I'm so happy to finally share this recipe with you!! I've spent months perfecting my ultimate chickpea salad recipe, and it's finally just right.
The idea of a vegan "salad" sandwich recipe has been on my mind for a while. Since going vegan, William has mentioned cravings for egg salad sandwiches multiple times. I really wantedto make all of hisvegan egg salad sandwich dreams come true!
I eventually stumbled across a tasty looking chickpea salad recipe and I thought we were about to discoverour new favourite sandwich!
Unfortunately, the recipe was a dud. Neither of us were very impressed. The texture was off, the flavours were bland, and NOTHING about it said egg salad. I was a little put off, besides hummus, could legumes really taste goodin a sandwich?
Thankfully, I didn't let one bad experiencespoil the idea of chickpea salad sandwiches for good. I ditched the recipe and decided to conquer this salad sandwich thing solo.
Boy am I glad I did! Now that I've got this one down, it has quickly become one of my very favourite recipes. It's SO addictive, I can easily eat an entire batch in a day. (Seriously, it NEVER lasts more than 2 days in our house, ever.)
Once I'd decided that the recipe was finally perfect, I made it oncemore just to make sure. I brought a container of it with me to a recent dinner and my very"unvegan"friendabsolutely loved it and even insisted on taking the rest home! Idefinitelyconsidered that a win for this recipe 😀
Now that I knew I had the recipe locked down I wanted to try something a little different. Since hearing about Lentil Recipe Revelations Challenge, I've been brainstorming and testing out new waysto eat more lentils. Oatmeal? Sure! Smoothies? Why not! Chickpea salad sandwiches? Umm... YES!!
When compared to chickpeas, lentils are lower in fat but higher in protein ANDfibre. Split red lentils are my favourite variety of lentil because they cook really really fast, and they have a lovely soft and flaky texture. I knew they would make a fantastic addition to the recipe.I swapped ½ of chickpeas for cooked red lentils and hoped the recipe would still be as good.
Whaddaya know, therecipe got even better!
Thishigh protein, veggie-packed sandwich filling is loaded with:
- chickpeas and red lentils (great source of healthy fats, protein, and fibre)
- dill, carrots, celery, green onion, and red bell pepper (optional)
- pickles
- vegan mayo
- nutritional yeast (provides a boost of B vitamins)
- black salt (adds that egg-y flavour)
- pepper
- lemon juice
The black salt, pickles, and dill really mimic the flavours of egg salad. Black salt(affiliate link)has quickly becomeone of my favourite ingredients for vegan cooking, it has a light sulphur flavour thatcomplimentstofu scrambles, vegan quiches, and of course, chickpea-lentil salad sandwiches. Regular sea salt will workjust finein this recipe, you'll just miss out on some of the "egg-y" flavour.
Tips for the Perfect Vegan Salad Sandwich
1.) Finely chopped veggies 2.) Slightly mashed chickpeas 3.) Mashed chickpeas + cooked red lentils 4. +5.) Combining the lentils, chickpeas, veggies, mayo, black salt, pepper, and lemon juice 6.) After puréeing ½ of the saladand mixing in the nutritional yeast.
- finely chop your veggies by hand or by using the chopping feature on your food processor.
- vary the texture by blending ⅓-1/2 the mixture and keeping the rest chunky (I like to use my immersion blender to purée some of the mixture, you can also pulse the mixture in your food processor.)
- the flavour of this salad is best after the mixture has chilled for a few hours or more
- black salt is key for that classic "egg-y" flavour
- the better the bread, the better the sandwich!
We're entering this recipe into Canadian Lentils Recipe Revelations Challenge. Each recipe is judged based on taste, appeal, use of lentils, simplicity, and social media popularity. We'd be so gratefulif you could help us out by 'pinning' this recipe from the Canadian Lentils Recipe Revelations Challenge Pinterest board.Here's the link to pin.(Let us know if you pin our entry,we'd love to say thank you!)
If you'd like to enter or learn more about the contest, visit Canadian Lentils atLentils.ca!
Update: Thank you so much for your support!OurMashed Lentil + Chickpea Saladwon the grand prize! 😀 The Big Southwest Lentil Salad Bowl was a finalist, and ourSweet Pumpkin Seed Protein Granolawon for best photography. Thank you somuch, you guys are the best!
★★★★★4.8 from 23 reviews
- Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 sandwiches 1x
- Category: Salad, Sandwich
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A hearty, high protein, veggie-packed salad that's delicious in a sandwich or with crackers. Black salt is the secret for that authentic "egg-y" flavour.
Ingredients
Scale
Lentil + Chickpea Salad
- 1 cup cooked red lentils
- 1 cup chickpeas, canned (drained)
- 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- ¼ red or green bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
- 2-3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 medium pickle, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 3-4 tablespoon vegan mayo (I use 4) (or sub for hummus)
- 2-3 tablespoon nutritional yeast (I use 3)
- ¼ tsp black salt
- black pepper, to taste
Lentil + Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- 2 slices of sprouted, whole grain, or gluten free bread
- ⅓-½ cup of lentil + chickpea salad
- 1-2 leaves of lettuce (butter, romaine, spinach, or iceberg)
Instructions
- Wash, chop and prepare all ingredients. Make sure the vegetables are chopped nice and fine. Feel free to use the chop/slice function on your food processor.
- Lightly mash chickpeas with a fork. Add the lentils, finely chopped vegetables, mayo, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, black salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly with a fork.
- Blend â…“-1/2 of the mixture with an immersion blender (or use the pulse function on your food processor). Mix thoroughly with a fork to even out the texture.
- Optional: Chill for 3+ hours before serving.
Lentil + Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Scoop â…“-1/2 cup of Lentil + Chickpea Salad on one slice of bread and lay 2 leaves of lettuce on the other slice of bread. Close the sandwich, slice diagonally and enjoy!
Notes
Serve this salad with crackers for a quick healthy snack.Approx. ½ cup dry red lentils (split) = 1 cup cooked. Rinse ½ cup dry red lentils (split). Add the lentils and 1 cup of unsalted water to a small-medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5-10 minutes (until lentils are just tender.)
