Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

Ingredients

• 30 oz chickpeas (2 cans; rinsed, drained, and dried)
• 0.333 cup red onion (finely diced; about ¼ of a red onion)
• 0.333 cup celery (finely diced)
• 0.25 cup jarred pepperoncini (dried and chopped)
• 2 tsp pepperoncini juice
• 1 tbsp fresh dill (chopped; dried dill or fresh chives, parsley, or oregano may be substituted)
• 1 tbsp capers (drained and roughly chopped)
• 0.5 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 0.333 cup light vegan mayonnaise (such as Reduced Fat Vegenaise, or mayo of choice)
• 0.5 tsp Kosher salt
• black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
• sourdough toast (optional, for serving)
• tomatoes (sliced; optional, for serving)
• 3.5 cup lettuce (optional, for serving or lettuce cups)

Steps

1. 1

   Add the rinsed, drained, and dried chickpeas to the bowl of a food processor fitted with its blade attachment. Pulse about 6–12 times, stopping when the chickpeas are chopped but still retain some texture.

2. 2

   Transfer the chopped chickpeas to a mixing bowl.

3. 3

   Add the finely diced red onion and celery, chopped pepperoncini and pepperoncini juice, dill, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vegan mayonnaise. Stir until evenly combined.

4. 4

   Season the mixture with the salt and freshly ground black pepper, mixing to distribute the seasoning.

5. 5

   To serve, spoon the salad onto sourdough toast, or serve it in lettuce cups. Add sliced tomatoes and lettuce as desired. The recipe makes about 3½ cups.

Notes

Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days and serve cold; the flavors improve as the salad sits. The source does not give a measured amount for black pepper or the optional serving accompaniments.

Nutrition per serving

• lunch
• main
• vegan
• vegetarian
• dairy-free
• egg-free
• no-cook
• meal-prep