Prior to being vegan I loved a good chicken salad sandwich. It’s something that’s filling and delicious while still keeping you cool. After going vegan, I knew that first summer that I needed something similar. And trust me our vegan chicken salad hits all the right spots.
But sometimes it’s time to level things up. It’s time to make something go from yeah this is good and I’ll eat it often, to holy wow balls, I need this.
The simple things we’re doing in this recipe like caramelizing lemons is what make this go from classic home cooked recipe to “this tastes like it’s from a restaurant” when you serve it to guests.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Staples Friendly – This recipe is mostly ingredients that people keep on hand all the time or can be swapped for what you do have making it amazing to make all the time.
- Meal Prep – This dish can be eaten all week! It’s one of my favorite summer recipes!
- Travels Well – Whether you’re going to a potluck, picnic, or out camping, this holds up really well and makes for a great on-the-go meal!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Gather your ingredients!
Chickpeas
You can use canned that you drain and rinse first or make them yourself from dried. They offer a great bite for texture amongst all the other ingredients here.
Substitute: Some people prefer chopping up some vegan grilled chicken strips and using that instead.
Lemons
We are thinly slicing lemons and then roasting them with a little oil and salt to get them to caramelize when they cook in the oven. Then chopping them up when it’s time to bring everything together. You won’t believe the flavor you get from this!
Substitute: If you’re running short on time, you can just use the juice from 1-2 lemons.
Pickles
We’re using dill pickles chopped up, the brine from the pickles, and fresh dill for this recipe. The combination of all three give this an amazing pickle flavor that you will just love.
Additional Ingredients
The things you’ll need to finish the recipe are celery, vegan mayo, dijon mustard, fresh garlic, fresh green onions, salt and pepper.
Optional
We served ours on toasted sourdough bread, but your favorite bread will work. We also added pickled onions, lettuce, and tomatoes to our sandwich.
Also – some people prefer to add in some chopped walnuts to their “chicken” salad, so if that’s you then go for it! You could also try crispy pickles or fried onions or even some crushed kettle potato chips.
What are other vegan sandwiches to try?
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Lemon Dill Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Caramelized Lemon
- 1 medium lemon, sliced into ¼-inch rounds and seeds removed
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
For the Chickpea Salad
- 30 ounces canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup dill pickles, finely diced
- ⅓ cup celery, finely diced
- ⅓ cup vegan mayo
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons pickle brine
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, more or less to taste
For Serving
- 8 slices hearty sourdough bread
- Lettuce leaves, optional
- Tomato slices, optional
- pickled red onions, optional
Optional Crunchy Topping
- chopped walnuts
- crispy fried onions or pickles
- crushed kettle chips
Instructions
Caramelize the Lemons
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Arrange the lemon slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Roast for 18–22 minutes, flipping halfway through, until deeply golden around the edges and slightly caramelized. Let cool for 5 minutes, then finely chop the roasted lemon, peel and all.
For the Chickpea Salad
- Add the chickpeas to a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, mash about 75% of the chickpeas, leaving some texture behind.
- To the same bowl, add the chopped lemons once ready, along with dill pickles, celery, vegan mayo, garlic, green onions, dijon mustard, pickle brine, fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is evenly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add another splash of pickle brine if you'd like more tang.
Assemble the Sandwiches
- Toast the bread if desired. Spread ¼ of the mixture (more or less as desired) onto four slices. Top with lettuce, tomato, or desired toppings. Finish with the remaining bread slices and serve immediately.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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Frequently Asked Questions
Vegan mayo is the only ingredient in this recipe that contains a Top 9 allergen. You’ll want to make sure to use a soy-free option if needed. Otherwise for serving, swap sourdough for a gluten free bread or opt for gluten-free cracker instead. You could also serve of lettuce leaves.
Yes! This vegan chickpea salad sandwich recipe is actually better prepared a day in advanced at least. It will also keep for at least 5 days in the fridge (if you can hold out on eating it that long!)
The most common way to eat this is a vegan chicken salad sandwich. Put the mixture in between two slices of bread or toast.
Other ideas are on crackers, topped on a bed of lettuce or lettuce leaves, on top of cucumber slices, rolled up in a tortilla, or inside a pita.
There are endless possibilities to serve with this vegan sandwich recipe. We often love to just serve it with potato chips, like these crunchy kale chips, or a light salad. Even some raw veggies would be perfect with our dairy free ranch dressing.
Other ideas are:
Vegan Potato Salad
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
Spicy Corn on the Cob
This is a fabulous summer salad. I love zest and zing!! This has the perfect amount of both! The lemon and dill are perfect pairing here.🤩🥰💚💛 I live in AZ so this will be made often. Thank you Andrew for sharing this amazing recipe.🙏🏻
Love this!! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed the flavors of the chickpea salad. Thank you for giving the recipe a try and sharing your experience here with us!
I just made this to take to lunch tomorrow. Of course, I had to sample it as I went along. It’s amazing and yes, the lemon 🍋 makes it the best ever!
Awww, thank you!! We’re so happy to hear that you loved the recipe. Thank you so much for giving it a try!
This is our new favorite sandwich spread. The caramelized lemons add a unique flavor.
Thank you!! We totally agree that the caramelized lemons give this sandwich a super distinct flavor, we’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Hi! I absolutely love these recipes. Thank for sharing such great plant-based food. Oh! I love the way you throughly narrate every recipe.
Thank you so much! We’re really happy to hear that you have been enjoying the recipes!!
Delicious recipe! Made these yesterday and was really pleased with the result. Next time I will dial back the carmelized lemons next time. I agree that they really send this recipe over the top in deliciousness, but a whole lemon made lemon the focus. I would chop some in, give it a taste, then decide whether to add more. Yum! Thanks!
Awww, thank you so much! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. The lemon can definitely become the focus of the recipe if it’s too strong so we totally understand dialing that back to your preferences. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience here with us!
Super sandwich 👌
Thank you so much!!
chickpeas really have no business being this good! this recipe is incredible on sourdough with lettuce and tomatoes! it’s even better the next day after it’s had time to marinate in the fridge. 10/10 highly recommend!
Amazing!!! We’re so glad to hear that you loved this recipe as much as we did. Thank you again for giving it a try!