April 10, 2022

Vegan Recipe Review: Chickpea Salad Sandwich


Since I started eating a vegan diet in January, I've been doing this recipe series to try out new ways of eating (mostly) familiar foods. I've always loved trying new things--even if it doesn't sound good to me at all--because I never know what I may take a liking to!

Each week, I pick a recipe (usually via Pinterest or something that is recommended to me) to prepare--exactly as written--and taste. When my meat-eating family is here and willing, they taste it as well and give me their honest opinions. I've been trying to pick a variety of recipes so that I'm not always making the same dish with a different sauce or something like that.

First, I have a funny story that is appropriate for this post. It showed up on my Facebook memories today (it was from 2015):

Jerry, the kids, and I were just eating lunch at La Pita, and Noah was looking at a bottle of extra virgin olive oil...
Noah: "Extra virgin? There aren't very many virgins in the world!"
(Jerry and I exchange a look)
Me: "Do you know what a virgin is?"
Noah: "Yeah, it's someone that doesn't eat any meat or animal products."
Me: "Oh, you mean vegan!"
Noah: "Yeah, that's it! So what's a virgin?"

Hahaha! Anyways...

Today, I just looked for a recipe where I didn't have to go to the store for ingredients. I've had a very emotionally rough day regarding Phoebe (I'll update that tomorrow) and the last thing I wanted to do was go to the store. So, I decided to try out a variation of a chicken salad or tuna salad sandwich--a Chickpea Salad Sandwich. (It's not meant to taste like chicken or taste like tuna; it's just a mayonnaise-based salad like those.) Here is the recipe on The Hidden Veggies. (I'll link to it again at the end of the post.)

Yes, I know that mayonnaise is not vegan ;)  This recipe calls for vegan mayo (homemade or store-bought); the author uses her own vegan mayo recipe, but I just used store-bought Hellman's vegan mayo. There may be better brands out there, but Hellman's is familiar to me, which is why I bought that one.

The ingredients are simple enough: chickpeas, vegan mayo, pickles and pickle juice, celery, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 

The recipe didn't say whether to remove the skins from the chickpeas, so I didn't do that at first. As soon as I started smashing the chickpeas, however, the skins seemed very out of place. So, I removed the skins. (The last time I mentioned removing the skins from chickpeas, I said that I remove them one-by-one with my fingers and several people commented with faster/easier ways to do it. I just can't figure it out! Maybe I'm being too gentle with them? But I ended up removing the skins one-by-one for this.)

They looked much better after mashing them without the skins. (After I wrote this, I looked at the photos on the recipe again; I guess I wasn't supposed to remove the skins! They are shown in the photo. I doubt it makes much difference, but I thought I should note that.)


After that, it was just a matter of mixing everything together. I chopped celery and pickles (you could certainly use relish, but since I had both in the my fridge and the recipe specified pickles, I just chopped up a pickle). I added the other ingredients and mixed it all together.


I immediately thought that the texture was too loose for my liking; I don't like a ton of mayonnaise in the ____-salad sandwiches. Maybe if I'd left the skins on the chickpeas, it would have been thicker.


I took a taste of it before putting it on bread. Unfortunately, I was not a fan. It tasted like it was missing something--maybe some dill? And the mayo was a bit overpowering.

I didn't want to make a full sandwich out of it since I didn't think I'd eat it, so I just took a slice of Dave's Killer Bread (this bread is AMAZING) and cut it in half, then put the chickpea salad in between the halves.


I really wanted to like it. And I think if there was less mayonnaise and maybe some stronger seasoning, I would have liked it better. Noah was here--lucky him!--so I asked him to take a bite and tell me what he thought. He started chewing and then made a face that looked like he was deciding whether or not to spit it into a napkin. This doesn't surprise me and honestly shouldn't reflect the recipe itself; Noah isn't a fan of the salad-sandwich recipes in general. I'm happy he was willing to try it, though.

Eli wasn't here to try it, although I imagine he'd have the same reaction as Noah. Jerry tried it and said he really liked the flavor of it but not the texture. If you like the salad-sandwiches, perhaps you'll like this! I would just add the mayo last, adding just enough until it's the consistency you like. And who knows? Maybe if I'd made the homemade vegan mayo I would like it better.

There are lots of recipes for chickpea salad out there, so I may try another one in the future. I love the idea of it! The simplicity of the ingredients is appealing. I just wish I liked the flavor/texture better.

Again, here is the recipe on The Hidden Veggies. Maybe you'll have better luck!

9 comments:

  1. Way too much mayo. Usually for a can of chickpeas, especially since you're putting in pickles, which have a lot of moisture, I'd start with 1 Tablespoon of mayo and work up from there. And vegan mayo is looser than regular mayonnaise, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the one at fatfreevegan. It calls for Old Bay to make it a bit "tuna-ish" and for whatever reason, the texture isn't nearly as loose/moist at yours. I don't remove the skins. Good luck - I've been making this one for years and even my husband loves it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are a ton of chickpea salad recipes out there. I tried with red onions, grated carrot, mayo, garlic & onion powder,chopped celery & mustard.It came out okay. I am not a fan of mayo so maybe that is why.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So I LOVE mayo. Will have to try this. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I add red onions to my recipe and I love it! I’ve had the same issue with over doing it with the Mayo. Sometimes you gotta adjust to taste!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Do try another! I haven't perfected this recipe, but the bar up the street has, so I know it can be done!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is one of my favorite sandwiches - I make it for my vegan daughter all the time. I usually use the recipe from Oh She Glows and tweak it based on what veggies I have on hand.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I do chickpeas with (much less than is used here) mayo or plain yogurt, dried cranberries, and curry seasoning. I'll sometimes add Everything Bagel Seasoning on it as well once I make my sandwich.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh and I'm pretty sure Hellman's is the same thing as Best Foods, just a different name in part of the country, and it is BY FAR the BEST vegan mayo on the market. Whatever you do, don't get one of the kinds that is sold in the fridge section like veganaise, the texture of those is terrible.

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive