Chickpea Tuna Salad

This Chickpea Tuna Salad recipe is one of my favorite vegetarian sandwich recipes to make! This mashed chickpea salad is one of those easy recipes using chickpeas tossed with  onion, celery, kalamata olives, parsley, Parmesan cheese and a light dressing that tastes pretty close to a real tuna salad sandwich.

I love everything about this mashed chickpea salad. It’s loaded with healthy ingredients that are rich with plant protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and it makes the best vegetarian sandwiches.

Naturally this Chickpea Tuna Salad isn’t going to taste like the real deal, but there’s a wee bit of curry in the dressing that gives this chickpea salad a great flavor that comes close enough.  I make this Chickpea Tuna Salad a lot.  It’s delicious and filling and it makes the best vegetarian sandwiches.

Mashed Chickpea Salad Recipe

If you’ve got a pantry full of canned chickpeas and are wondering what to make with chickpeas, this recipe will definitely put them to good use.  This recipe makes the best vegetarian sandwiches and it’s likely to become a new favorite that you’ll want to make time and time again.

• Canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1 14-ounce can 
• Celery
• Red onion
• Green onion
• Parmesan cheese
• Kalamata olives
• Parsley
• Dressing

How to Make Chickpea Tuna Salad

1. Dressing: Make the dressing with a combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, garlic powder and Madras curry powder. The curry flavor is barely recognizable, yet adds to making this chickpea tuna salad taste a little like tuna.  
2. Mash Chickpeas:  Drain and rinse canned chickpeas, then using a fork mash about 3/4 of them.  If you find this to be a chore, you can add the canned chickpeas with their liquid to a saucepan and cook over medium low heat for about 3 minutes to soften them a bit. Then drain and mash and rinse afterward.  If you want a finer textured chickpea salad, you can pulse the ingredients a few times in a food processor then scoop into a bowl and stir in dressing. 
3. Mix Ingredients:  Add the mashed chickpeas to a bowl and add the onion, celery, kalamata olives, parmesan cheese and parsley, then fold in the dressing.  You can lightly mash the mixture some more as you blend to reach desired consistency.
4. Season:  Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Variations

• Toss in chopped dill pickles instead of kalamata olives
• Add relish (sweet pickle or dill) instead of kalamata olives
• Sprinkle in finely chopped red pepper

Make this Chickpea Tuna Salad Vegan

This chickpea tuna salad recipe is a versatile one.  If you want to make this chickpea tuna salad vegan, just use vegan mayonnaise and omit the Parmesan cheese.  

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with bread or toast to make vegetarian sandwiches
• Scoop this chickpea tuna salad into lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps
• Add to a wrap or flour tortilla with lettuce and tomato and serve as a wrap
• Serve with crackers and vegetables

Easy Chickpea Recipes

• Easy Chickpea Egg Salad
• Curried Chickpea Salad
• Jalapeno Hummus
• Mediterranean Chickpea and Cucumber Salad
• Coconut Curry Chickpea Soup
• Easy Chickpea Stew

What to Make with Chickpeas

Here are some of my favorite recipes using chickpeas, and they’re quick and easy to make!

• My Favorite House Salad
• Italian Chopped Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Vegan Mulligatawny

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Yield: 2 Servings

Chickpea Tuna Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Chickpea Tuna Salad is one of my favorite vegetarian sandwich recipes to make! This mashed chickpea salad is one of those easy recipes using chickpeas tossed with  onion, celery, kalamata olives, parsley, Parmesan cheese and a light dressing that tastes pretty close to a real tuna salad sandwich.

Ingredients

For the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon madras curry
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Salad

• 1 14-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons kalamata olives chopped
• 1-1/2 tablespoons red onion
• 2 green onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf  parsley

Instructions

For the Dressing

1. Blend the ingredients in a small bowl.

For the Salad

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas.
2. Place in medium sized bowl and mash 3/4 of the chickpeas using a fork.
3. Add the celery, onions, kalamata olives, parmesan cheese and parsley and toss.
4. Fold in the dressing so all of the ingredients are evenly coated.
5. You can also add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times, then scoop into a bowl and fold in the dressing.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve chilled to make a sandwich or a wrap or serve with crackers and vegetable sticks.

Notes

Variations

• Toss in chopped dill pickles instead of kalamata olives
• Add relish (sweet pickle or dill) instead of kalamata olives
• Sprinkle in finely chopped red pepper
• Make it vegan and omit the parmesan cheese and use vegan mayonnaise

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 444Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 938mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 15gSugar: 10gProtein: 17g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.