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5 from 2 votes

No-Mayo Chickpea Salad Sandwich (Oil-Free and Vegan)

This easy-to-make, no-mayo chickpea salad is the perfect alternative to chicken salad sandwich. It’s healthy and delicious! Plus it’s oil-free, vegan, gluten-free, and gluten-free. And it’s made without mayo!
Prep Time12 minutes
Total Time12 minutes
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Author: All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are property of jennifer's kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

Ingredients

DRESSING/SAUCE

  • 2/3 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt (See note #1).
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery salt I use a generous 1/4 teaspoon.
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon apple juice concentrate (found in the freezer section of grocery stores)

SALAD

  • 3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) Canned chickpeas work best. Do NOT rinse them.
  • 3 ribs celery, minced or diced small
  • 1/2 cup minced sweet onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

  • See post for topping ideas

Instructions

  • Wash cashews in a colander under very hot water. Drain well.
  • Place drained cashews, lemon juice, water, granulated onion, salt, celery salt, granulated garlic, and apple juice concentrate in blender and blend well.
  • Scrape down sides of blender and blend again until very, very smooth.
  • Be sure to blend until very smooth and creamy. (A heavy-duty blender works best for this recipe; other blenders may not get the mixture smooth enough.) Set aside.
  • Drain chickpeas, but do NOT rinse them.
  • Place chickpeas in a large mixing bowl and lightly mash with a fork or a potato masher or pastry cutter. Be careful to not over mash chickpeas; you want some large pieces so your chickpea salad has texture.
  • (The mashing process should be fairly easy if you get a good brand of chickpeas; however, some brands of canned chickpeas are harder than others and will be difficult to mash.)
  • Add minced celery, finely diced onion, dill, and parsley. Stir in creamy mixture from blender mixture.
  • Chill. Serve on whole-grain bread with desired toppings.

Notes

1. The amount of salt you will need depends upon personal taste, as well as on how much salt is already in your chickpeas. If your chickpeas contain salt, you may want to reduce the salt in the recipe to 3/4 teaspoon and adjust salt to taste before serving.
2. If you would like to make half a recipe, prepare the entire dressing/sauce mixture and place half in the freezer. Cut remaining ingredients in half. (If you try to half the dressing, there won’t be enough in the blender for the mixture to blend well.)
3. I recommend using canned chickpeas in this recipe. Homecooked chickpeas are too soft and absorb too much of the sauce.