Top your favorite sandwich or salad with this delicious Vegetarian Chicken Salad recipe, a quick combination of chickpeas, apples, and the classic chicken salad add-ins!
Something about chicken salad is so dang satisfying. Maybe it’s the savory crunchiness or the simple fact that it’s filling, but either way, I could eat an entire bowl.
If you’re a big chicken salad connoisseur yourself, I’m so excited for you to try this vegetarian chicken salad variation. Made with chickpeas, we’re totally skipping the chicken in favor of 2 cans of protein rich chickpeas combined with apple, onion, and celery.
A tangy and savory mayo and Greek yogurt dressing makes the dish complete! The whole shebang takes about 15 minutes to make. It creates 4 servings perfect for adding to a sandwich or salad or enjoying as-is!
Reader rating
“I just made this for the first time and omgosh my heart. One of the only things I miss the taste of from my meat eating days is chicken salad.. so I am STOKED.” —Bekka
How to make this vegetarian chicken salad Recipe
We’ll make this veggie chicken salad in two parts. We’ll start with the main ingredients like the chickpeas, onions, and apples, and then we’ll create the dressing and combine everything together.
Step 1: Drain and prep the chickpeas
To begin, drain 2 cans of chickpeas and roughly smash them with a fork or your fingers.
Step 2: Chop the apple and veggies
Finely chop 1 pink lady apple, 1 stalk of celery, and ¼ of a red onion.
Step 3: Assemble the salad
To make the dressing, mix ¼ cup of mayo, ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the other ingredients and stir to evenly combine.
For the tastiest results, allow the “chicken” salad to chill in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.
Veggie Chicken salad ingredient add ons
Chicken salad is one of those recipes that can be made approximately 1,000 different ways. And while I do feel mine is the best (I’m not biased, really), there are some ingredients that you can feel free to add or sub depending on what you like! Here are some ideas:
- Sunflower seeds
- Peanuts
- Grapes
- Chives
- Parsley
- Sour Cream
- Brown Sugar
- Black olives
- Green onion
Extra Delicious vegetarian meals to try
Can’t get enough of the veggie alternatives to popular meals? Try some of these! (And be sure to check out our whole library of delicious chickpea recipes).
Or for a different take on chicken, try our Chick-Fil-A Cauliflower Sandwich!
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 14-oz cans chickpeas drained, 400 g cans
- 1 pink lady apple finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion about ¼ of an onion
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise can sub vegan mayo, 60 g
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt can sub plant-based yogurt, 60 g
- 2 tsp dijon mustard 10 g
- 1 tsp lemon juice 5 mL
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Smash: Drain the cans of chickpeas and roughly smash the chickpeas with a fork or your fingers.
- Chop: Finely chop the apple, celery, and onion.
- Assemble: Stir together Dressing ingredients, then add all fillings and the dressing to a large bowl. Stir to evenly combine.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
It took everything in Rhubarb’s will to not snatch up one of those croissants.
James Poirier says
I love this recipe. We buy actual chicken salad for my daughter and she likes this one much better, the store bought one just sits in the fridge.
Sarah Bond says
So happy to hear it, James! 😀
Robert Brixius says
Thank you for this recipe. making this in the kitchen now vegan style.
Check The pic caption about Rubarb and the croissants!
TULIPBUMPER says
I grew up eating soy based ‘mystery meat’ (Loma Linda/Worthington). So add 4 sliced and diced pieces of Fri Chik to the recipe. LOVE LOVE. Also threw in some chopped Craisins in addition to apple.
Wonderful flavors. Could also make this into curried chicken salad by adding curry.
Lex Davis says
This recipe is amazing! I add a green onions to it as well!
Thank you!
Sarah Bond says
So happy to hear it, Lex! Enjoy! 😀
Cam says
We have a tree nut allergy in our house. What would you recommend in replacement of the almonds? Really want to try this! 🙂
Sarah Bond says
Perhaps sunflower seeds? They’ll add crunch and most folks aren’t allergic!
GMc says
I just made this and it’s a TON!! Which is great but we are two people. Can you freeze it?
Sarah Bond says
I haven’t tried freezing this before so I can’t say for sure! I think it would lose a bit of its crunch but probably still pretty good (especially heated on a grilled sandwich).
Cecily says
Going to make this. How do you think it would this recipe might work pulsed in the food processor?
Sarah Bond says
I think it could work well! Just be extra careful not to over blitz it 😀
Cecily says
Made for lunch, so simple and delicious! Pulsed in processor carefully (chickpeas first, then other stuff), love this recipe, thank you!
Bekka says
I just made this for the first time and omgosh my heart. One of the only things I miss the taste of from my meat eating days is chicken salad.. so I am STOKED.
I didn’t have Dijon, but I did have old world mustard. So I used that instead. Didn’t have almonds either so I left those out. Did throw in some fresh rosemary and dill from my spice garden and a bit of garlic salt. GIRL YES. I am living for this. 😍😍😍
Sarah Bond says
YAY!! This makes me so happy to hear, Bekka! Enjoy! 😀
rose levi says
i would love a vegan mayo recipe do you have one?
Sarah Bond says
I don’t have a vegan mayo recipe, but this one looks good! 😀
Aeryn says
My absolute favorite lunch lately! This is super tasty but I make it for only one person. How long does this last in the fridge?
Sarah Bond says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear it, Aeryn! This should last for 4 to 5 days 😀
Anne says
This is delicious! My very favorite add-in would have to be toasted nuts — almond slivers or chopped pecans, toasted in the microwave. Adds a wonderful texture and flavor!!
Sarah says
Delicious as a pita…
Pattie S says
I needed to double the sauce ingredients so it wasn’t too dry because my cans of chickpeas were 15.5 oz and I think my pink lady apple was larger than yours; you may want to add the weight of the apple you used. I chopped the veggies so tiny that no one could even tell what was in the mix, but these sandwiches were the hit of my daughter’r baby shower.