Chickpea Salad (Vegan)(Gluten-Free)

It doesn’t taste anything like tuna salad, but chickpeas are magical as they are! When I was vegan for seven months, chickpea salad was one of my go to meals for lunch. It’s perfect as it is, and can also pair brilliantly with a thick slice of seared sourdough. It was trendy in some point of time. It’s healthy, easy to put together, delicious, cruelty free, and minimal cost. Next time you have a potluck, picnic, house warming party, baby shower, family get together, any event that requires social interaction with anyone who has a mature pallet, they will appreciate some chickpea salad.

First thing’s first, Chickpeas!

Obviously the star is the chickpeas. Rip open that can, sis! Or bro. Bros can enjoy chickpeas, sure, why not? Drain out the liquid, but wait! Don’t throw away the liquid! That juice of bean goodness is called Aquafaba, and what if I told you it’s actually an egg replacer? So, if you run out of eggs or don’t eat eggs at all, you can utilize it in my Fluffy Vegan Pancake recipe that will be out right after this recipe! And maybe I will get in serious trouble with the egg bros who just want to make bomb ass chickpea salad, but my Fluffy Vegan Pancakes are actually tastier than regular pancakes- sorry bro! After dumping the chickpeas to your mixing bowl, smush it a little with a fork, so the other ingredients will blend together better.

If it’s Not Creamy, I Don’t Want it

The cream factor is coconut cream for this recipe. You can replace it with Greek yogurt or mayonnaise- I don’t care! I used coconut cream to give it the exotic vegan vibe.

A Touch of Sour

Dijon mustard and lemon gives it a fresh breath of acidity. The mustard can be overpowering, so feel free to only use lemon if you don’t like mustard.

Salads Need Vegetables

Onions, celery, and parsley are the holy trinity of vegetables for any good tuna, egg, or chickpea salad. Is there a specific name for those types of salads? Chopped? Scoopables? Leafless and creamy? If so, somebody please let me know! Anyways, I also added mint, because I think it goes well with the coconut cream.

Seasonings

The seasoning for this specific recipe is just salt and pepper to keep it simple. Of course you can add chili flakes, old bay, or curry powder to spice it up!

Note

I haven’t made this recipe without chickpeas, so I have no idea of tuna and coconut cream is a good combination! If it is, shoot me a DM on Instagram!