This Chickpea Salad Sandwich is made with wholesome ingredients and packs a ton of flavor, protein, and dietary fiber into a sandwich. Mashed chickpeas are combined with a tangy dressing, crunchy veggies, and salty capers. Great for packed lunches, picnics, and more. If you're looking for an easy and delicious vegetarian sandwich, this is it!
We're just 15 minutes away from sandwich heaven
I gotta be honest with you: most of the time, I'm not much of a sandwich person. I mean, why eat a sandwich for lunch when I have so many drool-worthy salad recipes to choose from?!
Every once in a while, though, the sandwich craving hits, and it usually hits hard enough that I want a sandwich in my hand in 15 minutes or less, I want it to be delicious, and I want it to be substantial. Is that too much to ask? I think not.
This Chickpea Salad Sandwich hits just right when the sandwich craving strikes. Mashed chickpeas get swirled together with a tangy dressing, crunchy veggies, toasted sunflower seeds to up the crunch game even more, and salty capers to bring it home. I love this stuff so much sometimes I just eat it straight from the jar (FYI, this is also the jumping off point for our super convenient Chickpea Mason Jar Salad.)
And not only does this smashed chickpea sandwich taste great, but it'll keep you satisfied all afternoon thanks to all that plant-based protein from the chickpeas. (As a nutritionist, I am obligated to tell you that 🤓)
Leftover chickpeas? Try this Mediterranean Chickpea and Cucumber Salad!
Featured comment
I thought this recipe sounded delicious, and it was! In fact, delicious and nutritious, what more could you ask for? It will be on high rotation from now, thank you.
~ Jules ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Let's make Chickpea Salad Sandwiches together!
All you'll need is a mixing bowl, a fork for mashing, and 15 minutes of your life. Are you ready for this?!
Step 1: chop, mash, and mix!
Place the chickpeas into a medium-sized bowl and give them a rough mashing with a fork, a potato masher, or the base of a glass. You don't want to purée them or anything, just break them up a bit.
Add the diced veggies, toasted sunflower seeds, yogurt, mayo, mustard, and maple syrup to the bowl. Mix well, and season with salt and pepper.
Note: for a vegan chickpea salad sandwich, sub in vegan mayo and yogurt, and you're good to go.
Step 2: assemble your sandwich
Spoon the garbanzo bean sandwich spread onto your favorite bread, and voila! You have a Chickpea Salad Sandwich!
I used a local sourdough here, but whatever you have on hand is great. And to be honest, this chickpea salad is good enough to eat out of the jar with a spoon, so you could totally skip the bread if you wanted to.
How to store chickpea salad
The chickpea salad will last for about 3 days in an air-tight container in your fridge. I don't recommend bulk-prepping sandwiches for the week as the filling is a bit on the wet side and I worry it would make your bread soggy. But since the filling is already prepared, making a sandwich will take you approximately 30 seconds.
Love chickpeas?
Me too! If you want, I can teach you how to cook chickpeas from scratch so you've always got some on hand to make this sandwich. Use the leftovers to make these dreamy Marry Me Chickpeas (my new favorite recipe, you won't regret it!) But honestly, cracking a can of chickpeas is just what needs to happen sometimes.
15-Minute Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups chickpeas rinsed and drained Equal to one 14oz can of chickpeas
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds toasted
- 3 Tablespoons plain yoghurt
- 1 - 2 Tablespoons mayonaise
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 small red pepper finely diced
- ½ cup green onion thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1-2 Tablespoons capers drained
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 slices sandwich bread
Instructions
- Place a dry skillet over medium heat and add the sunflower seeds. Shake the pan frequently, until the seeds are lightly browned and fragrant - about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.¼ cup sunflower seeds
- Finely dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the green onion. Finely chop the parsley.1 small red pepper, ½ cup green onion, 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
- Place the chickpeas into a medium-sized bowl and lightly smash them with a fork.1 ¾ cups chickpeas rinsed and drained
- Add the toasted sunflower seeds, yogurt, mayo, mustard, maple syrup, green onion, parsley, and capers.¼ cup sunflower seeds , 3 Tablespoons plain yoghurt, 1 - 2 Tablespoons mayonaise, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, 1-2 Tablespoons capers
- Stir to combine, taste, and season with salt and pepper.salt and pepper
- To make the sandwiches, spoon the chickpea salad onto large slices of sandwich bread.8 slices sandwich bread
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- Chickpea salad will last for about 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To make vegan chickpea salad, replace the yogurt and mayo with plant-based yogurt OR with an equivalent amount of prepared hummus.
Carol-Jean says
Am I qualified to review a recipe I didn't follow exactly? Definitely! This recipe is so versatile, I've sometimes used different herbs and vegetables, as well as substituting olives or pickles for the capers, and it's delicious every time! IMHO, the sunflower seeds really make it, so I haven't switched those out. I would also suggest keeping them aside and adding right before eating so they're still crunchy. This is a great recipe!
Katie Trant says
This review made me laugh, Carol-Jean! It reminded me of my mom, who almost never follows a recipe as written. Glad you enjoyed the chickpea salad in any case, and your substitutions sound delicious!
GG says
Hey Nutrition Lady loved this recipe. Made it today. Substituted fresh dill for the parsley. I noticed that your recipe "how to" does not include the diced red pepper even though its mentioned up top under "what you will need". Keep the good recipes flowing.
Katie Trant says
Oops, will fix that immediately! Thanks for the keen eye 🙂
Meg Straight says
Omg I made this yesterday - soooo good! I have it for lunch today and I can't wait! Thanks Katie!
Meg says
Oh YUM! Just made this today and couldn't resist adding a few extras, but the basis was all your recipe and it is so delicious! I added capers and green olives, and about a tsp of dried tarragon. Thanks so much, Katie. My lunches will not be the same.
themuffinmyth says
Yum! I can't wait to try it again with some salty olives chopped up in there. Great idea, Meg!
Meg says
Yum, looks great! We're making paninis tonight on our new panini grill and I might make up a batch of this to try in a hot sandwich. Ever had the paninis at Liberty Bakery on Main Street? They have one option with something like this spread inside, with green olives added, and it's delicious. So I'm aiming for that, with this as the base chickpea recipe. Thanks Katie!
Dennis says
This looks fabulous Katie! I really need a change in my sandwich routine.
Joao Santos says
Hi Katie, what a coincidence I just have some leftover chickpeas!!! By the way, I made your black bean salad and everybody loved it!!!
themuffinmyth says
I love that salad too! In fact, I have some black beans soaking for it right now!
Cammy says
Love it! I used to just skip lunch and work all day, but have now committed to a full hour lunch break (and when given the time to realize it, I'm usually ravenous). How long will a batch of this keep in the fridge?
themuffinmyth says
I'd say 5 days to be safe. I left some for 8 days and made a sandwich with it yesterday, which I ended up feeding to the dogs at work. It was starting to taste a little manky.
Jules says
I thought this recipe sounded delicious, and it was! In fact, delicious and nutritious, what more could you ask for? It will be on high rotation from now, thank you.
Rivki Locker says
I'm a big fan of anything with chickpeas. This looks like the perfect sandwich.