Easy Chickpea Salad

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Light, healthy, easy lunch or dinner comin' at ya!  Grab some toast, crackers, or a fork and you are 5 minutes from happiness with this Chickpea Salad.  Make it with Homemade Instant Pot Chickpeas or pop open a can – instructions included for both.

Remember these Bagels I recently posted?  Today's recipe is THE reason you need to make them ASAP!

I never thought I would ever be so infatuated with a “chickpea” salad, but here we are, I'm in love with a legume.

Serving this meal to my husband gave me just a tad bit of anxiety.

The road to teaching a “I need meat and potatoes three times a day” kind of man to embrace vegetables and consider that meat doesn't have to be at every single meal, has been a long road.

I'm not suggesting that I had everything right in our early married days.  I'd eat Skittles for lunch one day, then carrot sticks the next day, cuz, you know, BALANCE, haha!

But my DESIRE to figure out proper nutrition was greater than his, so my attempts at switching up dinner time was met with a lot of resistance (don't even get me started with the “I'm going to Mcdonalds” because I made french onion soup for dinner incident.)

I'm happy to say that we got over that hump and we are officially on the same page of eating more veggies and less meat and I couldn't be happier about it!

If you had told my husband 10 years ago that he'd be loving a zero meat chickpea salad for dinner, he would have laughed in your face.

But here we are, serving Mr. Farm Boy a bagel loaded with chickpeas, avocado, and sprouts and he's lovin' every lemony, creamy, nutritious bite of it.

If that doesn't have you poppin' open a can of chickpeas as we speak, I don't know what will!

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS EASY CHICKPEA SALAD

• HOMEMADE BAGEL:  You haven't lived until you've had one of these lightly toasted Whole Wheat Bagels topped with this avocado/chickpea situation.  Oh mama, life-changing!
• EASY:  Whether you're using your own special batch of Instant Pot Chickpeas or poppin' open a can, mixing this together literally takes less than 5 minutes.
• GOOD FOR YOU:  Chickpeas are bursting with fiber, protein, and other nutrients, making your 5 minute meal something you can be really proud of.
• TASTE AND TEXTURE:  Likely the part you're feeling most leery about, right?  Fear not!  The taste is reminiscent of a chicken or tuna salad with a bright, lemony, garlic punch, and just a hit of spice.  Texture wise, as long as you don't blend the chickpeas into a puree, there is still plenty of bite left and when mixed with the creamy mayo/yogurt combo – it's better than chicken or tuna salad (there, I said it!)
• VERSATILE:  I love it on a toasted bagel (as pictured here), but a pile of crackers and an overdose sprinkle of Everything Bagel Seasoning is a must try!  Could also put it on toast, an English muffin, or serve it in lettuce cups.  It does it all!

HOW TO MAKE A QUICK CHICKPEA SALAD

1. Throw everything into a food processor
2. Pulse until the mixture is creamy but still considerably chunky (we aren't going for a puree!)
3. Mash an avocado with lemon, salt, and pepper (keep it on the chunky side as well)
4. Spread avocado onto a bagel (or toast, English muffin, etc)
5. Top with the chickpea salad
6. Garnish, devour, embrace this happy moment

SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• HOMEMADE VS CANNED CHICKPEAS:  I love the fresh clean taste of homemade Instant Pot Chickpeas.  As you'll see in the directions, I leave them a bit more al dente for this dish than I do with chickpeas destined to make Hummus.  There is something special tasting about homemade that I can't deny.  But, if what you have on hand is canned chickpeas, don't wait to make this 5-minute wonder.  Use what you have, you'll love it both ways!
• HOMEMADE CHICKPEAS:  If cooking up a pound of chickpeas as instructed in the recipe card, it will be more than you need to make this recipe.  I suggest freezing the rest of them in a freezer safe bag until the next time you're craving this recipe.
• CANNED CHICKPEAS:  If using canned, you can substitute the 3 cups of homemade with 2 cans of drained and rinsed canned chickpeas.
• GET THE TEXTURE RIGHT:  This is not a “flip the food processor on and walk away” situation.  Instead, I use the pulse button and watch closely for the point where some of the chickpeas start to turn creamy, but the majority are chopped into very small pieces.  This ensures lots of texture instead of a less desirable mushy situation.
• EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING:  I'm going to call this a key player with this bagel sandwich situation.  It adds the best garlicky, salty, peppery crunch on top, I HIGHLY recommend it.
• MORE GARNISH:  Along with the Everything Bagel Seasoning, I love a pile of sprouts and crushed Biena Roasted Chickpeas.  If you happen to have some salt and vinegar chips in the pantry, put a pile of those on top too!  Basically, any herb, salad green, or raw crunchy vegetable is welcome to this party.

HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE

• Store:  Place leftovers in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• Freeze:  I'm honestly not sure if freezing this would work well or not.  I suspect the yogurt and mayo might become grainy.  If you try it let me know.  Otherwise, if you suspect the recipe below will be more than you need, cut it in half.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS 

If you're making this for a party, baby shower, bridal shower, or you're just simply lunch prepping, the salad can be prepped up to 5 days in advance making it super quick to add to a platter of crackers, croissants, bagels, etc.

If serving it at a party, I suggest scooping it into a pretty bowl, sprinkling the top with Everything Bagel Seasoning, and adding a garnish of herbs, baby arugula, or microgreens to make it extra pretty.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKPEA SALAD

• CARBS:  As discussed, it works great as a topper for bagels, croissants, toast, etc, but also makes a great dipper for crackers or pita chips.
• VEGETABLES:  Slice thin cucumbers or radishes to be used as a topping for your bagel sandwich, or slice them thick and serve as dippers.
• MEAT:  This is more of a “meat alternative” kind of meal, but I can confirm that crispy bacon makes a great addition to my bagel sandwich here.
• TOPPERS:  Greens, EBS, crushed salt and vinegar chips, roasted chickpeas, etc.
• SOUP:  This Chickpea Salad Sandwich is the perfect side to my favorite Tomato Basil Soup.

VARIATIONS

• SPICY CHICKPEA SALAD:  Double the Sriracha or add a pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes to the salad.
• CHIPOTLE CHICKPEA SALAD:  Add a scoop of chipotle in adobo when processing the chickpeas.
• CHICKPEA AND EGG SALAD SANDWICH:  Add a couple of chopped hardboiled eggs and add diced pickles, onion, and a squirt of mustard.

Whether you're vegetarian or just want to consume less meat on a weekly basis, I promise you are going to love this one!

With all the creamy, crunchy, saucy awesomeness bursting off your plate, you will find yourself utterly satisfied time and time again with your 5-minute meal.

Leave me a comment below telling me what you thought of it!  My husband is dying to know, haha!

Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe is adapted from this Chickpea Salad from Pinch of Yum.  It was love at first bite so I adapted it to make it lighter and work with my homemade chickpeas.

MORE SALAD RECIPES

• Instant Pot Caribbean Chicken Salad
• Instant Pot Classic Italian Salad
• Instant Pot Potato Salad
• Instant Pot Mexican Street Corn Salad

TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE CHICKPEA SALAD

• Instant Pot
• Food Processor
• Everything Bagel Seasoning
• Biena Roasted Chickpeas

Easy Chickpea Salad

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Easy, quick lunch or dinner Chickpea Salad made with homemade or canned chickpeas.

• Author: Marci
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Food Processor
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the dried garbanzo beans (see note if using canned garbanzo beans)

• 1 pound dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), rinsed and sorted
• 6–8 cups water (enough to cover the beans by about 2 inches)

For the Chickpea Salad

• 3 cups of cooked chickpeas, strained and rinsed (see note if using canned)
• ¼ cup mayo
• ¼ cup yogurt
• 2–3 tablespoons sriracha or chili garlic sauce
• Juice of half a lemon (1 ½ – 2 tablespoons)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked pepper

For the avocado

• Avocado (1 – 2 depending on how many people you’re serving)
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked pepper

For serving

• Toasted bagel
• Everything bagel seasoning
• Sprouts
• Crunchy roasted chickpeas, crushed

Instructions

For the garbanzo beans/chickpeas

1. Place beans and water into the pressure cooker pot.  
2. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 40 minutes (this cook time will make them slightly firm, perfect for salads and homemade roasted chickpeas).
3. When cooking is complete, use a natural release.

For the chickpea salad bagel

1. For the chickpea salad: Add chickpea salad ingredients to a food processor.  Pulse until ingredients are combined, but still chunky – we want texture, not a puree.  Taste and season with extra salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
2. For the avocado:  Lightly mash the avocado in a small bowl, keep it on the chunky side.  Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
3. For serving:  Lightly toast a whole wheat bagel.  Spread each half with the avocado mash then top that with the chickpea salad.  Sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning (or an extra pinch of salt and cracked black pepper).  Top with sprouts and crushed roasted chickpeas.  Serve immediately.

Notes

• 1 pound of homemade garbanzo beans/chickpeas is more than you’ll need for this recipe.  Refrigerate leftovers in a little bit of the cooking liquid or freeze for up to 3 months. 
• Two 14 ounce cans of garbanzo beans can be used in place of homemade.
• The chickpea salad should still have plenty of texture, avoid processing it until it’s a puree.
• If you don’t have Everything Bagel Seasoning, just add a pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper.
• The sprouts and crushed roasted chickpeas are incredible garnishes, but can be omitted if you don’t have them on hand.  
• The avocado can be sliced and layered on top of the chickpea salad if preferred.
• Nutrition facts are for the chickpeas salad only.

Keywords: chickpea salad, easy dinner, chickpea salad sandwich

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