Best Chickpea Avocado Salad
This chickpea avocado salad is a delicious and nutritious choice, perfect for a quick and easy meal. Packed with protein-rich chickpeas and creamy avocado, it’s a satisfying option for anyone looking to eat healthier. Plus, it’s loaded with fresh veggies and zesty flavors that make every bite a delight!
This chickpea salad is by far my favorite vegan sandwich of all time. Something about the flavors of lime, avocado, and cilantro just thrill my taste buds. The fact that it takes less than 10 minutes and only requires a bowl and fork to prepare doesn’t hurt either.
Another delicious vegan salad recipe is Easy Chickpea Tuna Salad, which is great on sandwiches and in wraps. If you’re a big avocado fan, try this Easy Avocado Toast recipe as well!
Reasons you will love this chickpea salad
- Quick and Easy to Make – This salad comes together in just minutes with simple, wholesome ingredients you likely already have on hand.
- Protein-Packed and Satisfying – Thanks to chickpeas and avocado, it’s loaded with plant-based protein and healthy fats to keep you full and energized.
- Perfect for Meal Prep – Make it ahead for a grab-and-go lunch, light dinner, or healthy snack throughout the week.
- Versatile – Serve it on bread, toast, or a big green lettuce leaf for a gluten-free option.
Ingredients you will need
- Chickpeas – One big advantage of this recipe is that you can use the convenience of simply opening a can of chickpeas. Of course, you can always make your own Instant Pot chickpeas if preferred.
- Avocado – Adds creamy texture and heart-healthy fats that perfectly balance the protein-rich chickpeas, making the salad both satisfying and nutrient-dense.
- Green onions – Creates a fresh, mild bite that brightens the flavors of the chickpea avocado salad without overpowering the creamy and savory elements.
- Lime juice – Adds a zesty brightness to chickpea avocado salad while helping preserve the avocado’s color and freshness.
- Cilantro – If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you can definitely leave it out—but personally, I love the fresh, herby flavor it brings to this salad. I wouldn’t want to make it without it!
How to make chickpea avocado salad
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
STEP #1: In a medium-sized bowl, use a fork or potato masher and smash the chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) and avocado together. Check out these tips for how to tell if your avocado is ripe and ready to use.
STEP #2: Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop out with a spoon. A large tablespoon works well for scooping.
STEP #3: Add the avocado to the bowl and mash in with the chickpeas using the potato masher.
Chop the cilantro and green onion. Add them, plus the lime juice, to the bowl with the chickpeas and avocado mixture. Season with salt and pepper to suit your taste preference.
STEP #4: Spread the garbanzo bean salad on bread and top with your favorite sandwich toppings.
I like to add fresh spinach leaves. Or you can stuff the spread into an endive leaf or another lettuce leaf and serve as a beautiful and delicious chickpea salad appetizer!
We have other delicious vegan sandwiches and spreads on this website, including my avocado tomato sandwich, this hummus veggie sandwich, and these easy cucumber sandwiches.
Homemade vegan mayonnaise is also a great addition. It requires only 5 ingredients.
*Originally published April 2015.
This recipe has many variations from some terrific chefs. The first time I ever saw it was from cookbook author Collen Patrick-Goudreau.
Tips for serving chickpea salad
- Serving- There are so many options for serving this spread–vegan sandwiches, wraps, or even lettuce wraps. We sometimes stuff endive or other large lettuce leaves with this spread and serve as an appetizer. It’s a great option for those avoiding bread and gluten products.
- Dip- This salad also makes a great dip. Serve with cut-up veggies, crackers, or pita chips.
- Pack and go- Perfect for picnics! Simply pack in a cooler with other great picnic foods like hummus and veggies.
How to store chickpea salad
If you want to make this ahead of time and have it still keep its pretty green color, there’s a trick for that. I have had a lot of luck keeping it from turning too dark by placing the avocado pit in an airtight bowl with the spread and storing it in the refrigerator. It will keep longer that way.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have avocado or prefer not to use it, hummus can be a creamy substitute, though the flavor will be slightly different.
Yes! Canned chickpeas are perfect for this recipe. Just be sure to drain and rinse them well to remove excess sodium and improve the flavor.
You can prep most of the ingredients in advance—like mashing the chickpeas and chopping the veggies—but it’s best to mix in the avocado just before serving to keep it fresh and vibrant. See my tip above for storing it to help if you need to make it ahead of time.
More Healthy Chickpea Recipes
For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas (15 oz) drained and rinsed (1.5 cups cooked)
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- salt & pepper to taste
- toasted bread, wraps, pita pockets, or lettuce leaves for serving
Instructions
- Drain the liquid from the can of chickpeas. In a medium-sized bowl, use a fork or potato masher to smash the chickpeas. Leave it a little chunky; you don’t want a paste.
- Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop out with a spoon. Check out these tips for how to tell if your avocado is ripe and ready to use. Add avocado to the bowl and mash in with the chickpeas.
- Chop the cilantro, and green onion. Add them plus the lime juice to the bowl with the chickpeas and avocado mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread chickpea avocado salad on bread and top with your favorite sandwich toppings. My homemade Vegan Mayonnaise goes perfectly with this.
- I like to add fresh spinach leaves. Or you can stuff the spread into an endive or other lettuce leaf and serve for a beautiful and delicious appetizer!
Video
Notes
- Serving- There are so many options for serving this spread–vegan sandwiches, wraps, or even lettuce wraps. We sometimes stuff endive or other large lettuce leaves with this spread and serve as an appetizer. It’s a great option for those avoiding bread and gluten products.
- Dip- This salad also makes a great dip. Serve with cut-up veggies, crackers, or pita chips.
- Pack and go- Perfect for picnics! Simply pack in a cooler with other great picnic foods like hummus and veggies.
- Storage- If you’d like to make this ahead of time and keep its fresh green color, here’s a simple trick: place the avocado pit in the airtight container with the salad before refrigerating. It helps slow down browning and keeps it looking fresh longer.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
Terri, I have made this recipe multiple times. You mention using a fork or potato masher to “smash” the chickpeas. If you happen to have a Vitamix blender, you can break up the chickpeas using the “PULSE” button, for about 2-3 seconds. It worked perfectly for me, since I have arthritic fingers, and using a fork or potato masher was kind of hard for me to break them up.
I am so glad it worked well for you and that you enjoyed the recipe. This is my favorite sandwich spread of all time–my avocado tomato sandwich comes in a close second.
Do you remember what brand of bread you used for the photo? Looking for a seeded, whole grain vegan bread. Your recipe is delicious! i could eat this everyday!
Hi Nana- We love Dave’s Killer bread in the green package. It doesn’t have any oil and is very moist. It’s the one in the photo, and I highly recommend it. So glad that you loved the recipe!
looks like Dave’s 5grainn bread made mine with cannelloni beans and chopped Red pepper with black garlic 👍😋
I made this to take on a road trip. I put it on pumpernickel bread. It was amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Robin- I try to keep an avocado in my refrigerator veggie drawer at all times to make this sandwich spread in a pinch for lunch or dinner. It really is my favorite spread for sandwiches. So glad you liked it too!
I made this for my quarantined octogenarian parents. My Mom said This is great. Buy more chick peas! Pretty good response.
I added some cumin and mustard because I didn’t have any cilantro.
We had it as a snack on zucchini slices.
Hi Erin- It’s terrific to hear that you and your parents liked this, and I love that your substitutions worked out so well. Thanks so much for letting me know, and I agree with your mom, “Buy more chickpeas!” LOL!
made this tonight. SO good! Can’t wait to put it on toast with lettuce and tomato.
I made this 2 days ago for lunch. I substituted parsley for cilantro as I am not a fan. I put on bread with lettuce and slices of tomato. We loved this so much I made again the next day. Love your recipes.
Hi Robyn- How wonderful to hear! I love hearing that the parsley sub worked out so well. Thank you!