Chicken-Less Chickpea Salad :: Pre-Vegan Days, I loved the taste of Chicken Salad but was disgusted when a tiny bone would somehow end up in my mouth. I would say the word would be something worse than disgusted, to be honest.
Thankfully, there is this whole chicken less world out here where I can still have that taste without the bone. But, how do we do that?
We replace chicken with chickpeas!
This Chicken-Less Salad is animal-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten free; and bonus, the ingredients and instructions are incredibly easy:
- In a small bowl, mix the vegan mayo (I like Veganaise), yellow mustard, dill, garlic, salt & pepper.
- In a larger bowl, mash the chickpeas with a potato masher, pastry cutter or a fork – OR – pulse in a food processor to break them up. I personally use a potato masher. You may have to put a little back in to it if you choose to break them up with a fork since chickpeas are a firmer bean.
- Add the dressing, celery and onion to the chickpeas then mix well.

Eat your Chicken-Less Chickpea Salad right away OR wait so it can taste its BEST.
Prepare the salad at least 3 hours in advance then refrigerate to let the flavors marry. I actually like to make it the night before the day I plan to eat it.
You can put it between two pieces of bread with lettuce & tomato, on a cracker, scooped up by carrots & celery or on top of your favorite salad. I personally have a hard time not eating it with a spoon directly out of the bowl, to be honest.
Variations
- Switch out the green onion with a more traditional red onion
- Add in chopped grapes
- Add in chopped apples
- Switch out the yellow mustard with dijon mustard
- Add in finely chopped carrot
- Add in cranberries and walnuts
Chicken Less Chickpea Salad
Course: Lunch, SnackDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes208
kcalThis delicious Chicken-Less Chickpea Salad is 100% Vegan; made with chickpeas, green onion, celery and spices.
Ingredients
chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 2 15 oz cans; drained & rinsed
green onion, 1 stalk finely chopped
celery, 1-2 stalks finely chopped; approx. 1/2 cup
- Dressing
vegan mayonnaise, 1/3 cup
yellow mustard, 1 1/2 tbsp
dill, dried 1/2 tbsp
garlic powder, 1 tsp
salt, 1/2 tsp
pepper, ground 1/4 tsp
Directions
- In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients; vegan mayonnaise, yellow mustard, dried dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- In a larger bowl, use a pastry cutter, potato masher or a fork; mash the chickpeas to break them up.
- Add in the dressing, green onion and celery. Mix well to ensure all ingredients are covered in the dressing.
- For the BEST flavor, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Notes
- You can put it between two pieces of bread with lettuce & tomato, on a cracker, scooped up by carrots & celery or on top of your favorite salad.

If you like quick & easy recipes, you might also like my Asian Crunch Salad. It’s light, filling, full of color and micronutrients!