Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts

This Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts makes a delicious gluten-free and vegan lunch that's ready in minutes with only 5 ingredients plus salt and pepper to taste! Perfect on a sandwich or wrap, over greens or even as a cracker topper!

Stop the presses!

I'm making another chickpea recipe! 😉

Speaking of the press, a long, long time ago (in the year 2000), I took my first professional writing job as a reporter for a local newspaper.

One of my assignments was to...WAIT! Are you sure you can handle the excitement?

OK, then I'll continue...One of my assignments was to attend and report on...

women's club meetings!

I know. I know. You are so jealous right now. That's some serious hard-core journalism right there. I mean, it's on par with big name journalists like Geraldo Rivera.

Speaking of Geraldo, a long, long time ago (in 1995), I was on a high school trip to New York City to watch a live taping of The Geraldo Rivera Show. We were all surprised when Geraldo came to talk to us before the show.

I, being a shy, quiet, reserved teenager (yup, that's sarcasm), quickly ripped a sheet of paper out of a notebook I carried in my bag and ran up to Mr. Rivera, begging for an autograph.

He signed the paper (Exhibit A), which just so happened to be the back of some sort of grocery list I had been creating about two months prior (Exhibit B). Go figure!

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Eventually, Mr. Rivera signed all of the students' tickets to the show (Exhibit C), but I feel I was responsible for initiating this event. 🙂

Exhibit C

Anyway, so now I'll get to the part where any of this has something to do with a recipe for Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts.

That takes us back to the women's club. The ladies of the club served finger sandwiches at every function, and they were always trying to feed me.

On a side note, journalists of small-town newspapers don't make very much money. So, I guess you could say I was a starving artist. 😉

One of my favorite finger sandwiches from the women's club ladies was made with cream cheese and green olives. It was this sandwich that inspired me oh so long ago to create a recipe for chicken salad with green olives and walnuts.

Fast forward to the present and one day while staring at my plethora of canned chickpeas, it hit me! I could make a vegan/vegetarian version of my old chicken salad recipe using chickpeas instead of chicken!

The combination of the saltiness of the olives and the subtle crunch of the walnuts is sooooo perfect...sorry, chewing now. 😉 You can find out for yourself by giving it a try...

How to make it

Start by adding olives, walnuts and chopped shallot to the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse 10-15 times, scraping the sides as needed. Add chickpeas and pulse approximately 7-10 more times until desired consistency is reached, again scraping the sides as needed.

Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in your favorite vegan mayonnaise plus salt and pepper to taste. You can lighten up this recipe by using our low-fat, oil-free vegan mayo.

Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Ideas for serving

Enjoy this salad as a sandwich on your favorite bread with lettuce, microgreens, a slice of vegan cheese or whatever else you like to put on your sandwiches. 🙂

You can also serve it on your favorite crackers, in a wrap or over greens...

OR you can always make some finger sandwiches and take them to your local women's club.

The ladies will love 'em! 😉

Storing

You can store the chickpea salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Give it a good mix before using.

More Vegan Sandwiches

• Vegan BLT with our Tempeh Bacon
• Vegan "Egg and Cheese"

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5 from 6 votes

Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts

This Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts makes a delicious gluten-free and vegan lunch that's ready in minutes with only 5 ingredients plus salt and pepper to taste! Perfect on a sandwich or wrap, over greens or even as a cracker topper!

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword chickpeas, gluten free, meatless monday, sandwich, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 303kcal

Author Sherri Hall

Ingredients

• ½ cup pimento-stuffed green olives (packed, no liquid)
• ½ cup raw walnuts (packed)
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 1 (15 oz.) can, no salt added chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise *See notes
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Add olives, walnuts and chopped shallot to the bowl of a food processor.
• Pulse until finely chopped (approximately 10-15 times), scraping the sides as needed.
• Add chickpeas and pulse approximately 7-10 more times until desired consistency is reached, again scraping the sides as needed. The consistency should be somewhat similar to tuna salad.
• Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in mayonnaise plus salt and pepper to taste.
• Refrigerate until ready to eat.

(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs for this recipe)

Suggested Equipment/Tools

Food Processor

Notes

*You can use any store-bought vegan mayo for this recipe. Use a soy-free mayo if needed. To lighten it up, you can try it with our homemade oil-free vegan mayo. If you are not vegan or avoiding eggs, feel free to use traditional mayonnaise.

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Accuracy is not guaranteed. Information shown should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Please note that nutrition information was calculated for the chickpea salad alone without any toppings or bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Fiber: 6g

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