Easy and Delicious Chickpea Salad Recipe, Perfect for Weekly Meal Prep

I LOVE chickpeas and I use them as a substitute in many recipes (Buffalo Chickpea Dip–>YUM) and they make delicious snacks (see this post on the snacks I am loving right now!).

This recipe is a vegetarian twist on traditional chicken salad. It can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. It is also customizable because you can easily add fruit, subtract an ingredient you do not like, and/or swap mayonnaise for veganaise to make the recipe vegan (it is already gluten free). You can adjust the ingredients to your personal taste, and it makes a fairly large batch.

You can use whatever method you prefer to smash the chickpeas or leave them whole if you want it to be chunky. When I use chickpeas for dips, I generally use my food processor, but for this recipe I smashed them by hand using a mason jar so I would have a good blend of smashed and whole chickpeas.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas (rinsed, drained, and smashed)

2-3 celery stalks (diced)

1/4 c. to 1/2 c. red onion (diced)

4 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/3 c. chopped dill pickles or dill relish

1/4 c. to 1/2 c. mayonnaise

lemon juice, salt, & pepper to taste

After smashing the chickpeas and placing them in a large bowl, add the ingredients above and mix well. Serve chilled.

It is so nice to have a bowl of this chickpea salad in the fridge for quick and easy lunches, which can be especially difficult if you have dietary restrictions. I love this on a sandwich, but also on its own with a side of fruit. I was not sure how my husband would feel about this recipe, but he loved it as a sandwich spread.

Have you ever cooked with chickpeas? If so, what is your favorite chickpea recipe?

Katie G.