Could it be that this recipe is actually vegan? Yes, 1000% yes. It looks like chicken salad, but in reality it is “chik’n” salad made from chickpeas. When you take your first bite, we recommend that you do so with your eyes closed. Really savor the bite because you may never go back to regular chicken salad ever again. Identify the familiar flavors on your palate and see if you can identify every ingredient. Then go for another bite, followed by another, and another, until you are dusting the crumbs off your fingers as a proud member of the clean plate club.
The real secret to this recipe is the double dill combination. By that, of course, we mean the duo of dill pickles and fresh dill, which brings that acidic brininess that is signature to chicken salad. Everyone has their own variation of a chicken salad, though, and dill or pickles may not be in the recipes you know and love. Think of this as a hybrid between some of the best recipes out there. To balance out the acidic briny pickle flavor, we added diced red grapes for their inherent sweetness. Fold in the chopped celery, dijon mustard, lemon juice, vegan mayo, garlic powder, and sea salt and pepper and you got yourself an impressive chickpea “chicken” salad.
Now, a sandwich isn’t complete without some toppings, but the real start of the show is the bread. Get yourself some beautiful multigrain bread or a fragrant sourdough baguette. When you figure out the bread you want to use, you can prepare tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado to go in the sandwich. Since you have to get pickles for “chicken” salad, you might as well serve the sandwich with a pickle, right? Yes, that is an excellent idea!
- Prep Time:20m
- Total Time:20m
- Serves: 4 servings
- Category: Entrees, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the Chickpea Chick'n Salad
- 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 c celery, diced
- 2 tsp. fresh dill, finely diced
- 1/2 c bread and butter pickles, diced
- 1/2 c grapes, halved
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1/4 c vegan mayo
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
For the Sandwich
- 1 Roma tomato, sliced
- 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
- 2 c red leaf lettuce, torn
- 8 slices multigrain bread
Instructions
For the Chickpea Chicken Salad
- After you rinse and drain the chickpeas, add them to a large bowl and mash them with a fork. They don\'t need to be evenly mashed, as they should retain some texture.
- Add the celery, dill, pickles, and grapes to the bowl with the chickpeas and toss gently.
- Pour the remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside while you prepare the sandwich ingredients.
For the Sandwich
- Cut the tomato and avocado and tear the lettuce after rinsing it. Pat the lettuce dry before putting it on your sandwich.
- Toast the bread slices until they are perfectly crisp and golden brown.
- Assemble the sandwich by spreading some of the chickpea chicken salad onto one slice of bread.
- Place some tomato slices, lettuce, and avocado slices on top of the chickpea mixture and then sandwich that with another slice of bread. Rinse and repeat until you finish making 4 sandwiches.
- Cut in half and serve with an optional dill pickle.
