Chickpea “Chicken” Salad

This Chickpea “Chicken” Salad Sandwich is a vegan delight! Loaded with chickpeas, crunchy veggies, tangy cranberries, nuts, & a zippy tahini dressing, you’ll love this nourishing and satisfying dish.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 
  • 1 cup celery, diced 
  • ¼ cup diced red pepper 
  • ½ cup dried cranberries 
  • ½ cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped 
  • ½ cup scallions, thinly sliced, white & green parts 
  • Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (about ½ tsp each) 
Dressing
  • 6 Tbsp tahini 
  • 4 Tbsp champagne, white wine or apple cider vinegar 
  • 2 Tbsp water (about this amount – as needed depending on how thick tahini is) 
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup 

Directions

  1. In a small bowl combine tahini, vinegar, water and maple syrup. Add more water, or vinegar if you’re a vinegar lover, to thin out dressing as desired. 
  2. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow flavors to come together. 
  3. In a large bowl, add garbanzo beans and roughly mash with a strong fork or potato masher. Mash at least ¾ of the chickpeas so it binds well. 
  4. Add celery, red pepper, cranberries, nuts, scallions, salt, pepper and dressing, and mix well. 
  5. Serve on your favorite bread as a closed or open-faced sandwich with avocado slices and tomatoes if you have them handy, or in one of these ways below: 

• Salad: Serve on a bed of leafy greens. 

• Wraps: Great for making tortilla wraps, tucking into pita bread or made into lettuce wraps. 

• Crackers: Scoop up with a variety of crackers, pita chips or rye crisps. 

• Veggies: Delicious with fresh veggies for scooping. Use red bell pepper, jicama, celery or carrots, cucumber, zucchini, etc