Description
Chickpeas replace chicken in this incredible chickpea chicken salad! Made with hearty chickpeas, grapes, celery, and walnuts, mixed with a creamy Mayo Dijon dressing. All combined into this protein-packed, vegan chicken salad. Only 15 minutes to make it for the perfect vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free meal everyone will love!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas (drained, rinsed and patted dry)
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced dill
- 1/3 cup celery (sliced into small pieces)
- 1/4 cup red onion (diced)
- 1/4 cup purple grapes (sliced in half)
- 1/8 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsps vegan mayo
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prep the chickpeas. Drain and rinse the chickpeas but placing them into a strainer and running them under some water for 30 seconds, then transfer them to a few clean paper towels to dry.
- Peel the chickpeas. Now, this does involve the slightly tedious task of removing the skins from the chickpeas, which is an essential step that impacts the texture of this chickpea salad. It is effortless to do and only took me about 10 minutes. To remove the skins from the chickpeas: Place each one between your fingers and pull off the skin. You can do this a little faster by placing them between two clean towels and shifting your hands over them.
- Mash the chickpeas. Once all of the skins are removed, discard them, then pour the chickpeas into a medium-size mixing bowl and mash them up using the back of a fork or a potato masher.
- Combine with the rest the ingredients. Add the sliced parsley and dill, celery, red onion, grapes, and walnuts, to the bowl with the chickpeas and lightly toss. Stir in the vegan mayo, dijon mustard and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Serve. Pile this chickpea chicken salad between two slices of whole grain bread, into lettuce cups, or eat it all on it’s own!
Notes
- Use low-sodium canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans. This allows you to control the salt more.
- Fresh veggies work best in this recipe. I used celery, red onion and grapes. You could also use diced carrots, bell pepper or even blueberries.
- You can skip peeling the chickpeas but it will change the texture of this salad and trust me it is so worth the effort to take a few minutes to peel them.
- Canned chickpeas work the best in this recipe but you could use cooked chickpeas as well if you make your own. Just make sure they are defrosted if you store them in the freezer.
- To store this chicken salad: This salad is prefect for make-ahead lunches and meal prep. You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
