This chickpea pesto sandwich is a non-traditional pesto with smashed chickpeas that makes a delicious sandwich filling for an easy vegetarian meal.

This is a sandwich with an identity crisis.
It’s part hummus, part pesto, part guacamole.
It’s like throwing a Greek, an Italian and a Mexican together and telling them to have a party.
Not a bad combination really, especially if they all bring drinks.

I’ve actually been drunk in all 3 of those countries (sounds like a good resume booster, no?) and if I had to pick a favorite, it’d be Italy.
Only because it involved lots of delicious wine, Venice and an Italian waiter kissing the entire length of my arm from my finger tips to my shoulder while serving me gnocchi. A foodie’s fantasy come true. I was 19 and it was amazing even with my parents sitting next to me.
The gnocchi was pretty good too.
If I had to pick one of those things this tastes like the most, it’s pesto.
Just a rather unusually creamy one with some chickpeas thrown in.

I can’t promise any sexually frustrated waiters appearing at your table while eating this, but I can promise a multicultural party in your mouth.
Who said lunch had to be boring?
Mashed chickpeas are a great way to do “lunch salads” in a vegetarian way.
The same way you’d make a sardine salad, salmon salad or tuna salad, you can make a chickpea salad sandwich like this.
The ingredients are up to you. I happen to love the pesto flavor of this sandwich but you can play around depending on your preferences.
Love spice? Use the ingredients in this sriracha avocado egg salad and just swap out hard boiled eggs for chickpeas!
Looking for more delicious sandwich recipes like this chickpea pesto sandwich?
Try one of these:
Smoked Salmon BLT with Avocado
Garlic Yogurt Chicken Salad Sandwich with Sun Dried Tomato Spread
Summer BLTC Sandwich
Roasted Sweet Potato Apple Ham Sandwich

Chickpea Pesto Sandwich
Ingredients
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado
- 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- salt & pepper
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 4 slices of wheat bread
Instructions
- Dry chickpeas and remove as many of the “skins” as possible. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Roughly smash chickpeas with the back of a fork or a potato masher until they’re about half smashed, half intact. Set aside.
- Combine remaining ingredients except bread in a food processor and process until creamy and combined.
- Transfer half the “pesto” to the bowl with the chickpeas and combine with a spatula.
- Use remaining pesto to spread on each slice of bread.
- Spoon pesto/chickpea mixture onto one piece of bread and top with another slice to create a sandwich.
Nutrition Facts
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
Gina Matsoukas is the writer, founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
A Taste of Spring – in a Sandwich! | Squeaky Green Machine
Friday 21st of March 2014
[…] (and the state of my pantry), but what can you do? Running to the Kitchen’s recipe for a Chickpea Pesto Sandwich makes a flexible sandwich filling with a light and fresh taste. One day I used bread, another day […]
Maggie Unzueta @ Mama Maggie's Kitchen
Saturday 15th of March 2014
I just ran out of tahini. I will have to buy some just to make this recipe!!
Basil Pesto Chickpea Sandwiches | Lemons and Basil
Wednesday 12th of March 2014
[…] Original recipe found at Running to the Kitchen. […]
sammi
Thursday 27th of February 2014
Any suggestions for a greek yogurt substitution? This sounds wonderful!!
Running to the Kitchen
Thursday 27th of February 2014
is it because of a dairy allergy? You could use sour cream if not. Or maybe avocado?
Stumbling Over Chaos :: In which linkity is very traumatized by the impending demise of Google Reader
Friday 15th of March 2013
[...] Chickpea pesto sandwich. (via The Kitchn) [...]