This tasty Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich is a plant-based powerhouse of a lunch! Make it in advance for a party or picnic or to take along as an easy weekday lunch for work or school.
Recipe by Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons on May 17, 2017
Prep time: PT15M
Total time: PT15M
Rating
5 stars (195 reviews)
Keywords
Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
15 oz canned chickpeas, drained + rinsed
3 stalks green onion
2 stalks celery
1/4 cup chopped shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
1/4 cup store bought or homemade mayonnaise (vegan or regular)
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/8 tsp dried dill (or fresh, to taste)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 TBSP unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
2 TBSP fresh chopped basil (plus extra to taste)
multi-grain sandwich bread
arugula or romaine lettuce
extra basil as desired
optional tomatoes and/or red onion
spicy mustard
hummus
mayo
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Steps
Drain and rinse your chickpeas and add them to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher until texture appears flaked, almost like tuna salad. I use both a potato masher and follow up with a fork to make sure every chickpea is deliciously smashed. You could also use a food processor and skip the arm workout!
Chop your green onion, celery, shredded carrots, pepper, and pickles.
Add to the bowl with your chickpeas, then add mayo, dijon, yellow mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir well to coat.
Fold in sunflower seeds and basil (as much or as little as you'd like) and adjust any ingredients to taste.
Pile high on bread with all your sandwich fixings or enjoy as a wrap, with crackers, on a salad, or simply dive into the bowl spoon-first - anything goes!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 258 kcal
Carbohydrates: 34 g
Protein: 12 g
Fat: 17 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Trans Fat: 0.03 g
Cholesterol: 6 mg
Sodium: 293 mg
Sugar: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
Reviews
Rita Shan on 2026-04-05 (5 stars): Loved this! I wish I had sunflower seeds, but I had to opt out of it, along with bell peppers, pickles, and basil. I used a yogurt-mayo combo for a slightly healthier version, and I had it on toast instead of a sandwich - regardless, it was so good; barely lasted a day :) Thank you!
Marlene on 2025-10-29 (5 stars): Delicious!!!! Absolute favourite vegan sandwich alternative. I like mine in a wrap!
Angie Lewis on 2025-07-20 (5 stars): Really good. I used sweet relish instead of cutting up pickles and to sweeten it a bit. It was delicious.
Dot Fowler on 2025-05-04 (5 stars): Delicious as a sandwich or as an addition to a salad (or just out of the bowl)! My sister omitted the mayo and the sunflower seeds, but it didn't suffer from the omission. I love the crunch and the flavors.
Deborah on 2025-03-26 (5 stars): This chickpea salad is delicious. It has many different flavor layers. I love it!
Emily on 2025-03-06 (5 stars): I love this recipe so much, on salad or on a sandwich! But I always forget when I’m making it how much chickpeas to put in. I am in Europe so am working with grams rather than ounces for the canned chickpeas. Can you confirm how much the drained chickpeas should weigh? Is it 15oz drained or is that with the water?
Thanks!
Melissa on 2025-01-07 (5 stars): I really enjoyed this recipe! I did make some alterations though as I didn't want to add the pickles, didn't have fresh or dried dill, swapped the sunflower seeds for chopped almonds, and the fresh basil for dried because it is what I had. Overall, I think this is great! I put it on whole grain bread with stoneground mustard and 50/50 salad mix after letting it sit overnight in the fridge!
Homa on 2024-11-22 (5 stars): This was a great vegetarian sandwich! Thank you!
Lisa on 2024-09-11 (5 stars): Delicious! New favorite sandwich!
Stephanie Phillips on 2024-07-30 (5 stars): Delicious!! I used chipotle mayo and added a bit of shallots & capers. 😋
Lisa Bryant on 2024-07-27 (5 stars): So healthy, filling and DELICIOUS
Frances on 2024-07-18 (5 stars): We like the various chickpea sandwiches, it feels good eating all the veggies--used pumpkin seeds or walnuts, and yogurt for the mayo, --great having made up for lunches. Added some purple cabbage to the sandwich today as had some to use--pretty too. Thank you!
Janell on 2024-05-31 (5 stars): Tasty, easy, nutritious, and filling
