Curried chickpea salad makes a delicious and easy lunch or snack. With crunchy veggies and oil-free vegan mayo, it's also nutritious and packing major curry flavor! Free from oil, soy, gluten, and refined sugar.
There's a cafe in my hometown where years ago I would occasionally meet my mom for lunch. It was a gourmet market/prepared foods-deli type of place, and they served a curried chicken salad sandwich that was a favorite of hers.
I'm not sure what recently reminded me of that curried chicken salad, but it set in motion a serious craving for curried chickpea salad! My version is made with Oil-Free Aquafaba Mayo, curry powder, fresh carrot and bell pepper, and sweet golden raisins. Not only is it much healthier than the deli's version, it's much kinder, too.
Now, let's whip up a quick batch!
Ingredients
This recipe makes enough chickpea salad for 3 to 4 people, so if you're serving a crowd or want to enjoy leftovers over the next few days, go ahead and double the recipe.
Here's a quick summary of the ingredients you'll need (be sure to scroll down for the full recipe):
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas or 1.75 to 2 cups cooked chickpeas - If using my aquafaba mayo recipe for the chickpea salad, it works well to make them in tandem. Open a can of chickpeas; drain and reserve the liquid (aquafaba). Rinse the chickpeas, and set them aside while you make the mayo.
- oil-free aquafaba mayo or other vegan mayonnaise
- curry powder
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- maple syrup or other sweetener
- raisins, golden or regular
- half of a yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- a squeeze of fresh lemon, optional
- sea salt
- black pepper
And for the optional, but very tasty and highly recommended, quick pickled red onion:
- about one-quarter of a large red onion (or half of a small one)
- rice vinegar
Throwing together a quick batch of this tasty chickpea salad is as easy as you'd expect. Simply whisk together the curried mayo dressing, soak the onions in vinegar, soak the raisins in water to plump them up, and chop a couple of veggies.
Then drain the raisins and onion, and mix everything together! Mash some of the chickpeas to help it hold together and for varying textures. Then, taste and adjust the seasoning to make it as spicy and/or sweet as you like.
Enjoy curried chickpea salad on toasted bread, crackers, wrapped up inside a whole-grain tortilla, or on top of lettuce. It's also delicious with rice!
Variations
Not in the mood for chickpeas? Try this curried salad with:
- white beans
- shredded seitan
- steamed tempeh or tofu
- rehydrated and cooked soy curls
- or store-bought vegan chicken like Comrade Cluck from No Evil Foods!
If you try this Curried Chickpea Salad I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out. Enjoy!
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Vegan "Tuna" Salad
Vegan BLT With Tempeh and Carrot Bacon
Parsley-Dill Pasta Salad
Easy Massaman Curried Seitan
Quick Pickled Vegetables
Ginger-Turmeric Dressing (Trader Joe's Copycat)
Curried Chickpea Salad With Quick Pickled Onion
Ingredients
For quick-pickled onion (optional):
- ¼ large red onion, sliced thinly
- a few tablespoons rice vinegar
For chickpea salad:
- ½ cup golden raisins Also try currants, cranberries, or regular Thompson seedless raisins.
- ½ cup Oil-Free Vegan Aquafaba Mayo Or ⅓ cup other vegan mayo.
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 to 3 teaspoons curry powder Start with lesser amount then adjust to taste.
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- 1 ¾ cups cooked chickpeas Or 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas; the aquafaba liquid can be used to make the oil-free mayo linked above.
- half of a large yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
- black pepper
Instructions
- Place sliced onion in a shallow bowl and cover with rice vinegar. Set aside.
- To soften and plump the raisins, place in a bowl and cover with water. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, maple syrup, lemon juice, 2 tsp curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Taste, and add more curry powder, if desired (remember, it will taste more subdued once chickpeas and veggies are added).
- Drain the raisins and add them to the bowl along with the chickpeas, pepper, and carrot. Stir to combine and distribute the dressing. Use a fork to mash some of the chickpeas (as many as you like). Taste again, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Drain the onion. Serve as a garnish, or dice it and fold into the chickpea salad.
- Serve chickpea salad, or refrigerate until ready to use.
