This vegetarian play on classic chicken salad is perfectly tender and flavorful with crunchy bits of celery and slivered almonds sprinkled throughout. This chickpea “chicken” salad is so delicious, you may never make regular chicken salad again!
It’s been a rough week for us. Hailey had some sort of virus and slowly it made its way to me, then to David, so it feels like we’ve been in germ warfare for a solid week now. Kaitlyn doesn’t seem to have gotten it full on, but she had a couple nights of rough sleep, which meant I had a couple nights of rough sleep, too. On one of those nights, she started crying at 1:30 AM and after some consoling and snuggles, she was back to sleep by 2:00 AM, but me? I was WIDE awake. Knowing I was fighting a virus, I did my best to be still and will myself back to sleep, but instead of drifting off, all I could do was think about food. Typical. Somewhere in this half-dream-half-awake state, the idea of a chickpea chicken salad came into my mind. If a grocery store would have been open at 3:00 AM, I might have just gotten up to make my dreams come true, but instead I scribbled down a tentative recipe before finally getting myself back to sleep by 4:00 AM.
Since then, we’ve been limping through the week, trying to get us all back to 100%. Hailey seems to be over it, I am getting through the worst of it, and David, well, he just hit the wall. Poor guy. I’m grateful to have my energy back though and celebrated with a trip to the grocery store today to get the ingredients needed to bring my dream chickpea chicken salad to life.
15 minutes of chopping and mixing later, it was done, and I dove in head first. It was EXACTLY how I imagined it would be! It hit the spot and was so delicious that I couldn’t resist sharing it right away. In fact, I so excited that I asked David to snap a picture, even though I was in all my post-workout-haven’t-yet-showered glory. I had no props, I didn’t style the shot, but it doesn’t matter. This chickpea chicken salad speaks for itself- hopefully no fancy pictures necessary.
This faux chicken salad is a perfect vegetarian stand-in for the real thing. It’s hearty and flavorful, with a bit of crunch thanks to the celery and slivered almonds. You can make it vegan by using a vegan mayo. However you choose to make it, as is or with alterations, just do yourself a favor and make a batch to eat for lunch all week long! And as always, if you give it a try, please let me know what you think by tagging me or coming back and leaving a comment!
Classic Chickpea “Chicken” Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 cups 1x
Description
This vegetarian play on classic chicken salad is perfectly tender and flavorful with crunchy bits of celery and slivered almonds sprinkled throughout. This chickpea “chicken” salad is so delicious, you may never make regular chicken salad again!
Ingredients
2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 c slivered almonds
1 c purple grapes, halved or quartered
3 scallions, chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 Tbsp dried dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh dill)
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp stone-ground mustard
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a large bowl, mash chickpeas with a potato masher (or a fork) until 3/4 of the mixture is mashed. It’s ok if some chickpeas are still whole.
Add the grapes, almonds, celery, scallions, dill, parsley, lemon juice, salt, mustard, and mayo.
Gently stir until well mixed.
It is best if you can refrigerate the salad for at least an hour, but I can share from experience that it’s pretty good if eaten right away too!
Serve on a toasted bun or on a bed of greens with a side of crackers. Enjoy!
Johnson Elisa says
I like the idea of grapes in there! Your recipe reminds me of this one. (Chopped pickle really adds something, too!!)
https://freeheelvegan.com/2012/07/23/dilled-untuna-salad-sandwich/
Brittany Dixon says
Oh yum- I love the addition of pickles in that recipe!
Elizabeth says
This sounds amazing!! Hope everyone goes back to 100% real soon.
Brittany Dixon says
Thank you!
sherry says
Sorry you couldn’t sleep but so happy that you came up with this recipe!! I made it for lunch and it was delicious. I didn’t have grapes so I used sweet pickles. Not sure what stone-ground mustard is so I used regular yellow mustard. Put it on toasted pita bread–yummy!!
Dana says
This was a quick simple recipe. Will be adding this into my work lunch rotation. And my 3 1/2 year old gobbled her plate up!
Jodie Flicek says
Ive made a rendition of this a few times and I just love it!
Brittany Dixon says
I can’t believe this was my first time the idea came to me! It is so obvious and delicious! 🙂
Lyndsay says
You and a handful of other bloggers have inspired me to work on a more plant-based diet. When you posted this recipe I couldn’t wait to try it. I used fresh dill, regular yellow onion and Dijon mustard because it’s what I had on hand and yum! Eating it now on a bed of organic field greens and I think it’s going into my regular rotation. So satisfying! Sorry you didn’t sleep the best but happy you thought this up in the process. Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it; thank you for the feedback! I love fresh dill. I would have used it to if I could have found some 🙂
Lyndsay says
I had just enough left in my garden!
Alicia says
Do you think you could use Greek yogurt instead of mayo? Or would that not be any good?
Lyndsay says
It’s actually a Healthy Slice food day here today! I’ve got your lentil tacos cooking in the slow cooker for dinner too! Also delicious!!
Brittany Dixon says
That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Anna says
Hey Brittany! I just made this for my lunch this week and it tastes soooo good! So fresh and flavorful! Thanks for sharing this!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m so glad you liked it as much as I do!
Thomas says
Sorry you couldn’t sleep but so happy that you came up with this recipe!! I made it for lunch and it was delicious
Rachel says
Finally got around to making this today and it did not disappoint. Soooooo good! It’s taking some serious willpower for me not to keep snacking on it!
Brittany Dixon says
I’m so glad you like it! Thanks so much for the feedback! 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Jess! I’m so glad you liked it!
Rachel Morin says
Made this for lunch and it was delicious! Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
So glad you liked it; thanks for the feedback!
amy says
MMMMM!! Just made it and love it! Maybe I will become a vegetarian because this did not disappoint and I did not miss the chicken at all!
Kandice says
This recipe turned out AMAZING! It was my first time making a chickpea “chicken” salad, and I was super skeptical about it. But the second I tasted it after mixing it all together (even before refrigerating), I was floored. I will definitely be making this a million more times!
Brittany Dixon says
I’m so glad you liked it; I really appreciate the review!
Alison says
Made this yesterday to have for lunches this week. So yummy! My husband ate some and didn’t know there wasn’t chicken in it until I told him. Thanks for the recipe!
Brittany Dixon says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the review!
Natasha says
I really enjoy this recipe for easy lunches for the week. This is my second time making it and it’s just as good as the first time!
Marla Lyle says
I remember eating this as a child. Absolutely delicious!
Victoria says
This is one of my most favorite recipes. So good for lunches during the week!
Kathy says
Made it with sweet pickles as I was out of grapes. Delish. My husband also liked it! The dill really makes it!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for your review, Kathy! So glad you liked it!
Got Omnia says
This one looks so healthy. I’ll try to make it.
Chef John says
I’ve been wanting to try making chickpea salad sandwiches for a while now, and wow, was I missing out! Super quick and easy to make, and I love that I normally have these ingredients on hand.
Chef Paul says
I’m not even a fan of chickpeas but this was delicious! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks!