Vegan Chicken Salad is a quick meal that is not only tasty but easy to make. Perfect for lunch or a simple dinner. It requires just 10 ingredients and 10 minutes to make!
Vegan Chicken Salad is the perfect combination of savory and sweet. A quick lunch or dinner that is filling and delicious.
The first time I had Chicken Salad that I actually liked was way back in Culinary School. I remember thinking it was strange that we would be putting fruit with something like chicken but loved the results.
I wanted to create a similar recipe from what I remembered but veganize it of course. Chickpeas turned out to be a great meat substitute. I took note from my Vegan Chickpea Salad recipe, which I also love and adore.
If you need a quick tasty meal and have 10 minutes get to cooking!
Ingredient Notes:
- Chickpeas – I generally look for a low sodium or no salt added variety.
- Vegan Mayo – You could substitute this with mashed avocado for an oil-free option.
- Dijon Mustard – Any brand will do but Dijon works best vs. yellow mustard.
- Dill – Fresh dill is one of the key ingredients. It adds a great herby flavor.
- Green Onions – This is a mild onion and works best however you could also use a sweet onion.
- Celery – I am not the biggest celery fan and even I enjoy the celery in this dish. It adds a nice crunch.
- Grapes – I think red are best for this recipe although green grapes or even diced apples would work.
- Almonds – I generally always use unsalted raw nuts.
- Lemon – This adds a great freshness and brightness of flavor.
- Salt & Pepper – I use a fine sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.
How To Make:
Get your ingredients ready. Dice your celery, half your grapes, thinly slice your onions and chop your dill.
Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas and add them to a medium sized bowl.
With a fork or potato masher mash your chickpeas. You will want to mash them fairly well but can expect there to still be some texture to the mixture.
Now to the chickpeas add the rest of your ingredients: your mayo, mustard, dill, celery, grapes, almonds, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix until well incorporated.
Make sure to mix your ingredients together well. Taste and adjust to your preferences.
Serve as a sandwich, with crackers or on a big salad.
Enjoy!
Tips For Sucess:
- Mash your chickpeas with a potato masher. If you have one on hand a potato masher will make the process much easier. A fork will work just fine but I prefer to use my potato masher!
- Taste and adjust. If you like a heavily mayoed salad add a bit more. Love mustard? Squeeze some more on in. Feeling nutty? Pack those almonds on in.
- Variations. There are so many variations that would be tasty with this salad. Others fruits that would work: apples, raisins, craisins or cherries. Would all be great. If you want to substitute the almonds sunflower seeds would be delicious. The options are endless!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Mix well before serving.
Other Quick & Easy Recipes:
If you try this recipe make sure to let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and if you take a photo use #feeninforgreens on instagram. I love seeing photos of your recreations!
Vegan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup vegan mayo
- 2 tbsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. fresh dill chopped
- ¼ cup green onions thinly sliced
- ½ cup celery diced
- 1 cup red grapes halved
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- squeeze of fresh lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Get your ingredients ready. Dice your celery, half your grapes, thinly slice your onions and chop your dill.
- Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas and add them to a medium sized bowl.
- With a fork or potato masher mash your chickpeas. You will want to mash them fairly well but can expect there to still be some texture to the mixture.
- Now to the chickpeas add the rest of your ingredients: your mayo, mustard, dill, celery, grapes, almonds, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix until well incorporated.
- Serve as a sandwich, with crackers or on a big salad.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you would like to make this oil free you can add smashed avocado instead of the vegan mayo.
- I have added craisins or dried cherries to this dish before and it is so tasty! I would add about a 1/4 cup chopped or so if you want to make this addition.
- This is also great wrapped in a tortilla or served on a bun. If you can find a vegan croissant now that would be magic for this dish!
- I state to rinse the chickpeas as I have heard that this helps with digestion when working with canned beans and legumes. I have a very sensitive stomach and do see a difference when I take the time to do this step.