With a few simple ingredients, you will be able to create a tasty and easy lunch that only takes a few minutes to make and will keep you full for hours.
Even better?
This recipe is made without any mayo, making it oil-free and one of my favorite chickpea salad recipes
And this recipe has so many variations to it, you will be able to create a meal that both you and your family will love.
Jump to:
- Watch the chickpea and avocado salad video
- Why you’ll love this smashed chickpea avocado salad
- Ingredients you'll need
- How to make avocado chickpea salad
- What are some other ingredients that could be added to this salad?
- Is there a way to add more protein to this salad?
- How to serve chickpea salad with avocado
- Storing leftovers
- Frequently asked questions
- More vegan lunch recipes
- Recipe
Watch the chickpea and avocado salad video
Why you’ll love this smashed chickpea avocado salad
This chickpea salad recipe is a quick lunch that you can prepare in the morning and only have one medium bowl to clean.
Once you try this healthy salad recipe once, you will want to save this recipe card so you can eat it over and over again.
This is one of my favorite healthy recipes.
Whenever I serve it at a social gathering, my guests always give it a 5-star rating.
Keep reading for one of my favorite salad recipes…
Ingredients you'll need
- Canned Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- Ripe Avocado
- Fresh Chives
- Lemon Juice (lime juice works too!)
- Salt
- Pepper
How to make avocado chickpea salad
Drain the can of chickpeas into a mesh strainer and rinse them.
If you’d like, you can remove the skins from the chickpeas.
This will give them a more creamy texture, but it’s not necessary.
Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl.
Mash with a potato masher or fork, leaving some chunks/whole chickpeas intact.
Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit.
Remove the peel and add the two avocado halves to the mashed chickpeas.
Blend avocado and chickpeas together by mashing with the potato masher or fork.
Add the chives, salt, and pepper and stir.
Stir in lemon juice.
What are some other ingredients that could be added to this salad?
There are so many different ways that you could add to make this recipe your own.
Some ingredients that would be a great addition to this simple salad are:
- Olive Oil
- Red Onion
- Feta Cheese (which is fine for vegetarians; for vegans try this cheese)
- Scallions (aka green onion)
- Cherry Tomatoes
Is there a way to add more protein to this salad?
A popular method for adding more protein to this salad is to add sunflower seeds.
They give this meal a nice crunch and taste really great.
Just make sure to not add the seeds until you are about to eat, that way they don’t get soggy.
How to serve chickpea salad with avocado
With this recipe, it's best to serve fresh and enjoy on the same day.
Because this is an easy chickpea salad, you can either meal prep it in the morning or whip up this meal right before serving with little stress (which is why this is one of my favorite recipes).
I like to make it and then give it about 10-15 minutes in the fridge to incorporate all of the flavors before serving.
You can serve it as is on your favorite bread (gluten-free if needed) to make a chickpea avocado salad sandwich.
I added leafy greens and red onion to my sandwich.
It's also great on a wrap or or atop a bed of mixed greens
You can also make it into a dip with some tortilla chips or crackers. I love doing this on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Storing leftovers
If you find that you have some extra salad, there are ways to store it for another day in order to enjoy later on.
When storing leftovers of this garbanzo bean salad, all you need is an airtight container and you can store it in your refrigerator.
The lemon juice will help keep the avocado from browning, but note that some browning may still occur.
Frequently asked questions
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are some of the best food that you can incorporate into your diet. In many cultures around the world, they have been cooking with these miracle foods for years. Some benefits to adding chickpeas to your diet are:
-High in protein
-Packed with fiber (helping you feel fuller for longer)
-Low glycemic index (which can help with blood sugar regulation)
-High in magnesium and potassium
A great way to tell if avocados are ripe is that they are a little bit soft. Firm avocados need a few more days to taste their best. Remember: your goal is a tasty, creamy avocado that can blend well with the rest of these simple ingredients.
More vegan lunch recipes
Recipe
Chickpea Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz.) can, no salt added chickpeas (drained and rinsed; *skins removed if desired)
- 1 ripe avocado (pitted and peeled)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
- fine sea salt or kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork, leaving some chunks/whole chickpeas intact.
- Add the avocado to the mashed chickpeas.
- Blend avocado and chickpeas together by mashing with the potato masher or fork.
- Add the chives, salt, and pepper and stir.
- Stir in lemon juice.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Notes
Nutrition
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