Are you a fan of chicken or tuna salad sandwiches but have recently gone vegetarian? Or are you just looking for other ways to get protein and vitamins into your daily meals that don’t involve meats? Here’s some good news: You can easily swap the chicken or tuna for chickpeas and enjoy a perfect and perfectly vegetarian take on the classic tuna or chicken salad. Chickpea salad sandwiches are portable, delicious, highly customizable, and affordable, making them an excellent addition to your recipe arsenal.
When making a chickpea salad sandwich, all you have to do is grab a can of chickpeas and get ready to mash or blend. Chickpea salads can handle intact chickpeas, but when converting this recipe to a sandwich, you’ll want a creamier consistency that won’t fall out of the bread, the way loose chickpeas will. For a simple trick that makes these legumes softer and more flavorful, add a pinch of baking soda to the canned chickpeas before mashing them. You can take off the transparent shells if you want, but since this is time consuming, you can also toss your chickpeas into a blender and blend everything to make it all smooth, the way you would hummus. If you want chickpeas with a little more texture, use a potato masher for a chunkier consistency. Just make sure you blend or mash it enough that it won’t fall out of your sandwich.
Make your chickpea sandwich the star of your lunch box
The best part about making your own sandwich fillings at home is the customization options. You can make this like a standard chicken or tuna salad sandwich, adding celery, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, dill, and green onions to taste. You can also dress it up with any additions you want. We personally suggest trying out a combination of seasonings to find your favorite. Garam masala, Old Bay, and yellow curry powder all pair well with the creaminess of chickpeas. Some of these uncommon spices you should start cooking with can seriously elevate your chickpea salad, too. Carom seeds add a sharp peppery flavor, and kashmiri chilli powder adds beautiful red coloring to your dish without overwhelming heat. Otherwise, garlic, tahini, and capers work well, too.
You want to experiment a bit to get theperfect texture and moisture level for your sandwich. We suggest adding the mayo (or other binder of choice like Greek yogurt or cottage cheese) in small portions and mixing it into your chickpeas bit by bit until you get to your desired consistency. If you’re going to be adding a sauce to your bread, lean a little on the dry side so your filling doesn’t get the bread sopping and soggy. For a heartier, thicker, or toasted bread, you can get away with more moisture. It’s all about experimenting to find what you love, so don’t be afraid to get in there and test things out.
