I’m always on the look out for a good sandwich since I bring lunch to work a couple of times a week. That’s where this smashed chickpea avocado sandwich comes in. I made an avocado feta dip a little while ago and I kept thinking it would make a good sandwich spread. Then I thought about adding something to it to make a proper sandwich. Smashed chickpeas turned out to be the perfect addition.
This is a tasty, filling sandwich that’s high in fiber. The avocado holds everything together well and the sandwich has some crunch due to the addition of celery. It’s an easy sandwich to take to work or out on a picnic – it travels well – no soggy bread here.
Sometimes I find the taste of raw chickpeas to be a bit too… raw. I was debating whether to roast them but by adding scallions, parsley and lemon to the mix it has taken the edge off of the chickpeas and balanced everything out nicely with a bright, fresh taste. Also, roasting the chickpeas would take a considerable amount of time. I love that you can whip this smashed chickpea avocado sandwich up in about 10 minutes and have enough for 4 sandwiches.
A couple of notes:
Chickpeas have a translucent skin on them. When you smash up the chickpeas, the skins come loose. You can either leave them alone and just add the smashed chickpeas as is to the avocado mixture or spend a minute or two picking the skins out. That’s what I did – I didn’t go crazy trying to get every last one – just picked out the obvious ones.
I served this on sour dough toast but you can use any bread you have – whole wheat would be fantastic and, of course, a pita would be an obvious choice.
If you have any leftover chickpea mixture it refrigerates well – I just pressed a piece of plastic wrap down along the top of the smashed chickpeas mixture. It looked the same the next day – the avocado did not turn brown.
PrintSmashed Chickpea Avocado Sandwich
Smashed Chickpea Avocado Sandwich. An easy sandwich to make that’s filling, tasty and healthy.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 avocado – pit removed and scooped from peel
- 2 scallions roughly chopped
- 1 large handful of parsley
- 2 oz feta cheese
- 1 small lemon juiced – about 2 Tbs
- 15 oz can of chickpeas
- 2 stalks of celery – diced
- Bread for sandwiches – I used toasted sour dough
- Cucumber slices and fresh spinach to add to the sandwich as topping.
Instructions
- In a food processor, whirl together avocado, scallion, parsley, feta and lemon. I like mine to be fairly chunky but you can process for a smoother blend if you want.
- Add avocado mixture to a bowl.
- Add diced celery to the bowl.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add chickpeas to a plastic zip lock bag. Smash chickpeas up so about half are smashed and half are whole – I just put the bag on the counter and whacked it with the palm of my hand a few times.
- Add smashed chickpeas to bowl with avocado mixture and celery. If you’re planning on picking out any of the loose chickpeas skins this is the time – before you mix it – just pick out the worst offenders if they are bothering you.
- Stir everything together.
- Serve on bread – I used toasted sour dough and topped it with slices of cucumber and some fresh spinach.
Samantha
Hello! Tried this and I loved it!! I’m trying to do a little more low carb so I served it on top of cucumber slices instead of bread and it was great! Thanks for this recipe – I know I’ll be making it more in the future!
-Samantha
★★★★★
Geraldine
That’s a great idea, Samantha. You could serve them as little chickpea/cucumber appetizers! Thanks for letting me know.
Emily
Just made this for lunch and it was AWESOME!!! I just threw all the ingredients in the food processor together and pulsed a few times…it turned out great! Thanks so much for the great recipe…will be looking for more on you site!
Geraldine
Hi Emily – So glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate that you took the time to let me know!! You made my day :).
Laurie
I just wanted you to know that this recipe by far is the most popular REPIN on my PINTEREST page! So many people repin this-wow! Just thought you’d want to know.
Geraldine
That’s awesome, Laurie! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me and thanks for the original pin! I really appreciate it!!
Tish M.
Hello Geraldine and all:
I tried this recipe tonight for a “meatless Monday” meal. Minor modification: since I already had the food processor out, I decided to blend the chickpeas first, and add all the ingredients, excluding the celery (for crunch). I pretty much blended all until fairly smooth, which resolves any “skin” issue. While it tasted very lovely on two slices of rosemary sourdough, I’m trying to think of another bread vessel, perhaps a pita like mentioned, or a savory wrap type product. Nonetheless, very tasty recipe. I’m glad I stumbled upon this website/blog.
Geraldine
Hi Tish – if you’re blending all the ingredients (except the celery) then definitely try a pita bread – since by blending the chickpeas you’re creating more of a hummus and the filling loses a lot of its shape. If using it blended – I would add a bunch of veggies to your sandwich to make it a bit more substantial – maybe some grated carrots, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, slices of red pepper, slices of tomato – all would work well and boost the nutritional value of the sandwich. Have a great day!
Kavitha
Loved this. I added greek yogurt to the sides of the bread and then the stuffing with minced carrots and onions.
Geraldine
Hi Kavitha – minced carrots and onions sound like great additions! Have a good one.
Emily
I want to try this! I love all of the ingredients in this. Would make such a great weekday lunch!
Geraldine
Thanks, Emily! Let me know if you try it. Have a good one!
Sheila
The little chunks of celery were a delicious surprise. Had to make open face sandwiches, my bread was sliced too thick , but looked and tasted terrific. Great boat food!
Sheila
Geraldine
These sandwiches would make great boat food! Easy to pack up and they won’t get soggy. Make them the next time you go out on the lake with James and co!
Carol
I know what I’m having for lunch one day next week! Sounds and looks very tasty!!
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Carol. Enjoy!
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Gosh I love this idea!! I got boiled chickpeas sitting and I love avocado on toast already! Win win situation!
Geraldine
Hi Ami – If you’ve got chickpeas ready (and homemade chickpeas at that), then go make this sandwich right now, you’ll love it. Have a good one!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron
I love this idea for a healthy, easy sandwich! It helps that you used two of my favorite ingredients: chickpeas & avocado! Can’t go wrong 🙂
Geraldine
Hi Denise! As a big sandwich fan, I am always looking for a cheese sandwich alternative – this one’s a good one. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle
This is a great looking sandwich! And great sandwich photo too, sandwich pics can be so tough! I love your blog. : )
Geraldine
Hi Crystal: You’re right – sandwiches are hard to photograph! It took me a while to realize stacking them on top of each other was the way to go. Thanks so much for the compliments on the blog – you made my day. Have a good one!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
Several of my most favorite ingredients are included in your recipe! How exciting though, to put two I would have never imagined together! I love it! Chickpeas and Avacado? ! Whaaa! Yesssss! And on sourdough!? I’ll take two please! Thank you, Geraldine!
Geraldine
Hi Traci! Chickpeas and avocados are made for each other :). I’ve tried chickpea sandwiches before but adding the avocado (and lemon) made all the difference. This one’s a keeper. Have a great one!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
now that is a good looking sandwich! love avocado + bread.. never thought to add chickpeas before. definitely something i will be trying.. thanks for sharing!
Geraldine
Thanks, Thalia. Definitely give this sandwich a try – it’s super easy to make and really tasty. Have a good one!