Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich

I’ve never liked egg salad, potato salad, or macaroni salad. Don’t get me wrong, I love salads, just not the mayonnaise based kind. I can’t stand mayo! Well, I recently created a creamy salad that I love and there is no mayonnaise involved. This Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich gets it’s creaminess from the avocado! It is my new favorite sandwich. I could eat it every day for lunch…and some weeks I do:) I am sharing the recipe today because it is the perfect GREEN sandwich for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!

My lunch time is usually rushed because Caleb needs mama’s attention, so I love that this healthy salad can be made in minutes. The salad is also fun to make because you get to use a fork to smash the chickpeas and avocado together. If you have older children, get them involved and have them help with this step. Caleb is still too young, but someday this will be his job:)
After you get the chickpeas and avocado smashed together, stir in fresh cilantro, green onion, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and that is it! I told you it was simple to make. Spread the Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad on two slices of bread and you have a sandwich! I like to add fresh spinach leaves to my sandwich. You can also add lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, etc. Add whatever sandwich toppings you like.
This Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad is also great as a dip for veggies, crackers, and pita chips. It is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free-as long as you use gluten free-bread or serve as a dip with veggies or gluten-free crackers.
If you are looking for a quick and healthy lunch idea, make this Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich. It is one of my favorite sandwiches and I hope you like it too!
And now for a few “housekeeping” items: Today is the last day to enter our giveaway for 3 SIGNED copies of The Pioneer Woman’s new book, Food From My Frontier. Hurry and enter! And make sure you come back on Monday because it is going to be a VERY exciting day on the blog! Stay tuned! Happy weekend and don’t forget to wear your green tomorrow:)

Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich
Yield: Salad for 3-4 sandwiches
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
This Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich is a great quick and easy lunch option that is good for you too! The salad also makes a great dip!
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas or garbanzo beans (I use Bush's Garbanzo Beans)
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bread of your choice (I use whole wheat bread)
Fresh spinach leaves or other sandwich toppings: lettuce, tomato slices, sprouts, etc.Directions:
1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Place on a paper towel and remove the outer skins. You can leave them on, but I like to remove them.
2. In a medium bowl, using a fork or potato masher smash the chickpeas and avocado together. Add in cilantro, green onion, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Spread salad on bread and top with your favorite sandwich toppings. I like to add fresh spinach leaves.
Note: This salad also makes a great dip. Serve with cut up veggies, crackers, or pita chips. Also, this salad is best eaten the day it is made because it will turn brown due to the avocado.
If you like this Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich, you might also like:
- BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burgers from How Sweet It Is
- Smashed Chickpea Salad from Smitten Kitchen
- Hummus and Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Naturally Ella
- Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Two Peas and Their Pod




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I know you love your avocados..this is right up your alley. And mine!
Very healthy and so scrumptious looking! A marvelous idea.
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks delicious! Healthy, pretty and totally spring-y. I can’t wait to try it
I love this idea! Avocado is so much healthier and tastier than mayo!
Smashed chickpea sandwiches are my favorite in place of the other popular “salad” sandwiches. Love the addition of the avocado!
Thanks for the link love!
Love that this uses NO mayo, etc.!
This looks great! Avocados and chick peas are two of my favorite things in life, and just the thought of mayo makes me shudder. I’ll definitely make this.
So simple! I love it!
I love this..what a healthy sandwich and lots of flavor…plus this would fill you up!
This sounds awesome! I’m always looking for “to-go” vegetarian sandwiches!
Avocadooooo! YUM!
I’ve got to try this … yum!!
Gorgeous little sandwich! It’s a perfect color for an outing this weekend! Love it!!
Absolutely cannot WAIT to make this! Thank you!
This is so different and beautiful and quick that it is definitely being made for lunch this weekend!
Oh, heaven! I love this!!!
What a beautiful, healthy, delicious sandwich. I honestly think that I will be making it for lunch today. If I do, I will certainly tweet you a picture.
Have a happy weekend!
This sound so good, I agree with you and the mayo. I like a little and most salads are way too much. Thanks.
This is such an excellent idea for a healthy sandwich. Although I am not a vegetarian, I often eat vegetarian meals, especially for my lunches and I’m definitely adding this to my lunch menu. Chickpeas are my favorite legume–I love their creamy texture and adorable shape.
I also love the idea of using this as a dip for an appetizer. This will be a great one to serve in the upcoming {hot} summer months. Thank you for such a great recipe, Maria!
I eat avocado and chilli sandwiches at least twice a week for lunch. I’ve also added in hummus but love the rough and readiness of the smashed chickpeas here. Lovely.
You hate mayo?!
Sigh. I guuuuessssss we can still be friends
But only because you make awesome stuff like this. It looks fabulous!!
This is brilliant, Maria. I keep asking myself why I hadn’t thought of it. This is my dream sandwich!
Even though I am a mayo girl this looks like all sorts of yum! I love finding healthy replacements for mayo. And kudos for a kid friendly (aka I can nurse while eating) lunch!
This is an awesome idea! I hate the mayo laden salads too. I’ve done the chicken, tuna and egg salads without mayo and used other things in it’s place but this is even better because who doesn’t love avocado?! Have a great weekend!
A perfectly smashing sandwich!! Yum!!
So glad I found your blog. This sandwich looks incredible. I don’t eat much meat. As a result, I hardly do sandwiches much anymore. This is such a great alternative.
This is the perfect way to have my kids eat garbanzo without dealing with that. The kids sometimes give us a very hard time when trying to give them healthy products to eat, one of them is grabanzos. Great recipe…!!!
I don’t like mayo either- it freaks me out! This is a creamy blend I would love.
Yummy! This is going in a bookmarked folder!
YUM! oh i love mayo and i love non mayo salads.
i just love new things. this is fabulous.
This looks delish! I despise eggs but have always thought egg salad sandwiches looked so good because they are so creamy. This looks like a wonderful substitution! Thanks for the great idea!
I am aaallllllllllllllll over this!!! You are brilliant!
um yes!!! can’t wait to use my fresh sourdough for this!
Our tastebuds are soooo similar. And we even both posted a chickpea and avocado recipe today.
Weird!
This sandwich looks super yum, obviously, if you love it, I’m SURE to love it
I’ll take one in about an hour, please. I adore avocados and chickpeas. Must make.
the only “salad” sandwich i ever really liked was egg salad, but i’m thinking this one is going to be my new favorite too! i love avocados and am kind of obsessed right now
This avocado-hummus combo sounds so good! I don’t like mayo on my sandwiches… as good as it tastes, I just can’t allow myself to eat it. This is a definite winner!
What a healthy, flavorful, and delicious sandwich. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I really like the idea of this wholesome meatless sandwich!
oh how I wish I had some chickpeas right now! I have avocados, and I’d love to make this for lunch!