Chickpea Salad with Tahini Recipe

This chickpea salad with tahini recipe makes a fantastic and flavorful lunch or dinner! A tasty plant-based alternative to chicken salad.  

An inexpensive and taste sandwich that is packed with protein, and has quite a crunch from vibrant vegetables!

This creamy chickpea salad with tahini recipe is a fantastic plant-based filling lunch or dinner!  I absolutely love smashed chickpea salad, but wanted to give this recipe an update by using tahini instead of mayonnaise. Tahini is ground sesame seeds, which give this sandwich an extra pop of flavor.

As a Midwesterner I it is in my genetics to love every kind of creamy salad.  I love pasta salad, bean salads, egg salad (& Tofu Egg Salad), macaroni salad, potato salad, etc.   This pantry staple chickpea salad sandwich is an absolutely delish lunch to make, and is super quick and easy.

This Tahini Chickpea Salad Sandwich Recipe Is:

• Creamy
• Flavorful
• Filling
• Loaded with Vegetables
• A Great Make Ahead Lunch or Dinner
• Rich
• Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Free!

Plant Based Chickpea Tahini Salad

Growing up I always used to love getting chicken salad from the deli!  There was a little specialty grocery store named Kramer’s in the town I grew up in that made the BEST chicken salad and it was always such a treat getting it for lunch.

And this vegan version tastes every bit as good, but is much better  and plant based instead of meat-based!  Its super light from celery, red pepper, and pickles to the ingredient list.  And the tahini makes it creamy but not overly so.   I love adding relish in this dish!  It gives the chickpea salad a lil crunch, a lil sweetness, and some nice acidity from the vinegar.  

Make Chickpea Tahini Salad Plant-Based

This vegan tahini chickpea salad is a simple way to get extra veggies in your diet. I’m all about making recipes plant-based when I can. Vegan cooking does NOT have to be bland, boring, or flavorless… It’s quite the opposite when done right.

By building meals around vegan pantry staples and swapping in a few plant-based ingredients you can make better meals for you and your family. I made a list of my 125 favorite vegan pantry ingredients that we use on a weekly basis, and check out all my vegan recipes here that are on The Herbeevore. These easy recipes are fantastic meatless and dairy free meals for your table.

What’s In This Chickpea Salad without Mayo?

I cook with fresh produce from my garden and from Misfits Market– they sell fantastic fruit, vegetables, & pantry staples at a discounted price. We get Misfit boxes every other week and love picking out favorite produce for delivery. Get $10 off your first box here!

• No Salt Added Chickpeas: one of my favorite pantry staple ingredients! You can use canned chickpeas (I’d highly recommend a low sodium or no salt version), or you can make your own chickpeas from scratch in the Instant Pot.
• Tahini: A fantastic and flavorful spread made from ground sesame seeds. This tahini is fantastic in any dish, we absolutely love this tahini!
• Whole Grain or Dijon Mustard – for a really nice flavor and texture, you can use either whole grain mustard, stone ground, or dijon… I’d stay clear from yellow prepared mustard for this recipe.
• Sweet Relish – to give this dish a little extra sweetness. I love this classic sweet relish which has a nice crunch and a sweet and tangy flavor. It’s great in this salad (like a secret ingredient!) and also great to have on the table for burgers or veggie dogs.
• Bell Pepper: If you don’t have fresh peppers, these sweet roasted red peppers are a great substitute! I love adding them to breakfast bakes, sandwiches or wraps, and soups.
• Veggies: while these aren’t exactly pantry staple ingredients, you can totally skip these if you don’t have them on hand.  Celery keeps for a long time, so I always have a bunch in the fridge – you can substitute an onion for the celery.  And use dried parsley if you don’t have fresh.

Meal Prep Chickpea Salad For the Win!

This chickpea salad with tahini is the perfect recipe for homemade meal prep.  I am a huge fan of meal prepping, batch cooking, and making recipes ahead.  I love the convenience of cooking once and being able to enjoy homemade meals during the week when I don’t have time. There’s a whole section of TheHerbeevore.com dedicated to my favorite tried & true meal prep recipes.  With just a little planning and prep, you can have a week’s worth of recipes ready in the time it would take to make one portion. 

Just batch cook, divide into individual containers, and place in the fridge or freezer for later!  I also made a list of my favorite meal prep products on Amazon that I use weekly. They make cooking easy.

This recipe makes enough chickpea salad for 5 sandwiches – just add 2 generous scoops to a slice of whole wheat bread, top with onion/tomato/lettuce, and lunch is ready. Or just eat on top of a salad, your choice!

More Vegan Pantry Staple Recipes You’ll Love!

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon (Vegan, Gluten Free, Pantry Staple)

Creamy Coconut Chickpea Curry (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

The Best TVP Chili Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free, High Protein)

4-Ingredient No Knead Bread Recipe (Vegan, Pantry Staple Recipe)

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Sweet Potato (Vegan, GF, Whole30)

Get the Same Ingredients for this Tahini Chickpea Salad Sandwich Recipe!

If you make this easy tahini chickpea salad recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you.  I love seeing all your photos of my recipes!

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