Chickpea Tuna Salad
For a quick and healthy lunch that’s packed with protein and flavor, you have to try this chickpea tuna salad. This simple recipe is made with a few pantry staples and it can be whipped together in a flash for a delicious and filling meal.
Why you’ll love this chickpea salad with tuna
Between leftover dinners and boring sandwiches, we get into some big lunch ruts in our house. If it was up to me, I’d skip lunch all together, but my hunger would beg to differ. Thankfully this new tuna salad recipe has me feeling a little refreshed and satisfied.
Typically a basic tuna salad is just celery, carrots and onion, but I added some chopped capers to give this recipe a little pop of flavor. It brightens the salad up and adds that little extra something to give it interest. You could opt for pickles if you prefer, but I really love the capers.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Chickpeas – Just a regular old can of chickpeas will work here. Make sure you drain the liquid from the can (and save it to make some aquafaba mousse!)
- Canned tuna – I used Wild Planet wild albacore tuna, but you can use any can of tuna you have on hand as long as it’s stored in water. I don’t recommend oil packed tuna for this recipe.
- Onion – We used a red onion for this recipe, if you feel they are too strong you can rinse them after chopping to give them a more subtle taste.
- Carrots – I like to shred carrots on a box grater for tuna salad because I think it has a better texture, but you can also chop your carrots if you don’t have to crate them.
- Celery
- Capers – Capers add a briny element to the salad but they can be left out if you don’t have them or if you don’t like them.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this chickpea tuna salad
Prep your proteins. Start by draining your cans of chickpeas and tuna. Put them in a big bowl for mixing later.
Chop your veggies. Next, chop, slice and grate your veggies. Add them to the mixing bowl as you go.
Mix your salad. Add the mayo, Dijon mustard and salt & pepper to the bowl and stir up the salad. I like to use a fork to break up larger tuna pieces if needed. Once everything is evenly coated with the dressing, give it a taste and adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper if needed.
Everything you need to know about this recipe
Do chickpeas need to be cooked?
Canned chickpeas are pre-cooked and can be used or eaten directly from the can. For this recipe we are going to drain the chickpeas before using them. If you prefer to use dried chickpeas, they should be soaked and then cooked by whichever method you choose, by boiling, simmering, etc.
More lettuce free salad recipes you will love
More dairy free tuna recipes you should try
Ingredients
- 2 6- ounce cans tuna (drained)
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas (drained)
- 2 celery sticks (thinly sliced)
- 1 carrot (shredded)
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon capers (roughly chopped)
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir until well combined, breaking up pieces of tuna as needed.
- If needed, adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, to taste.
featured comment:
This is delicious and so easy to make. I appreciate that you can easily swap out the veggies for whatever you happen to have in your fridge. Love it!!