Chickpea Sandwich Spread (Easy and delicious sandwich filling)

Are you bored of regular sandwich fillings? Then make this vegan chickpea sandwich spread that is so delicious yet filling. You can serve this versatile chickpea spread in many ways, and it will make a great lunch box or on-the-go breakfast.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas: In this recipe, I used home-cooked chickpeas. You can use canned chickpeas also to make this chickpea salad sandwich spread. Cooking chickpeas from scratch is very easy and healthy. Do check my Instant Pot chickpeas recipe to cook soaked or dried chickpeas.
• Tahini: I used sesame tahini to make the spread creamy and delicious. Instead of tahini, you can use any nut butter or vegan mayo or skip it.
• Veggies: I used only red onions and tomatoes while making this recipe, but bell peppers are also a great addition. If you intend to use the sandwich spread immediately, you can also use chopped cucumber.
• Spices: Everyday spices like ground cumin, red chili powder, and black pepper powder will flavor the sandwich spread very well.

Instructions

• Take cooked chickpeas to a bowl. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them to remove excess salt.

• Using a fork or potato masher, mash the chickpeas.

• Add tahini, lemon juice, black pepper powder, and salt to a mixing bowl.

• Whisk everything very well. The tahini mixture may be slightly thick. Add one or two teaspoon of water if it is very thick.

• Now add finely chopped onions and tomatoes to this tahini mixture and stir it well. The mixture will become creamy.

• Add the mashed chickpeas to this veggie mixture. 

• Mix everything well. Adjust spices and salt if required.

• Add finely chopped cilantro leaves and stir it once. The creamy and delicious chickpea sandwich spread is ready to serve.

Recipe Notes & Variations

• Instead of chickpeas, you can use kidney beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, or black chickpeas to make this chickpea sandwich filling.
• Mashing the chickpeas is optional, but mashed chickpeas will give a nice texture to the spread.
• Instead of these regular spices, you can use Mexican spice powder, cajun spice mix, or everything bagel seasoning.
•  Fresh herbs like mint, dill, basil, and parsley also go well in this recipe.
• If using cucumbers in this recipe, skip the water, as cucumbers will release some water. And use the spread as soon as possible.
• You can even use steamed carrots, broccoli, peas, corn, and beans in this recipe.

• I used only ground black pepper. You can use red chili powder or red chili flakes to make it spicier. You can even use curry powder for a curried chickpeas salad spread.
• If you like smooth texture, blend all the ingredients into a rough or smooth paste using a hand blender or a high-speed blender. Blending will yield a creamy chickpea spread that is easy to spread on the toasted bread.
• Instead of using fresh tomatoes, you can use tomato salsa also. Mix the salsa with smashed chickpeas, adjust the spices, and the chickpea spread is ready in no time.
• Naturally, this chickpea salad spread is vegan and gluten-free. Serve it with any gluten-free bread for a gluten-free meal.
• If you have vegan mayo, you can use that instead of tahini.

Serving suggestions

Although you can serve this chickpea spread as a sandwich, you can also serve it in other ways.

•  As the tortilla filling.
• Side dish with flatbread like chapati, naan bread, and red lentil wraps.
• Scoop it over the bed of lettuce and serve it as a smashed chickpea salad.
• Fill it inside the rice paper rolls. 

Storage

If you use cucumbers, I suggest serving the spread immediately as it becomes soggy. Otherwise, you can store this in the refrigerator for a day or two.
And you can freeze this chickpea spread for three months or so. Instead of freezing the spread, I usually freeze the cooked chickpeas and make the spread as needed.

FAQs

As you are here, take a look at other chickpea recipes on my blog.

Recipe