Chickpea Avocado Salad
How epic does this Chickpea Avocado Salad sandwich look. Not trying to toot my own horn here but damn, that looks good. And instead of making you jelly cakes, I’d rather share this recipe with all of you so that you too can enjoy some deliciousness: Chickpea Avocado Salad.
What’s funny is I have been hearing about a ‘veganized’ tuna salad for ages now. The idea is to use chickpeas instead of canned tuna and then the same ingredients you would normally use. Think fresh dill, mayo, mustard, maybe some pickles? There are loads and loads of variations out there.
What happened on my end, though, is this Chickpea Avocado Salad took a very ‘foodie’ direction. Sure I could have stopped at just the basics, but my mind doesn’t do that most of the time. Instead, I couldn’t help but think ‘How can I push the recipe to its maximum potential?’.
For instance—buttery Castelvetrano olives? Yes. Ridiculously crunchy, roasted Marcona almonds? Please. And maybe a little bit more diced celery than others would use? OK. For the fresh herbs, just using dill would work just fine but wouldn’t the combination of both fresh dill, fresh parsley, AND freshly sliced green onions, be amazing? 100%. What really takes this salad over the top is chunks of ripe avocado. Drops mic.
CREATING THE BEST GARLIC FLAVOR
When it comes to garlic you can get two major flavor profiles: once cooked, garlic becomes toasty, earthy, rich and sweet while also being beautifully mild and pleasant. Raw garlic on the other hand can be super intense with a spicy kick. So what’s a girl to do when you want that intense hit without it being jarring? Smash it.
That’s right, you heard me, smash it! By using the side of your knife (and a sprinkle of sea salt) you can mash, chop, mash, chop until you are left with a garlic paste. This potent mixture is pure gold as it will easily meld into the recipe. And because this Chickpea Avocado Salad only calls for a little bit, we get that amazing intensity garlic has to offer, without it taking over the whole party. Yay, no meltdowns!
CHICKPEA AVOCADO SALAD IS A ONE BOWL RECIPE
Did I mention that this Chickpea Avocado Salad recipe only requires one bowl? It’s true. Basically, once you mash the chickpeas with your fork, you throw everything else in (except the avocado) and mix away. Once everything is coated with the dressing, gently fold in the avocado. I always reserve some fresh herbs for sprinkling on top because that’s what I do. You should, too. :*
CHICKPEA AVOCADO SALAD APPETIZER OPTIONS
Although this Chickpea Avocado Salad is amazing in a sandwich or wrap, you can also serve it as a bite-sized appetizer or as an hors d’oeuvres or appetizer for a party. Simply slice a good baguette into thin rounds (think 1 or 2 bites). Toast them just enough so that they are crisp but still chewy. Add on a small mound of the salad, a piece of sliced avocado, a few paper thin slices of tomatoes (Roma tomatoes work perfectly here!) and top with sea salt, pepper and fresh dill! Pretty fab, eh?
SOME FINAL NOTES
Before draining the can of chickpeas, try using the water in an aquafaba recipe. I’ve actually never done this before, but I have seen some beautiful creations made using leftover chickpea water.
If making a sandwich or wrap with this Chickpea Avocado Salad, I like to add fresh cucumber and tomato. The cucumbers add a delightful crunch while the tomatoes add a juiciness. In my opinion, all sandwiches should be juicy, so there you go.
For the beans, you can certainly make them from scratch! Whenever I do, I always place a little bit of kombu, a sea vegetable, in the water when boiling. This helps to season the beans ever so slightly while also helping to aid in digestion. If you look close enough, you’ll see that some of the organic canned beans have this listed in the ingredients which is great! Get those, for sure!
If you do like this Chickpea Avocado Salad recipe, you would LOVE my ‘Picnic Pasta Salad’ or my ‘Creole Potato Salad’ in my cookbook, Mississippi Vegan, available here. There’s over 125 recipes and loads of pretty photos.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE, CHECK OUT THESE:
And there you have my Chickpea Avocado Salad! I cannot wait to hear what y’all think. If you do make this, please leave a comment and a rating below as this greatly helps my recipes to be seen on the interwebs. Lastly, if you share it on social media, please tag me. I love to see it. Happy cooking, y’all!
-Timothy
Chickpea Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 clove large garlic, smashed and chopped into a paste
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 stalk green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoon dill pickles, diced
- 3 tablespoons Castelvetrano olives, diced
- ¼ cup roasted salted Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- ¼ cup roughly chopped parsley, fresh not dried
- ¼ cup roughly chopped dill, fresh not dried
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
- ¼ cup vegan mayo
- 1 medium avocado, ripe and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Open, drain and rinse canned chickpeas. Add to a medium-size mixing bowl. Then add salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast and cayenne. Using a fork, mash half of the chickpeas, leaving the other half whole.
- Smash the garlic with the side of your kitchen knife. Sprinkle on some salt and continue to smash and chop until you are left with a paste. Transfer to bowl of chickpeas.
- To the same bowl, add celery, green onions, pickles, olives, almonds, shallot, parsley, dill, red wine vinegar, mustard and vegan mayo. Combine and mix well.
- Lastly, gently fold in the diced avocado. Give it a taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve in lettuce cups for a refreshing salad, as a sandwich filling or in a wrap, or as a crostini for a party.
With all of the raving reviews I just had to make it and I was not disappointed! So good!! I will be trying the New Year’s Stew next! This recipe in a lettuce wrap was a hit!!
So lovely to hear!! Thanks for letting me know. Happy cooking!
Hello Timothy!
I just wanted to tell you that as a kid I used to eat chickpeas for a treat. Then, becoming vegan, I sort of tired of the chickpea salads. That is, until I ate your recipe. WOW! Did you hit that out of the park!!!! Wanted to thank you. Your work is extraordinary. Hope to make every one of your magical culinary delights!
Deb! Thank you so much for this lovely comment! I am so happy you like the salad. It is some of my best work, I would say. Happy cooking!
The best salad EVER. Just made it again for probably the fifth time and I always forget how perfect this recipe is! Serving it on endive for a delicious little snack.
Hi Laura! So, so happy to heart this! Will definitely try it on endive next time I make it. Thank you for letting me know!
Rockstar salad for sure!! Love the flavors and they blend beautifully. I must admit that I had no experience with Marcona Almonds but thanks to Timothy, those are now a newly appreciated addition to other dishes. Total yumminess!
Hi Ida! This is so awesome to read!! Thank you!
Absolutely phenomenal as expected. I ordered the Marcona Almonds from Amazon as I wasn’t able to find locally—I’m so glad that I did as those truly make a difference. Great flavors and texture! A definite repeat for me. Thanks for providing those of us who need a little help with such great recipes.!
Aww, this was lovely to read. Thank you!! So glad you didn’t skip the Marcona almonds.
I think I may have added too many almonds or olives how can I cut the salt?
Hi there! You can always add more chickpeas to help cut the salt!
Just made it (but used regular mayo) and smoked paprika instead of cayenne.
Tim, this is addictive!!! YUM!
Stacey
So happy you liked it!!
Made this for an easy lunch to take to work and omg yum!! Didn’t have pickles so added some lemon juice for zest and used greek yogurt instead of mayo because it’s all I had on hand. I will 1000% be making this for lunch all summer. Does not disappoint!!
Yayyy love hearing this!! Thank you!
All I can say is WOW WOW WOW OOOH MYY GA
Yayyyy!
I won an hor dourves contest back in 2019 with this recipe. Family and friends consisted of both meat eaters and vegetarians. Everyone loved it. Thank you, Timothy.
I have a big smile on my face from this. Thank you!
Made this tonight – amazing! So delicious and quick! I’ll definitely be making this for my non-vegan friends this summer 🙂
Aww, this makes me very happy to hear. I love this recipe and I am so thrilled you enjoyed it.
This recipe comes together in 5 minutes but the flavor combinations are perfection! It hits all the right notes and I immediately made a second batch knowing that one would not be enough. This is a gem!
Hi Amy!! : ) I am so thrilled you enjoyed it. Thanks for the love.
This is my new favorite lunch staple. I’ve been trying to stop eating Tuna and this is the perfect replacement! So good. It doesn’t even need to be served on bread, I eat it plain. It’s that delicious. Thank you Timothy!!!
Awesome! I love that this recipe is now in your rotation! Thanks for leaving a comment. You are very welcome!
Just make a double batch, AT LEAST. Take my word for it, you will wish you’d made more. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!!!
That’s what I like to hear!!! Thank you!
You can cook. My husband ate two sandwiches. He is a meat eater wanting to get healthy. I look forward to trying more of you recipes.
I love hearing this!! Thank you!
Worth every ingredient!! Sooo delicious!
Yay!!
I made this for the first time this week and while it was more work to make than I expected (I’m also slow in the kitchen) and had some pricy ingredients, it was so worth it! I enjoyed it between two slices of toasted bread, over some spring mix in a salad and just finished it off on some crackers. Would 1000% make it again!! (For myself/others/a party)
I realized as I was making it that I had purchased hamburger dill pickles instead of sweet dill pickles. While I definitely enjoyed what I made I wanted to clarify which dill pickles I was supposed to include?
Yes, you used the correct pickles! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I just made this and wow it is mindblowingly delicious! I am adding this as one of my go- to recipes it was seriously easy to put together!
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thank you for the review.
Can’t wait to try this salad! Looks scrumptious!!
This. Was. Fantastic. Perfect as is. I don’t use store bought mayo so I swapped vegan mayo for homemade tahini mayo. This will be in heavy rotaysh for the remainder of the summer. In fact, I’m sowing dill seeds today to keep up with future demand.
That’s awesome! Tahini would be lovely in this!