Author and Photographer: Juliet Goswami

This avocado chickpea salad is a great alternative to chicken or potato salad, whether you are vegan or just want to switch up your sandwich filling. It has the added benefit of being an extremely versatile, quick, and easy dish to make. I have used it as everything from a sandwich filling to a dip to bring to dinner parties. It pairs well with whole grain breads and fresh veggies — really anything that can be found at a farmer’s market can be paired with chickpea salad. While I make it the most in the summer when I can find the best quality produce with which to pair it, this is a great option year-round with only three necessary ingredients. Because it has an avocado base, it only keeps for a few days in the fridge, but I have never had a problem finishing it in time! I have included my personal favorite add-in ingredients below, but chickpea salad is really a blank canvas – you can make it as simple or complex as you’d like by adding your favorite spices, diced vegetables, or more. I have included three of my favorite preparations of the salad below to get you started!

Recipe: Avocado Chickpea Salad (VG)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serving Size: 2.5 cups

Equipment:

Medium-sized mixing bowl
Spoon
Potato masher (optional)
Fork

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado, medium size
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Add-In Ideas:

Liquids (replacing some of the lemon juice in step 4): Pesto, greek yogurt, sesame oil
Produce (mix in after step 5): Sauteed/diced garlic, Diced red onion
Additional spices to taste (during step 6): I usually include paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper flakes, though any spice you like will probably taste great!

Instructions:

Rinse the chickpeas under warm (not hot) water. Pat dry and pour into your mixing bowl. Using your potato masher or fork, mash the chickpeas so that there are not any whole beans left. However, the texture should still be chunky.
Slice the avocado in half and remove the pit. Make lengthwise and crosswise cuts that create roughly half-inch squares.
One half at a time, scoop the avocado into the bowl and use the fork or masher to combine well. *I prefer a consistency that has the two ingredients well incorporated but with the occasional chickpea chunk to add some variation to the consistency.
Add lemon juice and combine using a fork.
Add salt and pepper to taste, incorporating well.
Serve immediately or put in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Serving Avocado Chickpea Salad:

There are many different ways to serve avocado chickpea salad, but here are some of my favorites:

In a sandwich – I toast two slices of bread and lightly spread dijon mustard on each. I then spread a few heaping spoonfuls of the chickpea salad (made with pesto) onto the bread. I add alfalfa sprouts or some shredded kale. Finally, I top it off with vegan feta cheese and red pepper flakes.

In a bowl – I add toasted garlic, tomatoes, and red onions and serve with pita chips.

In a finger food – One of my favorite ingredients to pair with chickpea salad is cucumbers. Sometimes I will dice cucumbers and add them to the salad itself, or sometimes, I will slice them and use them like chips and dip. However, if I need to bring over appetizers for a dinner party, I will dress it up even more. Using a vegetable peeler, I make thin slices lengthwise along the cucumber. On the end of each slice, I add a small spoonful of the salad, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, and fresh diced chives. I then roll up the cucumber to make the perfect small bites. I have made similar variations including fried onions, chili oil, and garlic.

Attempting a complicated recipe like a consommé or chile en nogada can be fun, but in my opinion, the best recipes are those you can fully customize. Having such a simple, easy recipe under your belt can do everything from impressing your friends to adding nice variety to your Tuesday lunch. This is the perfect dish to do that, vegan or not; tweaking a small measurement here, adding a spice there, and you can make a version of chickpea salad totally unique to you.