Chickpea Sunflower Sandwich

One of my all time favourite salads to make. I use 2tsps of sweetener instead of maple syrup and it’s absolutely delicious – I could eat this in bulk!

This was really good. I used honey and regular yellow mustard and tahini and it turned out great. It held together in the sandwich really well. I didn’t thin the Herb Garlic Sauce but used it as a spread. I think it would be good on all sorts of sandwiches. Will be making it again.

This recipe is so good!!!!! (I did not make the sauce.). Such an easy and fast recipe! Definitely the best chickpea salad recipe so far!!!
Thank you!

This is superb! A great lunch. The sunflower seeds add wonderful crunch and texture. I cooked chickeas myself in my Instant Pot and they were a little firmer than canned chickpeas, so I mashed them in my food processor–just a couple of zaps. I used tahini. The mixture was a little dry, so I added a spoonful of mayo at the end.

This recipe is so, SO good!! I absolutely loved it!! The sunflower seeds in this are delicious! The sauce is AMAZING! I tried the recipe last night and ate this for a light dinner. Then, I ate the rest for lunch. Then when I get home tonight, I’m making it again, LOL!! I love chickpeas, and I love chickpea salad, but this is the best recipe so far!! I will keep and use this recipe very often!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Ps: I would’ve included a photo, but it’s all gone!!!

OH MY GOSH,Delicious! Thank you again for another amazing recipe.

This is delicious and super fast to make. I put everything in my mini food processor. Had it with avocado and arugula on a pita. Can’t wait to have another for lunch tomorrow.

So good. I’ve had a bunch of chickpea salads and the sunflower seeds made a big difference. New fav!

So amazingly delicious. Love the texture, love the flavour and bonus points for being healthy. It’s a regular lunch time recipe for us!

I love it! For me, tomato, avocado and red onion make the sandwich another level so don’t miss them. Thank you so much for the recipe. :)

I’ve made this recipe a few times over the years, always enjoying it. The sunflower seeds are a nice touch for taste and texture. If you feel the need for added crunch, celery is a nice addition. I don’t mind the inclusion of maple syrup, if you feel it’s too sweet you can do two things. Lower the amount, or temper it with some addition of acid. Adding some diced pickles/pickle juice is nice for melding of flavors and adding something else. Apple cider vinegar works, but I prefer a dash of ACV and some lemon juice instead (fresh squeezed or bottled).

I honestly feel like the recipe could use the addition of some more acid anyways as the mustard really isn’t enough in my opinion, but the addition of the garlic herb sauce does that already, so it isn’t necessarily needed. Either way, 5 stars and another excellent addition to my personal recipe library.

Thank you!!

Made the chickpea and sunflower sandwich last night! IT WAS SOOOOO good. My husband had TWO helpings. We ran out of bread, lol, so I placed the filling and sauce over baby spinach with the tomatoes! Will make repeatedly.

I just made this, without the garlic sauce. I also omitted the maple syrup because I tasted it, and it didn’t seem to need extra sweetness. It’s delicious! I’ll make it again for sure! Thank you!

Delicious. We all really enjoyed these sandwiches; in-laws approved!

Delicious! 11 year old daughter was suspicious, but gobbled it up. Thanks another great recipe.

I am just starting my vegan journey and made this sandwich. Oh my goodness – packed with flavor! I did not use maple syrup – not a fan. The garlic sauce is heaven !!! Thanks for sharing your recipes. I will be trying more !!!

Can this sandwich filling be made the day before it’s served

I make this all the time! Only change I make is using garlic hummus in the sauce when I’m out of the fresh stuff. It turns out delish every time!

This recipe is amazingly quick to prep. I used Chosen foods mayo with avocado oil (my fave because it doesn’t have an artificial taste but it’s not vegan). Honestly, the sunflower seeds and the taste of the fresh dill are what really got me excited about the flavors/textures I was tasting. I used slices from a Sourdough baguette for the sandwich bread and toasted it for some added crunch…I don’t like soft on soft textures lol. This recipe gave me a newfound respect for red onions as well. :) loved it!

Omg! This is divine!!!! I even had every ingredient… which never happens. Couldn’t stop eating it by the spoonful! Thank you
I give this 5 stars!

This is a fantastic sandwich! So delicious and filling, and I can see it becoming a lunch staple for me going forward. I added arugula as well as tomatoes to my sandwich. I recommend doubling the batch of sauce because you will definitely want more. I also added more mustard to the sandwich mix and less maple syrup because of personal preferences.

Absolutely delicious! I only had pepitas on hand so I pan toasted them and used them in place of the sunflower seeds and it added a nice texture. I enjoyed it both hot and cold- “tuna melt” style and as a dip for crudites and crackers.

This was really delicious and so easy to whip up for lunch. Since I don’t really like too much mayo (used regular since I didn’t have vegan), I started at 1 TBSP and gradually added more until I got the texture I wanted, about 1.5-2 TBSP. I also added a squeeze of lemon juice since I didn’t make the sauce. Next time, I will probably reduce the maple syrup to cut back on the sweetness.

Ate on toasted sourdough with lettuce and tomato. So good :-)

Let’s try this again! 5 stars! I made this recipe for my lunch yesterday and had it on a bed of spinach with avocado on the side and it was excellent. I used tahini instead of mayo as that is what I had on hand. Bonus points for keeping me pleasantly full all afternoon, no need for snack. Will definitely make this again and again!

I love this recipe, well almost all your recipes, but I am at the point where I have to have an add blocker on my computer just to get through the page. There are just way too many adds. : (

Very, very easy, fast and tasty. No special equipment or ingredients needed because this recipe is mercifully versatile. Love the sunflower seed idea!

This recipe is fantastic!! I put the chick peas on a bed on spinach with a side of avocado. Delicious! It’s like tuna salad … but not gross!

Made this for lunch today, it’s a lovely recipe! I didn’t have fresh dill so I used a dried dill powder, which is a blend with lemon, pepper, onion and garlic powder, in the sauce (the leftover sauce is great on crackers!) and I added chopped scallion since I had some. I used the tahini instead of mayo – I love the earthiness of that. I used only about a teaspoon of maple syrup and didn’t think it needed any more sweetness. I used my cocktail muddler to smash the chickpeas :-) Thanks for the recipe!

Recipe calls for way too much mayo in my opinion. Followed the instructions exactly using measurement spoons and it ended up being way oversaturated. Other than that, recipe had a good flavor profile – will try again and use maybe a tbsp at first and go from there.

Been looking for a good chickpea sandwich filling for years. This may be it! Was delicious. That said I added some chopped purple celery, and diced aji amarillo chili for sweet heat. Was outstanding.

Super delicious! I didn’t make the dressing and it was amazing without it! I was really impressed with the simplicity and tastiness of the recipe. Have already made it twice in a week.

This made one of my favorite lunches in quite a while. Loved the simplicity, the creaminess, and the texture from the sunflower seeds. I skipped the garlic herb sauce and it was still flavorful.

Easy delicious sandwich filling!

I’ve been making this dish for years and it’s a staple in our house! Thanks for the great recipe.

This recipe is so tasty and easy! My boyfriend actually asked if there was tuna in it, haha! I’ll eat fish but like to keep it down to 1-2x per week. This is a great veg alternative and delivers a good amount of fiber, which is hard sometimes even when eating a high veg diet. Thanks so much for all the great recipes!

Was busy painting inside our home yesterday, so needed something quick, easy and tasty. This recipe certainly fit the bill! Thank you so much!

Totally awesome sandwich! I added raisins to it to give it a taste of sweetness and the next time I make I will add celery for an added crunch. The sauce is especially good

Absolutely Amazing!! I have made other chickpea sandwiches and this one is the best by far! Everything was so good… especially the roasted sunflower seeds!! I bought raw sunflowers and toasted themself so there wasn’t any oil on them :). I don’t like to use vegan mayo because of the usually yucky ingredients, but I tried Trader Joes vegan mayo/dressing because the ingredients are much better and it was delicious!! Thank you!

This is the most delicious chickpea sandwich ever! Do yourself a favor and make some today. And do not forget the garlic sauce. I topped my sandwich with homemade pickled onions, a dill pickle and some micro greens. My body craves this!

I love this recipe so much! Have come back to it multiple times over the years for a great snack to make for a hike. I just combine the sauce and mix in a Tupperware and pack bread to make them on the trail! :)

Delicious!! Made recipe last night (doubled as it looked good) exactly as written. Has a friend for lunch and we had these as open face sandwiches with romaine and avocado. Loved them. My husband ate extra. Definitely a keeper.

Amazing flavours and so filling. Addition of toasted sunflower seeds is a game-changer. And a little bit of sweetness from maple syrup makes it droolworthy! I have used fresh cilantro instead of dill. I could have the chickpea filling by spoonful with the garlic sauce.

This has become my go-to quick lunch option. I’ve had it on bread, in a wrap, by the forkful directly bypassing the bread. I love it! I’ve added celery for crunch when I’m out of sunflower seeds, and have made it with both tahini and mayo. Highly recommend!

I am so annoyed I didn’t try this recipe sooner, it’s awesome! I served it over wholemeal/whole wheat seeded bread with radish, lettuce and tomato and can’t wait to make it again. I would add the brand of chickpeas makes a difference – in the UK at least, you have to pay double for the medium price brand (not supermarket own) to get larger chickpeas with actual chickpea flavour.

Reasons why this recipe is the best: the sunflower seeds add crunch and a little flavour but don’t take away from the chickpeas (my Mum loves chickpeas and loved this sandwich), the use of mustard is unusual but again adds to the overall flavour and lastly I love a lot of filling to bread and this ticks the boxes easily. Thank you so much!

My changes: I’m not vegan so used Aldi mayo for a lot of egg flavour, reduced maple to my tastes and omitted onion out of necessity. For the sauce, I reduced the lemon juice slightly because my Mum’s not a tang fan like me and replaced raw garlic with a little garlic infused olive oil for a milder flavour. Lastly I added dill to my serving and didn’t notice the flavour.

This is a great sandwich filling and I’ve made it multiple times, but wow the first ten sentences of this post are jarring and uncomfortable to read. I actually wrote the recipe out by hand at one point, just so I wouldn’t have to read them every time I came to this page. It makes me feel like I should feel ashamed for liking to eat food?

giving it 100 stars. to die for. that’s all. i’m making this now for the 4th time. the sauce is absolutely divine. i make a double batch of it at a time so i don’t have to hold back. my husband gets very excited when i say i’m making the chickpea sandwiches! they’re a regular rotation!

This is so delicious… as are all of your recipes!! Thank you!!

Holy moly! This is a delicious sandwich! I’ll definitely be adding it into my regular rotation, no additions or substitutions required.

Yum! I love this combination of ingredients.

I didn’t put it on bread this time but topped it on a sweet potato since I’ve seen similar arrangements on sweet potatoes. It worked well.

It would be great as a sandwich, and I will try that as well another time when I have the right healthy bread.

I usually don’t leave comments on recipes but I had to with this one. I’ve recently become plant based and honestly I was a little hesitant with this recipe as I’m just a plain eater. Boy am I glad I tried it because it was delicious. I loved all the flavors paired together. I had been looking for a cold lunch recipe and this one’s a keeper.

Wonderful recipe! I made this as written except I omitted the dill from the sandwich spread thinking the dried dill I used in the sauce would probably be enough for me. It was delicious but I’m sure I’d love it just as much (if not more) if I added that dill back in next time. I have another chickpea salad recipe we really enjoy but this is our new favorite. Thank you!

This is a nice sandwich spread. I like it better than the other kind I have made before, and it is much easier too.

That was really delicious!
Thank you – I usually hate chickpeas, but that was really yummy.

I love this recipe. I used garlic powder and onion flakes since I didn’t have fresh and it was delicious! I have all kinds of ideas about how to use this basic recipe and spice it up in a number of different ways. Thanks for this idea!

I too am a big sandwich fan, and also a plant-based eater. I have been searching for convenient, make ahead lunches and salads were just getting boring and also took up too much space in my dorm sized fridge. I made this, followed the recipe as written. It is very, very good and really hits the spot when a sandwich is needed and nothing else will do. I avoid a lot of processed meat replacements so this is ideal! I even had my daughter try some- she hasn’t been enthusiastic about vegan anything- but she genuinely liked it, so extra points for this recipe. I think I will add halved grapes on the day of, ans imagine it would be great with curry powder. Another option would be adding kala namak to make it more like an egg salad. 5 stars!

This has been the best chickpea salad recipe that I have had to date! I dont always add the dill and typically use regular mustard because thats the only thing I have but it still taste good. I would pick this recipe over all chickpea salad sandwiches I’ve ordered at restaurants.

Yummy!! I used dried dill and didn’t use as much, also I used a combination of vegan mayo and tahini.

Delicious! I used dried dill and some onion powder since I was out of fresh onion and skipped the garlic sauce. I did add a diced stalk of celery to make up for the missing crunch of raw onion. It was enjoyed by all. Thanks for a great recipe.

This is so so good, I make a batch weekly, no tweaks other than adding a bit extra vegan mayo or mustard the 3rd day. Perfect for no-cook meals during a heat wave. Thanks for putting the dried dill equivalent, I think it works really well with dried. Really wonderful on thin slices of King Arthur Baking’s recipe for Icelandic rye bread, or even just whatever hamburger buns are in the freezer.

sooo so tasty!! I mixed 2tbsp mayo + 1tbsp tahini, so i got a good balance of earthy + saucy.

i think i might add more mustard, because i like that kind of zip!!

I used a slightly different version of this shared by Forks Over Knives, and it was delicious! There was no herb-sauce in the FOK version, and I left out capers (because I hate them) and the sunflower seeds (because, sadly, they do not sit well for me). I also didn’t have any red onion and the celery was a on it’s last leg. Nonetheless, still delicious! I have some pumpkin seeds that I seasoned/roasted myself, and I will sprinkle those on sandwich #2. I also used the seeded bread recipe from this site (MB, not FOK), adding to my overall joy. I really struggle to find lunch recipes I like, so this is just such a treasure.

Love this recipe! I’ve made other chickpea salad sandwiches but never thought to use tahini as a binder! I also had a bit of leftover hummus that needed to be used so I did a combo of tahini and hummus. It was delicious! I used dried dill because I didn’t have fresh and it worked well – thank you for the note about how much to use. I also added a small pinch or two of smoked paprika to give it a little “something”.

Next time, I might add some “garden vegetables” – such as bell peppers, carrots, green onions , and celery to the mix to add some color!

This is so delicious – even without the garlic spread. I’m sure that would however take it to the next level!! We didn’t have any dill so I just added a stalk of celery and it is perfect. So good and satisfying and easy I will definitely be making this regularly!

made this today, but without the garlic sauce & used it to fill a baked potato instead of making a sandwich… Absolutely delicious !!!!! will be on menu regularly xx

Delicious! I didn’t mash the chickpeas and I skipped the sauce and put the chickpea salad on a bed of lettuce, added tomatoes, olives, and horseradish mustard for a little extra kick. I’ll definitely make this again. And I’ll probably put some on a gluten free spinach tortilla for lunch tomorrow. Thanks!

10/10 sandwich. I do not eat vegan/veg, so I used regular mayo; but this was an amazing recipe. The garlic sauce (I didn’t thin mine, the lemon juice was enough to make it spreadable) is definitely something I’ll make again just as a dip for crackers.

I was so happy to find this recipe! I’m vegetarian but I cook for the rest of my family, none of which are vegetarian. When I make tuna salad or egg salad for them I always wish for a filling meatless alternative for me because I love sandwiches. Love that this is healthy, quick and delicious!