This chickpea salad sandwich is a delicious vegetarian spin on tuna. We start with canned chickpeas, grainy mustard, and homemade whole egg mayonnaise. Next come the flavour bombs. Capers! Fresh herbs! Green onions! It’s so fresh and so good.
Whether you’ve heard it called chickpea tuna salad, chickpea chicken salad, or no tuna tuna salad, sandwich lovers rejoice! This easy chickpea salad sandwich is about to become your new favourite lunch.
Serve it between slices of soft, squishy sourdough sandwich bread and you’ve got yourself a healthy, flavourful, and filling lunch in just a few minutes time!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔︎ Chickpeas are a great source of protein.
✔︎ It’s a simple light lunch perfect for picnics or the beach.
✔︎ You can customize the recipe to your liking.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Chickpeas: canned chickpeas are easiest. Rinse well before using. You can also use cooked dried chickpeas if you want.
- Capers: we use capers and their brine, so make sure to buy the kind that come packed in liquid rather than salt.
Ingredient Substitutions
- To make this recipe vegan, substitute the mayonnaise with vegan mayo.
- Finely chopped white or red onion is a good substitute for green onions.
- Dill pickles make an excellent substitute for capers, and the juice can be used in place of the caper brine.
- Dijon mustard is a good option instead of grainy mustard.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Method
STEP 1: in a medium mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas, mustard, and mayonnaise.
STEP 2: partially mash the chickpeas with a fork. The mixture should be thick, with about ¼ to ⅓ of the chickpeas left whole.
STEP 3: add the capers, green onions, parsley, and dill.
STEP 4: Stir to combine then add 1 teaspoon of caper brine, plus salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favourite sandwich toppings between bread.
Top Tips
1. Don’t skip the additions. The capers, herbs, and green onions are key flavours here!
2. Try an open-face sandwich. Go for something contrasting like seedy or dark rue.
3. Top it up. Like any sandwich, toppings are key. We like cucumber and sprouts.
Recipe Notes
- The chickpeas are only semi-mashed for added texture, but you can mash them smooth if you want.
- To Store: chickpea salad will keep in the fridge, sealed in a container with a tight-fitting lid, for up to one week.
- To Freeze: we don’t recommend freezing the salad once it’s mixed, as it tends to turn watery after thawing.
Recipe FAQ
Use the same base recipe, but omit the parsley. Use dill pickle in place of capers and very finely diced red onion instead of the scallions.
Yes! Even more than that, I usually rinse and then soak in cold water for about half an hour before rinsing again when using canned chickpeas. This helps with the gas-producing effects.
They are indeed. Canned chickpeas are cooked and ready to use, but should be rinsed first.
Recipe
Easy Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Potato masher or fork or stick blender
Ingredients
- 15 oz. canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
- 2 – 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, vegan, if preferred
- 1 tablespoon brined capers, drained and finely chopped (reserve the brine)
- 1 scallion, white and green parts finely chopped
- ⅓ cup parsley, freshly chopped
- ¼ cup dill, freshly chopped
- 1 – 2 teaspoons caper brine
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Additional Ingredients
- Sandwich toppings of your choice:, sprouts, lettuce, avocado, cheese, radish, cucumber, sliced bell pepper, shaved carrot, et cetera.
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine chickpeas, mustard, and mayonnaise. Using a fork, potato masher, or stick blender, partially mash the chickpeas to get a thick mixture with about ¼ – ⅓ the amount of whole or broken chickpeas remaining.
- Using a spoon, stir through the capers, scallion, parsley, and dill. Add in the caper brine (starting with 1 teaspoon), salt, and pepper to taste, adding more brine/salt/pepper, as needed.
- Serve with your favourite sandwich toppings between two slices of soft sourdough sandwich bread.
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