This easy vegan “chicken” salad is super easy to make, just one bowl! Less than 10 ingredients and can be Top 8 Free.
Some people may find it “odd” that people that give up meat, whether for dietary needs or preferences that would want to find a mock option for a meal. However, I’ll tell you that no matter what you have to give up (again, for allergies or choice) you always want to have things that remind you of what you remember before those choices. This Vegan Chicken Salad is one of those things for many.
This vegan chickpea salad is made with under 10 ingredients and comes together in about 15 minutes. It’s perfect for meal prep, one needs one bowl, and can be free of all major allergens.
Prefect for the summer when you don’t feel like cooking, to take on trips, or have a picnic, this vegan chicken salad sandwich recipe will be one to make over and over again.
What ingredients do you need for this vegan chicken salad?
Some of the best recipes are those that you don’t need many ingredients for, this is one of them. What’s even better is that about half the ingredients are spices, which is even easier for you to make. The ingredients that you need for this vegan chickpea salad sandwich are:
- chickpeas
- celery
- vegan mayo
- lemon juice
- dried dill
- garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- salt
- pepper
- walnuts (optional)
How do you make vegan chicken salad?
To start, you want to drain and rinse your chickpeas. Then, mash them well with the back of a fork. To make this easier, you could also use a food processor, but you want flaky chickpeas and nothing close to resembling hummus, so pulsing is best.
Once you have your chickpeas ready, add in the chopped celery, with mayo, lemon juice, and all the seasoning. If adding chopped walnuts, also add that in now.
Combine everything really well. Taste the mixture and adjust any seasonings. It can be eaten right away, but we love letting it set overnight and let the flavors come together more.
Serve as desired (ideas below).
*Another option that a lot of people like are quartered red grapes, we didn’t show that in the photos, but you could absolutely add some in to this vegan chicken salad sandwich recipe.
What do you serve vegan chicken salad on?
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
- on top on a salad
- put on top of cucumbers
- inside a pita
- roll up into a flour or corn soft taco shell
Get creative!
What are sides that go with this vegan chickpea salad?
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
- Cucumber Salad
- Tomato Quinoa Salad
Can I make this Top 8 Allergen friendly?
This recipe is allergen friendly and can be made Top 8 Free. Because our recipes are written as vegan, they are already egg and dairy free.
You need to ensure that the mayo that you use is soy free (or you can make your own top 8 free mayo). Also, just omit the walnuts or replace with sunflower seeds.
These two swaps will make this a Top 8 Allergen free meal.
Can I meal prep this vegan chicken salad ahead of time?
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!)
What are other vegan sandwiches to try?
If you are in the mood for breakfast – this bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit is perfect (yes, completely vegan!). The ultimate summer grilling recipe has to be our Classic Vegan Black Bean Burger (It’s the BEST!) Or, try this Vegan Masala Sandwich.
Pin this vegan chicken salad for later:
Vegan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (OPTIONAL)
- 1 juice of a lemon
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mash chickpeas well with the back of a fork.
*To make this easier, you could also use a food processor, but you want flaky chickpeas and nothing close to resembling hummus, so pulsing is best. - Add in chopped celery, mayo, lemon juice, and all the seasonings. If adding chopped walnuts, also add that in now.
- Combine everything really well.
- Taste the mixture and adjust any seasonings.
- Serve or let chill in fridge in air tight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This post was originally published on 5/8/2019 and updated on 4/2/2020.
Whole family including our 3 and 7 year olds loved this recipe!! Added plus for me was my always hungry 7 year old was full after her first plate! Will definitely be in our summer rotation.
That’s so exciting! We’re glad to hear it. Thanks for leaving a review, we appreciate it so much !
It looks DELISH!! I make this all the time! I do not add walnuts (nut allergy), but I am guessing that they add a nice crunch/additional texture to the chickpea salad. I love to have it on lightly toasted Sourdough bread with tomatoes and bib lettuce! YUMMY!!
So glad you like it! Thanks for tagging the time to leave a review
So yummy everyone in my family loved it and my oldest (7 yrs old) who I can never fill up was full after one helping. That is a win in my book!
YAY! We love that it’s whole family approved! thanks so much for leaving a review! We appreciate you!
Amazing!! Loved it so much! Thank you!
This recipe us amazing! It tasted so good when I made it I could hardly wait to serve it. It was worth the wait till lunch the next day. My family finished every last bite and want it again next week. Thank you again!
Just made the chickpea salad, I had it on a protein wrap w/ spinach 😋 plus a sweet potato w/ blueberries! Thanks y’all
I was in a pinch for lunch and MakeItDairyFree helped me make a quick, yummy meal! The flavor of the salad–sooo good that I couldn’t allow it to chill before spreading it on some toast.
If you are a fan of mustard, add some spicy brown mustard and it’s so bomb! Thanks so much!!
Will definitely make this a staple lunch option.
We appreciate you so much for taking the time to leave a review and so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipe.
I just wonder if instead of mayonnaise can i use greek yogurt?
Hi Priscilla, thanks so much for reaching out. If it’s vegan greek yogurt, then it should work. We haven’t tried it and our experience with yogurt, we’d say be mindful of how the taste will effect the dish. Another alternative would be mashed avocado.
This recipe was SO good and SO easy for weekday lunch! I made a big batch and it lasted me about 3 days in a wrap.
We’re so excited that you loved the recipe! Thanks for taking time to leave a comment, we appreciate that so much!
This recipe is delicious! Before I knew it I had eaten 3 sandwiches!
HAHA! We’re so happy to hear that you like it! Thanks for leaving a review
I added some chopped dried cranberries because that’s what I used to add to my chicken salad back when I ate chicken. This was so tasty. I’m obsessed with your blog and recipes! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for taking time to leave a review. We sometimes add grapes too! Love the sweetness from it!
So easy and so good! I made just as written, well almost, I am not vegan but dairy free so I used regular light mayo. I will definitely make this again. I ate in a lettuce wrap. Thanks for the tasty recipe!!
So happy that you liked it! Thanks for leaving a review!
Using an old fashioned potato masher here…there is a skin on every chickpea. Should I “shell” them before mashing or just add that into the mix?
Our thought there is “ain’t nobody got time for that”. We don’t, but some people do. If there’s any easy pieces to pull out i’ll do that, but overall don’t worry too much about it.