it would just take away from the salad?