Smashed Chickpea Salad | Vegan Tuna

Tuna salad is one of those classic dishes, honestly because I think we ALL grew up eating it. It’s one of those recipes that was probably easy for our parents to whip up but we had mixed feelings about depending on how well it was made and how long it sat around unrefrigerated before we ate it?

Chickpeas are a pretty great whole food, vegan alternative for canned tuna dishes and a generally impressive substitute for other things too – like aquafaba for baking or even a chocolate loaf recipe I have yet to release. The liquid (aquafaba) somehow makes for a kind of “fishy” smell, which is both an unappetizing concept while also being a strangely…appetizing option for the right foods. It also seems to be a great alternative because canned tuna doesn’t have much fish texture left by the time you’re spooning it out of the can, anyway.

Quite the pitch for my recipe, right? Honestly, though, this chickpea salad is:

• Refreshing
• Light
• Filling
• Goes great on sandwich bread with your favorite fixings

I prefer to keep it simple with open-faced bread and some extra relish, or close it up with some spinach or lettuce, sliced tomato, relish and mustard. It’s an awesome, uncooked summertime dish and travels great because none of the ingredients absolutely require refrigeration to stay fresh, so it’s perfect for picnics or packed lunches.

It’s only six ingredients (plus salt to taste), requires minimal chopping, zero cooking, and one bowl. I whip it up regularly when I don’t feel like cooking or want a cool dish or a quick sandwich on a warmer day.

If you try out this recipe, please share it with me by commenting or tagging me in a photo on Instagram @plantsnotplastic. Enjoy!

Smashed Chickpea Salad

Plants Not Plastic

This chickpea salad "vegan tuna" is refreshing, light, filling, and goes great on sandwich bread with your favorite fixings. It’s an awesome, uncooked summertime dish and travels great because none of the ingredients need refrigeration to stay fresh, so it’s perfect for picnics or packed lunches!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 164 kcal

Equipment

• Medium mixing bowl
• Potato masher or ricer

Ingredients

  

• 2 15oz cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans sub 1 cup dry beans
• 3 ribs celery diced
• 1/3 medium red onion diced
• 3 tbsp mustard
• 4 tbsp sweet relish
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Prep all ingredients
• Drain and rinse canned beans, then transfer to mixing bowl
• Use potato masher [note #1] to mash the beans until almost no full beans are left, using a rotating/pressing motion
• Add all other ingredients and mix together
• Serve on bread or toast with preferred sandwich condiments [note #2]
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

1. You can use a food processor for this but I prefer to have less to clean afterwards
2. I enjoy my chickpea salad on in a sandwich with spinach or lettuce, sliced tomato and extra mustard and relish, or even just open-faced on toast with extra relish if I'm feeling lazy.