Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich
This Avocado Chickpea Salad Bagel Sandwich is one of my favorite healthy vegan sandwiches! It’s made with smashed chickpeas and avocado salad on poppyseed bagels. It’s ready in minutes for a delicious, plant-based lunch.
My favorite part of this avocado chickpea salad is that it’s ready in just minutes, making it a back-pocket recipe that I can make for a fast lunch or snack.
Creamy and packed with 18 grams of protein per serving, it’s as satisfying as it is healthy.
Why I love this recipe
You know those recipes you make so many times, you almost forget it’s a recipe? Like my lentil tacos or green goddess sandwich. I eat those both so often, I don’t even need a recipe.
That’s how this avocado chickpea salad is. I’ve created at least 10 different versions, but all of them are my favorite. Mash a ripe avocado, add some chopped chickpeas, perhaps a little veggie or three, and brighten the whole thing up with lemon juice and salt/pepper.
Sometimes I throw in feta cheese, or a hard-boiled egg. For extra creaminess, I like a touch of mayo but that’s completely optional. Delicious on a bagel as shown here, but also on a bed of lettuce, as an open face sandwich or in a wrap.
It’s always delicious, it’s always satisfying. It’s also why I’m sharing it with you. My non-recipe that I wrote into a recipe but also highly encourage you not following it to a T.
Ingredient Notes
This avocado chickpea salad recipe is incredibly customizable to whatever you’d got on hand. I love it most served on a toasted bagel as the crunchy bagel texture pairs perfectly with the creamy salad, but any bread, pita or wraps will work.
- Canned chickpeas: You can also use cooked chickpeas if you have them, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups.
- Avocados: Ripe avocados, pitted, and chopped. There is such a thing as a too-ripe avocado, where the inside has turned brown and stringy. I find that too-ripe avocados impart a bitter flavor, and I prefer a slightly underripe avocado to a too-ripe one in this recipe. If you are having a hard time mashing a slightly underripe avocado, you can mix it in the food processor or add a dollop of mayo or yogurt (regular or dairy-free, depending on preference).
- Chopped Cilantro: Or other finely chopped fresh herbs. Fresh parsley is also delish in this recipe.
- Olive oil: The olive oil adds a little creaminess and helps the avocado be mashed more easily. Sometimes, I substitute mayo or yogurt if I have it on hand.
How to Make Avocado Chickpea Salad
Step 1: Mix together the ingredients
Rinse and drain the canned chickpeas. Then add to a medium bowl, along with the avocado and olive oil. Using a fork or potato masher, smash the avocado and chickpeas together until well combined.
Step 2: Add the flavorings
Mix in the fresh cilantro, red onion, and a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. Taste, then season as desired, adding in more salt, pepper,r or lemon juice depending on preference.
Step 3: Finish and Serve
Finish by spreading the avocado chickpea salad onto a toasted bagel, or your bread of choice, and top with your favorite sandwich toppings. I love microgreens or sprouts, fresh sliced tomatoes and sliced cucumber.
How to Serve
Obviously, you can serve this one on any bread, but can I make the case for a bagel?
I haven’t had a bagel since I was pregnant. Of which you now know that I ate a bagel almost daily during the first trimester. I haven’t had a craving for one since, until I walked past a bagel shop a few weeks ago. Suddenly, all those carb feelings came rushing back to me and a chewy bagel sandwich was all I wanted.
So I grabbed a few to go, finished my walk, and headed into the kitchen to make this avocado chickpea salad. I knew my mashed chickpea and avocado sandwich would taste phenomenal on top of that bagel.
Poppyseed is my favorite bagel to pair with this salad, but any flavor bagel will work as will crusty bread or even sandwich bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I achieve the right texture?
Mash the chickpeas together with the avocado using a potato masher or a fork. If your avocado is overly ripe, then mash the chickpeas first and then add in the avocado so it doesn’t become over mashed.
How do I prevent the avocado from browning?
The lemon juice helps to prevent browning. I also recommend serving this avocado chickpea salad right away to prevent browning.
Serving Size
The chickpea salad makes about 1 1/2 cups, which will be enough for four sandwiches. If you are looking to make more or less, then you can adjust the ingredients as needed.
When I make this avocado chickpea salad for meal prep, I place the finished salad in an airtight container and press plastic wrap down on top of it to reduce any contact with air and prevent browning.
More Vegan Sandwich Recipes
- Smoky Miso Tofu Sandwich
- Tempeh Bacon BLT Sandwich
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Cashew Cheese Veggie Sandwich
- Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich
- Curry Tempeh Salad Wrap
- Vegan Italian Panini
Vegan Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted, and chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 4 poppyseed bagels, halved and toasted (or other bread/wrap preference)
- Microgreens, for topping
- Sliced tomatoes, for topping
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Add to a medium bowl along with the avocado and olive oil. Using a fork or potato masher to smash the avocado and chickpeas together. Add in cilantro, onions, olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread salad on bagels and top with your favorite sandwich toppings, I love microgreens and sliced tomatoes!
Nutrition
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
This recipe was first published in 2018 and updated in 2022.