Vegan Curry Chickpea Salad

This vegan curry chickpea salad is flavorful and easy to make.  It’s creamy, crunchy, a little sweet, and a little spicy.   It can be used to top crackers for snack time or made into a curry chickpea salad sandwich for a filling lunch. 

The recipe is my vegan version of curry chicken salad and it can be made in advance.  So, it works great for meal prepping.  Another cold creamy salad for meal prep or a filling lunch is my vegan chickpea salad with no mayo. If you're looking for more chickpea base dips I have a buffalo chickpea dip that's delicious with carrots and celery.

For more easy vegan meal ideas that require no cooking try a hummus cucumber sandwich, vegan avocado toast, or vegan toast ideas.

Jump to:

• Ingredient notes
• Instructions
• Tips
• Variations and substitutions
• Storage
• Serving suggestions
• Related recipes
• More oil-free dips
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredient notes

Chickpeas - Cooked chickpeas are the base of the salad and they hold flavors well. Instead of canned 1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas can be used. For more chickpea-inspired dips, try smoked paprika hummus.

Vegan mayo or vegan sour cream - Vegan mayo or sour cream works well and makes the chickpea salad creamy.  I haven’t tested it but plain unsweetened yogurt or oil-free hummus will probably also work well in this vegan curry chickpea salad.  If the yogurt is super tangy, you can try leaving out the lemon juice.

Red bell pepper - The red bell peppers and finely diced red onions are delicious additions and add some crunch to the salad.

Diced red onion - Finely dice the onion to not have large chunks. They add a nice flavor and crunch but can be left out if needed or use green onions.

Curry powder and garlic powder - Add curry powder and garlic powder for lots of flavors. If your curry powder has some heat to it, add the sriracha to taste.

Lemon juice - The fresh lemon juice adds a little tang to the recipe. If you substitute the mayo with yogurt, skip adding the lemon juice.

Maple syrup - The vegan curry chickpea salad recipe calls for a touch of maple syrup for a little sweetness to complement those sweet red bell peppers. 

Sriracha - This is a hot, sweet, sour, and salty condiment with garlic undertones.  There’s not an excellent substitution for it, but in a pinch, you can try cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, Frank’s Red Hot, or even sambal oelek (chili paste).  Start with less then add more if needed.  It’s easier to add more than to try to fix putting in too much. This can be skipped if you don't want to add any heat to the dip.

Instructions

Start by draining and rinsing the canned chickpeas.  Then add them to a bowl and mash them with the back of a fork.  Mash all of them or leave some whole to suit your texture preference.

Chop your red bell pepper and red onion, then add them to the chickpeas. Next, add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine. If you like it spicy, add a teaspoon of sriracha for a little kick.  Taste to season with a little more salt if it’s needed.

Tips

• Everyone has a different cap on spiciness, so if you don’t like it hot, start with ½ teaspoon of sriracha then step up to 1 teaspoon if it’s not enough.  If that’s still not enough kick for you, add more.
• Dice the red bell pepper and red onion small to not have large chunks.

Variations and substitutions

• The red bell pepper can be substituted with diced or shredded carrots.  
• The red onion can be substituted with green onion.
• Adding chopped fresh cilantro would also probably be a nice addition.
• Try a few raisins for sweetness instead of maple syrup.

Storage

Store leftover vegan curry chickpea salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  

Serving suggestions

• Serve it with crackers 
• Use it as a dip for your favorite veggies
• Make it into a sandwich
• On a croissant
• Make it into a curry chickpea salad wrap with match stick carrots and lettuce
• Stuffed in a pita
• Lettuce cups
• On top of your favorite greens for a salad

Related recipes

• Vegan chickpea tuna salad sandwich (No Mayo)
• Hummus cucumber sandwich
• Vegan avocado toast
• Curry chickpea salad wrap

More oil-free dips

• Oil-free hummus
• Smoked paprika hummus
• Vegan guacamole
• Pico de Gallo (vegan)
• Vegan nacho cheese
• Chickpea buffalo dip

As always I hope you enjoy this vegan curried chickpea salad recipe! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.

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