I love chickpeas.
Aside from being healthy and delicious, chickpeas are a vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free source of protein.
They’re also incredibly versatile. You can make just about any meal out of chickpeas. This Vegan Curried Chickpea Salad is case in point.

Vegan Curried Chickpea Salad
This salad is our family’s latest chickpea obsession. With the same chickpea and Vegenaise base as my Vegan Chickpea Salad, this curried version is just as delicious.
But the flavors are so different.
The sweetness of the apple, the crunch of the cashews and red onion, and the freshness of the cilantro and lime juice all come together and complement the curry powder perfectly.
Curried Chickpea Salad Serving Suggestions
Our favorite way to serve this vegan curried chickpea salad is on Trader Joe’s French rolls. Just this salad and some crisp green lettuce on the roll is all you need for an incredibly delicious sandwich. But any type of roll, bread, or hoagie would be great with this salad.
I also love dipping pita chips in this curried chickpea salad, or serving it over crackers.
Make Vegan Curried Chickpea Salad!
Make this curried chickpea salad part of your summer meal plans. It’s the perfect option for an easy and delicious dinner, lunch, or snack.
A Few Things!
See the photo above for how I prefer to dice the apple. I cut the apple into to very thin slices, then I cut those slices to about half inch pieces.
As for the curry powder in this recipe, be sure to use one you love. It will be a central flavor of the salad. Here’s my favorite curry powder on Amazon [aff. link]. You can also find it in my Amazon store here.
Vegenaise
If you’re unfamiliar with Vegenaise, it’s a vegan alternative to mayonnaise.
Even before going plant-based, I never liked mayonnaise. But I liked the idea of a sandwich spread that could add moisture to the bread, and complement the other sandwich components. Vegenaise does just that, without any of the elements of mayonnaise that I never enjoyed.
Whether you’re plant-based or not, if you have similar feelings towards mayonnaise, give Vegenaise a try. It may just be the game changer for you that it was for me. You can find Vegenaise in the tofu and vegan luncheon meat section of most grocery stores.
Vegan Curried Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the curried chickpea salad:
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained
- ½ cup Vegenaise, substitute with mayonnaise if desired; the salad will then be vegetarian, not vegan
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion salt
- Pinch pepper
- 3 Tbsp apple, small dice
- 2 Tbsp red onion, minced
- 1 Tbsp green onion, thinly sliced
- 3 Tbsp cilantro, minced
- ⅓ cup cashew pieces, toasted
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
For Serving:
- Crisp green lettuce
- French rolls, sandwich bread, or hoagies
- Pita chips or crackers
Instructions
Toast the cashew pieces
- Start by toasting the cashew pieces. Simply add the cashew pieces to a skillet, and turn the heat to medium. Toast over medium heat for about five minutes, flipping the cashews occasionally. The cashews are done when slightly browned.
- Set the cashews aside to cool.
Mash the chickpeas
- Drain the chickpeas, and add them to a large mixing bowl. With a potato masher or your hands and a fork, mash the chickpeas. Mash until there are no whole chickpeas. There will still be lots of texture, and that’s good. We don’t want the chickpeas to be smooth like hummus.
Add the Vegenaise and spices
- Now add the Vegenaise to the mixing bowl. Mix the Vegenaise into the chickpeas until fully incorporated.
- Next add the salt, garlic powder, onion salt, curry powder, and pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.
Add everything else
- Add the apple, onion, cilantro, and cashews to the curried chickpea salad. Mix it all in, then add the brown sugar and 1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice. Taste, and add the additional 2 tsp lime juice (or more) if desired.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve the vegan curried chickpea salad over lettuce, crackers, or on sandwiches.
- We love this curried chickpea salad on Trader Joe’s small French rolls with crisp green lettuce.
- Note: putting the chickpea salad in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before serving with make it thicker. If you prefer a thicker and colder chickpea salad, be sure to give it time to chill before serving.
8 Responses
I had everything already so I made the curry salad for lunch today. I put it on nine grain sandwich bread with some lettuce. It was so good! Probably have the leftovers for dinner. 😋
I love everything in this chickpea salad: the cashews, the apple, the red onion. Yum- it sounds so delicious and I seem to really always love chickpeas. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Judee! It’s definitely one of my favorite ways to enjoy chickpeas.
OMG this was amazing!!
Thanks Jade!
I loved chicken curry salad when I was eating meat. Been looking for a vegetarian alternative. This is it! Delicious.
This is a delicious recipe! I put it on some naan bread and it was fantastic. Will definitely make again and again
Thanks for making this chickpea salad Heather! I’m so glad it’s a repeat recipe!