Description
This vegan chicken salad offers a delicious, plant-based alternative to traditional chicken salad, featuring a blend of chickpeas and slivered almonds for a flaky, chicken-like texture. Enhanced with crisp celery, sweet red grapes, and tart dried cherries, all tossed in creamy vegan mayo and brightened with lemon juice. Perfect for sandwiches, salads, or as a snack with crackers, this recipe is quick to prepare and keeps well for up to five days in the fridge.
Ingredients
Salad Base
- 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
- 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Add-ins
- 2 celery ribs, diced small
- 1/2 cup red grapes, halved
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
Dressing
- 1/2 cup Vegan Mayo
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pulse almonds: In a food processor, pulse the raw slivered almonds a few times until they become crumbly but avoid over-processing them into powder or paste.
- Add chickpeas: Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the food processor with the almonds, and pulse a few times until the mixture turns flaky, leaving some chickpeas whole to avoid a pasty texture.
- Mix salad ingredients: Transfer the almond and chickpea mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the diced celery, halved grapes, dried cherries, vegan mayo, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste until well combined.
- Chill and serve: Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve, allowing the flavors to meld. Serve on croissants, bread with lettuce, over a salad, or alongside crackers. Keeps up to 5 days refrigerated.
Notes
- Do not over process almonds and chickpeas; leave some texture for better mouthfeel.
- For extra zest, add a pinch of garlic powder or smoked paprika if desired.
- This salad is great for meal prep and can be stored up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Make sure to rinse chickpeas well to reduce sodium content and improve flavor.
- For nuttier flavor, lightly toast the almonds before processing (optional).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: Vegan
