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!
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One of my signature sandwiches before giving up meat was chicken salad with olives and walnuts.
It was inspired by a cream cheese and olive finger sandwich I once had.
The combination of the saltiness of the olives and the subtle crunch of the walnuts is sooooo perfect.
And it works great with chickpeas instead of chicken too!
How to make chickpea salad with olives and walnuts
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.
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
- Tempeh Bacon BLT
- Vegan "Egg and Cheese"
- Copycat Panera Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich
- Chickpea and Avocado Salad
Chickpea Salad with Olives and Walnuts
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 and other helpful information for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
Nutrition
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Mona
I just made this, and I love it! I substituted toasted slivered almonds for the walnuts and served on a red cabbage leaf. So good...did I mention that I love olives? Thank you for this recipe!
Sireesha
We are so glad you loved it! Almonds seem like a great substitute for this!
Margie
Delicious! I've made it several times. One of the BEST sandwich spread recipes out there!! For some reason it reminds me of me mom's old fashion ham salad. Sometimes I add carrots or celery.
Leanne
Delicious! I toasted the walnuts. Teen boys loved the sandwiches I made with it (toasted sourdough bread). Thanks for creating this recipe!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Leanne! That's a great idea to toast the walnuts; I will have to try that. So glad you and the boys enjoyed it! 🙂
Anne Sanders
We're going to have it inside a jacket potato later!
Sherri Hall
Sounds delicious, Anne! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Christie
Another amazing recipe that uses a great pantry staple being chickpeas! This sounds so good and I bet my husband would love it because he adores them.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Christie! It's definitely one of my favorite lunches! 🙂
Kate @babaganosh.org
This salad sounds fantastic! I love adding walnuts to 'mushy' salads for crunch. (Mushy being used in a good way here!). I'll be making this soon.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Kate! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Heidy
Hello, you caught my attention at the mention of chickpeas. I'm a huge fan of any recipe that uses them. Have you tried the dry skinless ones yet? If not they are fabulous!!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Heidy! I love chickpeas too! I haven't tried them yet but I am in love with the roasted ones for my salads. 🙂
Neli Howard
Wow, how amazing does that look! I'm sure this is incredibly delicious! Love everything about this recipe! Looks VERY tasty!
Sherri Hall
Thank you so much Neli! 🙂
Lauren Vavala @ DeliciousLittleBites
This is such a good idea! I love all the ingredients but haven't had them together - sounds delish!!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Lauren! Olives and walnuts are sooooo good together! 🙂
iAdriana Lopez Martin
Walnuts are such a great ingredient make anything hearty and nutty flavored, the combo with the olives is a classic indeed. Nice idea and story!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Adriana! I LOVE walnuts ♥
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Make that SHERRI with an i! 🙂
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Great salad and great story, Sherry! Perhaps I should pursue small town journalism - woman's club meetings sound delicious!
Watch Learn Eat
Thank you so much, Allie! 🙂
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness
I love the story about The Geraldo Rivera Show. This chickpea salad sounds wonderful. I have never thought of using chickpeas in a sandwich such as this. Love it.
Watch Learn Eat
Thanks so much, Dawn! I couldn't believe I found those autographs! 🙂