Vegan Chickpea Salad (Vegan Tuna Salad) Sandwich.

Name: Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 Sandwiches
Ingredients: 1 15oz can chickpeas; 1 tsp mustard; 1 Tbsp red onion; 3 Tbsp pickles; 8 slices bread; 2 leaves lettuce; 1 tomato

This chickpea salad sandwich is perfect for packed lunches. Made using canned chickpeas, it's like a healthier alternative to a tuna sandwich.

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By Shan · Updated October 26, 2026

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Total: 10 min
Serves: 4
Ingredients: 7

Recipe

Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich

This chickpea salad sandwich is perfect for packed lunches. Made using canned chickpeas, it's like a healthier alternative to a tuna sandwich.

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Yield: 8 Sandwiches
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For The Filling

2 15oz can chickpeas — package or uncertain unit retained; no metric conversion
9.9 mL mustard (volume measure)
30 mL red onion (volume measure)
89 mL pickles (volume measure)

For The Sandwich

16 slices bread — package or uncertain unit retained; no metric conversion
4 leaves lettuce — package or uncertain unit retained; no metric conversion
2 tomato — count retained

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The original draft batch is shown here for comparison; no public structured data is emitted. Base yield: 4 Sandwiches.

1 15oz can chickpeas
1 tsp mustard
1 Tbsp red onion
3 Tbsp pickles
8 slices bread
2 leaves lettuce
1 tomato

Instructions

Mash the chickpeas up with a fork until they are very smooth but still a bit chunky. Stir in the mustard, finely chopped red onion, and finely chopped pickles.
Spread the chickpea mixture on bread of your choice. It's great to toast it first. Add sliced tomatoes and fresh lettuce to make the sandwich.

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https://adfreecook.com/vegan-chickpea-salad-vegan-tuna-salad-sandwich/

This delicious chickpea salad is the perfect spread for making sandwiches. It's made with canned chickpeas, so it's very affordable. Try it out in your packed lunches!

Chickpea salad can be made so many different ways. This one is a little different because the chickpeas are mashed up into a paste-like spread.

Canned chickpeas are good to use for convenience. You can also use dry chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked. If you are using canned chickpeas, you don't need to cook them first.

The other ingredients to make this chickpea sandwich are red onion, mustard, and pickles. Of course, if you want additional fillings in your sandwich, such as tomatoes or lettuce, you can add those too. I also like to add a little bit of vegan mayo to my sandwiches but it's totally optional.

How To Make Chickpea Salad for Sandwiches

This first thing you need to do is drain the canned chickpeas. Then, transfer them to a big bowl and start mashing them up!

Once they are pretty well mashed (you shouldn't see too many whole chickpeas left), add in the rest of the ingredients.

The other ingredients for the chickpea salad are:

Mustard

I use Dijon mustard but you can use any type that you like. The mustard will not be a very dominant flavor in the final chickpea salad so even if you don't normally like the taste of mustard, it won't be very noticeable in this once it's all mixed up.

Red Onion

You'll need to dice the red onion finely before adding it in. Use as little or as much as you like. I use about 2 Tablespoons worth.

Pickles

I use regular kosher dill pickles in this recipe. Again, chop them up finely before mixing them in. You don't want a huge hunk of pickle throwing your whole chickpea salad awry…

How To Assemble The Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Putting your sandwich together is easy – just spread on some of the chickpea salad onto the bread of your choice. Then add any other things you like such as lettuce, tomato slices, or more red onion.

I recommend toasting the bread a bit first because it helps keep the sandwich together better than soft un-toasted bread. I toast the bread also if the sandwich will be packed in a lunchbox.

Making a chickpea salad sandwich with lettuce, vegan mayo, tomatoes, and red onion.

Chickpea Salad On Toast – No Avocado Toast

Here's another way you can eat your chickpea salad. Put it on some toast! Makes a great healthy breakfast with some protein. You might be wondering if it would taste good with some "Everything But The Bagel" seasoning. I tried it, but didn't think it was very good. Save it for the avocadoes!