Chickpea salad is an excellent answer to what to put on a plant-based sandwich so it doesn’t just feel like a piece of bread and garnishes. It is not chickpea salad, as in lettuce with chickpeas on top, but chickpea salad, like chicken salad or egg salad. Lightly smashed with a fork, canned chickpeas are a pretty convincing stand-in for canned tuna or chicken, especially once sauced with a tangy, herby dressing. You can make the salad mixture ahead of time and spoon it onto lunchtime sandwiches with any toppings you like. It’s sure to be a hero on the roster of vegan lunch ideas, especially when the weather is warm and you’re looking for something cool and easy.
Chickpea Salad Sandwich Ingredients
- Chickpeas:Â Drain a can of chickpeas and save the liquid to make vegan mayonnaise. Smashed with a fork, chickpeas make up the bulk of this plant-based salad and are a great source of protein and fiber.
- Onion and celery: Finely chopped aromatic vegetables add crunch and freshness to the salad.
- Vegan mayonnaise: Just as traditional mayo binds classic deli salads, vegan mayo binds this one. Store-bought is excellent, or you can make your own using aquafaba.
- Mustard and red wine vinegar: A dash each of mustard and red wine vinegar gives this chickpea salad a welcome tanginess. We recommend honey mustard or Dijon but opt for the latter if you make this salad for vegans, as honey is not considered vegan.
- Fresh dill: A confetti-like handful of chopped fresh dill fills chickpea salad dressing with cheerful green flecks and an incomparably fresh flavor. Have a lot left over? Check out these fresh dill recipes to use up the rest of the bunch!
- Salt, pepper and paprika: Chickpeas drink up seasoning, so these spices that flavor the chickpea salad are essential.
- Multigrain bread: We like chickpea salad sandwiches on seeded sandwich bread, but use whatever bread you like.
- Toppings: Because chickpea salad is soft and creamy, a few additional sandwich elements with some crunch are a great foil. Start with romaine lettuce leaves, tomato slices, dill pickle slices and sweet red pepper rings.
Directions 
Step 1: Make chickpea salad and build sandwiches
Chickpea Salad Sandwich Variations
- Make a Waldorf salad: To mimic the flavor of a classic Waldorf salad, add finely diced green apple and chopped walnuts to your chickpea salad in place of the dill.
- Make curried chickpea salad: Leave out the dill and add some finely grated carrot, a spoonful of curry powder, and a couple of spoonfuls of raisins.
- Make it an actual salad: Lose the bread and instead add a scoop of the chickpea salad to a plate with mixed greens, sliced radishes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and maybe a few croutons. The chickpea salad is so creamy that you don’t need additional dressing.
How to Store Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
If you have leftover chickpea salad or want to make the salad itself ahead of time, store the chickpea mixture in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Assemble the chickpea salad, bread and toppings into sandwiches just before eating.
Can you make Chickpea Salad Sandwiches ahead of time?Â
While you can make this vegan chickpea salad sandwich recipe to pack in a lunchbox, it’s not the best choice. Like any sandwich topped with a creamy deli salad, it will likely get soggy, especially if it’s built on soft slices of sandwich bread. Your best bet would be to pack your bread, toppings and the salad separately and assemble them just before eating. If that’s not an option, choose a baguette, sliced sourdough boule or another sturdy bread that can withstand moisture without getting soggy. Wrap the sandwich tightly and bring a napkin or paper towel to catch any drips!
Chickpea Salad Sandwich Tips
How finely should the chickpeas be crushed for chickpea salad?
Use the tines of a fork or a potato masher to crush the chickpeas. Refrain from smashing them too fine or your chickpea salad will have a pasty texture. Stop when the chickpeas are a mix of sizes with some of the peas cracked in half while others are pulverized to powdery crumbs.
What bread should you use for chickpea salad sandwiches?
Seeded multigrain sandwich bread is our go-to, but you can put this sandwich on a bagel, a hoagie roll, a Kaiser roll, in a baguette or on thick slices of a sourdough boule. You could even skip the bread entirely and just spread the chickpea salad on crackers.
What toppings go well on chickpea salad sandwiches?
Lettuce, tomato and pickles are great toppings to start with and the sky’s the limit from there. Add pickled pepperoncini or banana peppers, thinly sliced rings of bell pepper, red onion or coins of cucumber, broccoli or alfalfa sprouts or finely shredded cabbage.
