This rainbow chickpea salad makes great sandwiches for lunch!
I have been making this chickpea salad for years and it is such a great lunch. I always struggle with what to eat for lunch. It’s the one meal that I just hate trying to come up with something to make! I love this salad because it makes a lot so we have lunch for a few days.
There are only two parts of the recipe that take some time, mashing the chickpeas and chopping the vegetables. When draining the can of chickpeas don’t forget to save the chickpea water (aquafaba)! It freezes very well if you are not going to use it right away. I like to use a fork to mash the chickpeas but a potato masher can also be used.
For the vegetables I use red, orange and yellow peppers (one of each), a large dill pickle and three stalks of green onion. The vegetables add a nice crispiness to the soft chickpeas and they stay that way in the salad.
The dressing gets made right in the same bowl, just throw it all in and mix it up. I love using a microplane for the clove of garlic because it’s quick and gets the garlic very small, just watch your fingers!
It is best to make the chickpea salad at least an hour ahead of time. This allows the flavors to come together. We love to serve it on toasted gluten free bread but it would be great in a lettuce wrap as well!
A note on some of the ingredients
Chickpeas: For convenience I use canned chickpeas that I drain and rinse. If cooking chickpeas from dried roughly 2 cups of chickpeas will yield the correct amount.
Vegan mayonnaise: There are a variety of vegan mayonnaise brands out there. My preferred brand is Hellman’s which is also gluten free.
Green onions: I prefer green onions in this recipe for their mild onion flavor. Some substitutions are chives or finely grated sweet onion.
Enjoy!