I have been looking forward to making this curried chickpea avocado salad all week. I usually don’t spend too much time on lunches, I am a lazy luncher. And I have no excuse because I work from home. Nothing I lunch on needs to be transportable or accommodating in the least. I default to the leftovers, mostly because I fear food waste.
We waste a ridiculous amount of food in this country. I know adults do it to, but I feel as though the amount of food we waste has increased exponentially since we had kids. It’s disgusting how much food they throw away.
So I take upon myself to be the lunch martyr and eat ALL the things my mini cohabitants have returned home in lunch boxes or have left languishing on their plates without even a taste. I probably sound like a mom cliche, but I’ll say it anyways, that kind of waste wasn’t an option when I was a kid!
This week week I decided I deserved a break from playing cleanup crew. They can eat their own leftovers. I’ll make myself special little lunch, one of my favorite lunches — curried chickpea avocado salad on a piece of Ezekiel toast.
This curried chickpea avocado salad so versatile and quick to prepare. It literally takes me less than 10 minutes to pull this together.
Here are a few ways I like to eat this little chickpea salad:
- over a bed of mixed greens
- on a toasted piece of Ezekiel bread
- as a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cucumber
- on a sweet potato toast (check out this recipe for Sweet Potato Toast: 4 Delicious Ways)
- on it’s own as a quick, protein packed snack
- alongside some rice, quinoa or other grain for a quick and easy dinner
And here are a few ways to use this chickpea avocado salad recipe with what you have on-hand:
- diced cucumber instead/or in addition to the carrots
- diced celery instead/or in addition to the carrots
- extra cayenne to make it real spicy
- currants instead of raisins
- almost any chopped nut can be swapped for the almonds
- swap in lime for lemon
- fresh parsely in place of the cilantro
- omit the curry and cayenne and use dill or tarragon instead
Avocado Mash vs. Vegan Mayo
You may have noticed there’s no vegan mayo here. And while this salad would be perfectly divine with your favorite vegan mayo, you’ll be missing out on on the wonderful benefits of the avocado. Avocado is one of those magical superfoods — packed with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and more potassium than a banana! I think it’s one of those desert island foods you could survive on forever. I heard that somewhere. It must be true.
Here are a few other great avocado recipes:
Whole Wheat Penne with Avocado Pesto and Peas
Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Sweet Potato Toast: 4 Delicious Ways
Super Green Smoothie
Vegan Detox Glow Bowl
Leftovers
If you want to keep this in the refrigerator for an extended period of time (3-4 days), the lemon juice helps the avocado from browning, but it’s also good to put a piece of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) over the top to really keep the air from getting to it. Then you’ll have lunch perfection for DAYS!
Curried Chickpea Avocado Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad, Lunch
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
Give your tired lunch a little kick with our curry chickpea avocado salad! It's the ultimate gluten-free, vegan lunch with curry, almonds, golden raisins and avocado. So quick and easy to prepare you'll want to brown bag it everyday!
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 carrots (about ½ cup), diced
1 tbsp. red onion, diced small
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup raw sliced almonds
1 avocado, mashed
juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp. curry powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine, smashing some of the chickpeas on the side of the bowl to make it a little creamier. If the combination is too thick, you can add a little water to the mix.
Notes
Depending on how big your avocado is, you may be able to get by with just a half. But if you’re buying those cute little small ones, you’ll definitely need a whole one.
If you want to keep this in the refrigerator for an extended period of time (3-4 days), the lemon juice helps the avocado from browning, but it’s also good to put a piece of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) over the top to really keep the air from getting to it. Then you’ll have lunch perfection for DAYS!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 166.9 mg
- Fat: 10.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.8 g
- Protein: 7.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
John
This looks great. I love garbanzos (chickpeas) with cilantro, and curry is always good.