The vegan chickpea salad is my go-to, quick and easy vegan meal. It is
the most versatile, accessible recipe that can easily become whatever
you want depending on how you make it. In the video, I made a chickpea-pasta salad, which tastes great by itself, in sandwiches, or with chips & crackers.
VARIATIONS
Suggestions:
The chickpea salad is a vegan version of the classic tuna salad, egg
salad, pasta salad, and potato salad that can easily emulate any of those "salads" based on the seasonings and ingredients that you have in your home. For
each of these variations, you can use what you have. For instance, if you don't have
chickpeas, try it with tofu or potatoes or pasta.
For more of a "tuna" salad, add seaweed. Dulse flakes are a popular choice to emulate that fish or sea-like flavor. Mashed chickpeas make a good texture. For egg-less salad, add more vegan mayo, use tofu, make it creamy. Add pasta and/or potatoes and your favorite seasonings for more of a classic potato or pasta salad.
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| Chickpea sandwich with avocado, tomato, vegan cheese, and spike seasoning. |
INGREDIENTS
These are the ingredients I usually use and they are all optional
- chickpeas
- celery or bell pepper, if I have it
- vegan mayo and/or mustard
- relish - I like mine sweet with lots of relish
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- nutritional yeast
- paprika or turmeric
METHODS
Mash chickpeas or tofu // Cube cooked potatoes // Cook pasta // Mix with veggies and seasonings.
It's often different every time I make this because it's based off of what I currently have. So there have been times where I made it without vegan mayo and just used more relish and mustard or used tofu instead of chickpeas. I don't measure, but add ingredients and season to taste.
SNACKS/MEALS
This recipe, however you make it, is good by itself, as a sandwich, as a dip with chips or crackers, wrapped in a tortilla, in a lettuce wrap. The choices are endless.
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| Chickpea salad sandwich with avocado, tomato, and sprouts. |
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| This is more of a tofu scramble, but chickpea salad could go in tortilla as well |
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| With chips |
These are the ingredients that I use:
Sauce Base
- Nutritional yeast (good source of Vitamin B12 and other B-vitamins)
- Daiya (or other brand of) vegan cheese
- Almond-coconut milk
- 1/2 to 1/4 tsp Braggs Amino Acids (or salt)
- Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Peas, etc.
- My favorite type of pasta for creamy dishes like this is rice pasta since it gets very mushy and starchy when cooked.
Not only is this an easy crust/pizza to make, it doesn't take up too much time and it is delicious!
INGREDIENTS
CRUST
3 cups grated Cauliflower*
1 Cup+1Tbs Gluten-free All-purpose Flour
3/4 Cup blended ripe banana (which I actually forgot to put in crust)**
A few dashes of cornmeal to keep the crust from sticking.
If you use parchment paper, I imagine this won't be a problem
SAUCE
1 6OZ can of tomato paste (no salt added)
1 Cup Water
Spinach
Seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning
TOPPING
I used one whole tomato, spinach, and orange bell pepper.
- - -
*You can ground the cauliflower with a grater, in a blender, or in a food processor.
**Ground flaxseeds are also a really good binding substitute for egg.
METHOD
- Grate cauliflower and put in mixing bowl, mix flour and ground flaxseeds.
- Knead the 'dough' and place 1-cup sized portions onto foil, cookie sheet, or parchment paper to bake in the oven for 15 minutes on 450 F. You can use a layer of cornmeal to coat the bottom of the crusts so that they don't stick.
- Simmer sauce and add your toppings! Place the pizza back into the oven for another 10-20 minutes.
I had a hunger for burritos... healthy vegan burritos. If you're looking for something quick and easy with only few ingredients that you probably already have, vegan burritos are the way to go.
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Vegan Black Bean Burrito (1 serving)
INGREDIENTS
Org. black beans, 1 can
Potato, 1 medium
Corn, 1.5 cups
Onion, 1/4
Tomatoes, 2
Green pepper / jalapeno pepper (I used poblano instead of jalapeno and added 2 oz)
ADD-INS
Tomato, lettuce, avocado.
I even used a few drops of sriracha for extra spice.
All ingredients and amounts for each depend on preferences, alter it any way you want
I even used a few drops of sriracha for extra spice.
All ingredients and amounts for each depend on preferences, alter it any way you want
BASE
Half of the ingredients will be blended or processed for sauce texture while the other half will remain in a chopped state.
1- Drain beans, set aside.
Liquid from beans can be used to cook potatoes
2- Cut potato in small chunks, cook and set aside.
You could use the water from boiling the potato to cook chopped onions
3- Slice onions and cook until clear.
When warmed, add the sauce mixture to the pan.
4- Add half of the potatoes and half the can of beans to a processor or blender and pulse with tomatoes,
green pepper, and corn to make the sauce.
5- Add chopped veggies (green pepper, corn, tomatoes) to caramelized onions.green pepper, and corn to make the sauce.
When warmed, add the sauce mixture to the pan.
6- Mix everything together and wrap in tortilla
'SAUCE'
WRAPS
I wanted to use tortilla wraps that did not have any artificial additives and were made with sprouted grains and few ingredients so I tried the Food for Life and Engine 2 Diet tortillas (you can find them in the freezer section). These are great alternatives to regular tortillas with many additives and artificial flavors, and corn syrup. The only disadvantage is that these sprouted/ancient grains are more expensive, but they taste great and add a new flavorful dimension to the conventional, bland-tasting tortilla.
Cooking/Preparing
The third time I made this, I ran out of tomatoes but the burritos still turned out great without them. I still recommend tomatoes though. Just goes to show that you can use whatever ingredients you have to make these.
Assembling
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| Almost Deconstructed-style |
