Smashed Chickpea Hummus Salad

LOVE this chickpea hummus salad. It is so easy and quick to put together, which is perfect for weekday meals and busy weekends too.

Another bonus is that it’s simple to change the taste around You can turn it into chick’n salad or smashed chickpea “egg” salad.

Adding a little curry powder, sliced grapes, and pecans or walnuts lends a delightful exotic flavor.

For the sandwiches above, I made my basic recipe for the smashed chickpea and hummus salad (that recipe is at the bottom of the post).

I used these buns, but this salad would also taste yum on my Pumpkin Yeast Bread.

Other additions are heirloom tomatoes, clover sprouts, spring lettuce, and Miyoko’s Creamery Cultured Vegan Pepper Jack Slices. It was delish!

Check out More Fast & Healthy Weeknight Meals

Sometimes I add Greek olives and/or slices of peperoncino, for a Mediterranean flare, and that one has lots of flavor.

Here’s the recipe for chickpea and hummus chick’n salad:

Healthy Vegan Chick’n Salad

• 2 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas or 4 cups cooked
• 1 to 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) container hummus, or 2/3 cup homemade
• squeeze fresh lemon juice, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) poultry seasoning or Trader Joe’s Vegan Chicken-Less Seasoning Salt
• salt and pepper, to taste

If using canned chickpeas, drain the liquid into a small lidded container. You can refrigerate the aquafaba to use in other recipes- like baking.

Add the chickpeas, celery and onion to a food processor and pulse just until the chickpeas have broken down a bit, but still have some texture, and the celery and onion are finely chopped .

Remove to a medium bowl and stir in the hummus and lemon juice (if using). Stir in the seasonings until combined.

You can eat it right away, but it tastes better when refrigerated for at least a couple of hours.

Eating right away? Taste and make any adjustments. If you’re giving the flavors more time to develop, then adjust the seasoning afterward.

This one is for smashed chickpea “egg” salad, but I don’t have exact measurements for the condiments or seasonings.

I honestly just wing it, so I haven’t written it down- even though I’ve been making it for years.

These are the ingredients I use though. The amounts are really going to depend on your tastes. I would start with less, and then add more as needed.

Smashed Chickpea “Egg” Salad

• 2 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas or 4 cups cooked
• 1 to 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 small sweet onion, chopped
• handful green olives, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 cup vegan mayo, depending on how creamy you want it
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon dill or sweet relish, or to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• celery salt to taste, optional
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley, optional

If using canned chickpeas, drain the liquid into a small lidded container and refrigerate the aquafaba to use in other recipes- like baking.

Add the chickpeas, celery and onion to a food processor and pulse just until the chickpeas have broken down a bit, but still have some texture, and the celery and onion are finely chopped.

Remove to a medium bowl and stir in the olives (if using), mayo, mustard, relish, salt, pepper, celery salt, and dried parsley.

Let the flavors meld in the fridge for at least an hour, and then stir and make any adjustments to the taste.

Oh, before I forget I wanted to give you a little information on the added benefit of chickpea hummus salad. It’s not only very delicious, it’s also very healthy.

“Chickpeas  contain several components that, when eaten as part of a balanced plant-rich diet, may help prevent the development of various chronic diseases.”

And this is an interesting bit of information from the article- “Roasted and ground chickpeas have been used as a caffeine-free alternative to coffee for centuries.” 

Read more about chickpeas and their health benefits HERE.

FYI: The photo above is my basic chickpea hummus salad, but look at all the paprika!

This is why you shouldn’t measure ingredients over the bowl you’re putting them in, and yep I know that. Sometimes you think you can get away with it though, but I never get away with anything. lol

Brownies are the perfect dessert, so is Cobbler

I was able to scrape most of it off, and the sandwiches were ultra yummy.

My husband likes his with Follow Your Heart Vegan Honey Mustard, and it actually does tastes really good, so you might want to try it that way also.

You can see a photo of his sandwich, under the recipe below. And they make wonderful picnic fare too. Enjoy!

P.S. I just posted Harvest Yeast Bread, and this chickpea salad tastes amazing on it!