Creamy Chickpea and Fruit Salad Sandwich
This recipe might be my favorite from the NEW Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Cookbook! Packed with flavor and the nostalgia of Chicken Salad Sandwiches from my pre-vegan days, it has become a go-to in my kitchen! I love the combination of the creamy, rich tahini, the fresh juicy grapes, the neutral and hearty chickpeas, and the crunch of the celery and onions! I enjoy my chickpea salad sandwich on whole-grain seeded bread or in a pita. YUM!
Chickpea Salad Sandwich
The Creamy
Tahini is a paste of sesame seeds. My favorite brand (the Mighty Sesame Company) has a rich and deep toasted flavor. That flavor pairs well with the lemon and fruit in the salad. A perfect compliment.
Tahini often gets thicker when a liquid is added, so to reach our desired texture, I add both lemon juice and non-dairy milk. This creates a creamy and thick base that holds all the ingredients together in a perfect sandwich filling style.
The Fruit
I always loved chicken salad fillings with grapes, but I also wanted to add the hearty crunch of a granny smith apple with this. The neutral flavor of the chickpeas pairs perfectly with the apple and the grapes, and the addition of sage rounds out the overall profile of the filling and pulls in the notes traditionally reminiscent of a roasted chicken.
The overall recipe plays with our memory of the mix of flavors without using animal products or oily mayonnaise while still giving us the creamy and delightful filling we remember.
Creamy Chickpea and Fruit Salad Sandwich
Creamy Chickpea and Fruit Salad Sandwich
This creamy chickpea salad reminds me of rotisserie chicken salads I used to enjoy as a child. Grapes and apples add balance to chickpeas, and the sage brings in the family of flavors often used for poultry. The crunch of the celery rounds out the recipe for a delightful salad. Serve on whole-grain bread or a pita, in lettuce leaves, or as a dip on a cracker or a rice cake.
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup tahini
- 1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1⁄4 cup plant-based milk
- 1⁄2 teaspoon Salt-Free Garlic-Herb Blend (page 135) or storebought
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed and smashed to your desired texture.
- 1 cup halved red grapes
- 1⁄2 cup chopped unsalted walnuts
- 1⁄2 cup diced green apple
- 1⁄4 cup diced celery
- 1⁄4 cup diced red onion
Instructions
1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the tahini, lemon juice, oat milk, salt-free blend, and sage until thoroughly combined and creamy.
2. Add the chickpeas, grapes, walnuts, apple, celery, and onion and stir gently until well coated.
3. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Stretch to Save: Grapes can be pricey. To make them last longer and avoid food waste, I separate the left-over grapes from their stems and freeze them to eat as a sweet snack.
Notes
Stretch to Save: Grapes can be pricey. To make them last longer and avoid food waste, I separate the left-over grapes from their stems and freeze them to eat as a sweet snack.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 415Total Fat: 28gCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 9gProtein: 13g
The Bread
I recommend Ezekiel’s Food for Life bread products for a whole-food, plant-based option, often found in the freezer section. Additionally, I enjoy eating this on whole-grain bread or whole-grain pita. For a more traditional option, you could select a vegan croissant or a vegan ciabatta roll. Lastly, this flavor perfectly compliments a nice sourdough bread as well.
Not into bread? Wrap it up in hearty lettuce or collard leaves for a bread-free option.