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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Love this, I’ve been trying to eat chickpeas more and I JUST finally got some tahini in my hands!
This week I made Two Peas and Their Pod’s Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad (https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/smashed-chickpea-avocado-salad-sandwich/) and have been loving it… this is the perfect variation! Can’t wait to try it, thanks!
No sexually frustrated waiters :( I was waiting for that. This looks delicious, Gina! Love the greek yogurt addition. Bet it combines all these flavorful ingredients just wonderfully. This recipe, of course, is being pinned. :D
a multicultural party, and the waiter, in front of your parents…oh I love this post. I love the recipe AND the stories :)
What a great combo! I have to make this sandwich went i get home. Sounds perfect!
That looks absolutely divine! I’ve never tried chick peas in a sandwich like that, I must try this soon!!
beans + pesto + avocado all in one sandwich sounds amazing!
Also, ever since you mentioned you hate when people rate recipes right after you post them (esp. when it’s a low rating), I’ve been tempted to give a one-star rating every time I comment. But I don’t. Because I’m afraid it will throw off some rating for you somewhere on the internet. And that would suck. You are welcome.
Yum. Can I just come live in your kitchen? I can be the official taste-tester or something. Oh wait, I’m sure that’s Uly’s job. ;)
I’ve pinned so many of your recipes now and I haven’t had time to try them. I’m not one of those superficial pinners. I actually USE my boards. I’m pretty sure I’ve used at least 60% of the recipes on my healthy bites board (would be more, but I tend to find something I like, make it 100 times, beat it to death, and never want to eat it again. repeat with a new recipe).
You can actually b/c Ulys doesn’t get home until the stuff has been sitting for hours and then it’s soggy and I find myself saying on repeat “it was so much better out of the oven!”
PS- give me a 1 and I’ll hunt you down woman. ;) hehe
Totally adding this to my lunch rotation!!