• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Masala and Chai

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • How-to
  • About
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • How-to
    • About
    • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Masala & Chai » Recipes » Dinner

    Published: Jun 25, 2021 · Modified: Jul 26, 2021 by Shweta Garg · This post may contain affiliate links

    Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich

    44 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to Recipe

    Cold sandwiches for the summer! Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwiches takes under 10 minutes to throw together for a simple, fresh lunch that's incredibly filling! The smashed chickpea and avocado salad is most notably spiced with a bit of cumin, topped with crunchy cucumbers and zesty microgreens. Serve with a side of soup or chips!

    Smashed Chickpeas and Avocado Salad Sandwich on a wooden board

    Any of my West Coaster / Midwesterners remember Paradise Bakery? It was this glorious sandwich and soup chain, similar to Panera, that had the best (you guessed it) sandwiches and soups that were fresh, simple, and flavorful! All of us would hang out there or grab a quick meal during high school.

    I swear this sandwich is something I could 100% see being at Paradise Bakery.

    Jump to:
    • The Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
    • How to make the Smashed Chickpea Avocado Salad
    • Building the Sandwich
    • How to Serve and Additional Toppings
    • More Sandwich Recipes to try
    • Recipe

    This Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich is one of my favorite vegan cold sandwiches with minimal effort required and no cooking necessary! There's so much space for customization when it comes to the toppings. It's a great way to dig through your refrigerator and use any condiments or vegetables you have sitting around.

    No joke, when I was traveling to Raleigh as a technology consultant on Mondays - Thursdays, I'd stop by Harris Teeter every Monday after work and prep this sandwich for lunch everyday. It was quick, affordable, nutritious, and filling! I genuinely never got tired of it.

    two hands Grabbing Smashed Avocado and Chickpea Sandwich

    As a side note - I accredit this sandwich to helping me lose close to 20lbs. I remember one of my coworkers asking me how I kept eating the same thing over and over for lunch. It feels dramatic reflecting on it, but I went from about 155lbs because of a bad diet while traveling to 137lbs existing off this sandwich every other week in my bi-weekly meal rotations.

    I also had an equally healthy dinner, exercised 4-5 times a week, and had "cheat" meals over the weekend. But it's one of those meals that kept me consistent and staved off cravings.

    The Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions

    • Bread - I recommend multi-grain bread that's thick cut but any of your favorite loaves will truly work for this
    pouring olive oil into smashed chickpeas and avocado salad with spices
    • Chickpeas - Used canned chickpeas with no added sodium. You can drain and save the aquafaba for another purpose! You can also use dried chickpeas, soak them, and boil them until they're soft.
    • Avocado - I use 1.5 small avocados, or one whole avocado for 3-4 servings. Avocados are a healthy fat so they add on a lot of fat calories but it's ultimately going to keep you full.
    • Spices - My secret is a little ground cumin in addition to garlic powder and chili powder to add a little extra flavor and warmth to an otherwise cold sandwich.
    • Persian cucumber - I prefer these over English cucumbers. They add a better crunch in contrast to the smashed chickpea and avocado, are less watery, and just a touch sweet.
    • Microgreens - Preferably baby arugula or a zesty mix.

    How to make the Smashed Chickpea Avocado Salad

    I can't stress how easy it is to make this sandwich! It doesn't require a stove or oven, just a microwave if anything!!

    1. Prep the chickpeas. I highly recommend using canned chickpeas with no added sodium! You can also use dried chickpeas, soak them, and boil them until soft but that's an hours long process. Drain the canned chickpeas. Save the aquafaba! This is thick goopy liquid you get from canned chickpeas which is used for a lot of vegan baking as an egg replacement. Rinse the chickpeas and put them in the microwave for a minute to "cook" them. Pat the chickpeas dry.
    • fork smashing cooked chickpeas in a bowl
    • smashed chickpeas with diced avocado
    1. Smash the chickpeas and avocado. In a bowl, smash the chickpeas first with a potato masher or fork. I recommend smashing the chickpeas first to see if they're soft enough in case you need another 30 seconds in the microwave. Then, smash the avocado in the same bowl.
    2. Pour in wet ingredients. Add the oil and lemon juice into the same bowl. It makes it easier to mix the chickpeas and avocado before adding the spices because it's quite thick. The oil and lemon juice loosen up the mixture.
    3. Mix with spices. Mix in all the seasonings and taste the salad. It should not be bland. We don't do bland food over here. I find that adding more salt and lemon juice brings out the flavors.

    Building the Sandwich

    Whether you toast the bread or not is ultimately up to you, but I prefer not to. Scoop about half of the chickpea and avocado salad into a mound on the first slice and spread it out to the edges. It should be around 1"-1.5" thick. If I'm feeling it, this is where I'll add some hot sauce before adding the cucumbers. Then add the slices of cucumber - about 5 to 6 thin cut slices. And lastly, a pile of zesty microgreens.

    How to Serve and Additional Toppings

    This sandwich is super easy to make fresh if you have a work from home situation or even take to work for in-person days.

    I prefer storing the smashed chickpea and avocado separately from the bread and then combining when I'm ready to eat! Slice it in half and enjoy it with soup or chips! This sandwich is a big boy and deceivingly very filling, so you can even split it in half and share along with the soup.

    Other toppings I'd recommend are - pickles, pickled red onions, radishes, lettuce, tomato, garlic and herb couscous, chipotle mayo, chives, dill, cilantro, hot sauce, or mango chutney.

    Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich Close up on a wooden board with chickpeas pieces

    More Sandwich Recipes to try

    If you love chickpeas, try out this Chole (chickpeas curry) recipe!

    • Indian Style Assorted Tea Sandwiches
    • Chutney Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

    Recipe

    Smashed Chickpeas and Avocado Salad Sandwich on a wooden board

    Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich

    Cold sandwiches for the summer! Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwiches takes under 10 minutes to throw together for a simple, fresh lunch that's incredibly filling! The smashed chickpea and avocado salad is most notably spiced with a bit of cumin, topped with crunchy cucumbers and zesty microgreens. Serve with a side of soup or chips!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 9 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 minute
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 2 sandwiches
    Calories: 543kcal
    Author: Shweta Garg

    Equipment

    • Mixing Bowl

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 4 slices multi-grain bread, thick cut
    • 16 oz canned chickpeas
    • 1.5 small avocado, ripened
    • ½ lemon, juiced
    • 1.5 teaspoon olive oil, extra virgin
    • ½ teaspoon chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
    • salt, to taste
    • pepper, to taste
    • ½ persian cucumber
    • 1 cup microgreens
    • radishes, pickled red onions, lettuce, tomato, couscous, for additional sandwich toppings
    Text Ingredients

    Instructions

    • Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a microwave safe bowl. Pop the bowl into the microwave for one minute. Pat the chickpeas dry.
    • With a fork or potato masher, mash the chickpeas. Then, add the avocado into the same bowl and mash. Pour in the olive oil and lemon juice, and then add the seasonings - the chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together really well.
    • Split the smashed chickpea and avocado mixture in two and pile it high on two slices of thick cut sandwich bread. Layer it with 4-5 slices of cucumber and about a ½ cup of microgreens on each sandwich.
    • Close the sandwiches with the other 2 slices of bread. Cut the sandwiches in half diagonally and enjoy with soup!

    Notes

    • Store any extra smashed chickpea and avocado salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The avocado may brown - this is completely okay and still edible. Spruce it up with a bit of lemon juice.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 543kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Sodium: 873mg | Potassium: 1033mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 370IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 6mg
    Did you make this recipe?Tag @masalaandchai and #masalaandchai in your post and stories on Instagram!

    I love seeing when you share my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @masalaandchai so I can enjoy them virtually with you! You can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube.

    I'd love to know what you thought of this recipe! Don't forget to leave a comment and ⭐️ star rating below!

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    ABOUT SHWETA

    Shweta at the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland

    I’m Shweta, a self taught recipe developer and food photographer living in New York City. I’m a full time cloud consultant who also enjoys eating out at restaurants, discovering and supporting small business, and cozying up with a cup of chai.

    Fall Recipes

    • Leftover Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
    • Cranberry Pistachio Goat Cheese Log
    • Garam Masala Oven Roasted Carrots
    • Tadka Mashed Potatoes
    • Chai Latte (Starbucks Dupe)
    • Cardamom Date Shake

    Popular Recipes

    • Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
    • Masala Chai
    • Chicken 65
    • Chai Concentrate

    FEATURED ON

    Drinks & Cocktails

    • Chai Hot Chocolate
    • Spiced Apple Cider Slushie
    • Black Widow RumChata White Russian
    • Strawberry Lassi
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    cook with me on instagram

    Join our growing community of 10,000+ talented home cooks!

    @masalaandchai →

    CONNECT WITH ME

    • About
    • Contact
    • Disclosure
    • Links
    • Accessibility

    INDIAN COOKING

    FREE EBOOK

    Subscribe to receive the latest recipes and a free guide to Indian cooking essentials!

    You’ve successfully signed up! Check your email for details.

    Copyright © 2022 Masala and Chai, LLC

    All recipes and photos on this website are mine and require permission before use. Contact me for permission.

    44 shares
    • 2Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Reddit
    • WhatsApp
    • Yummly
    • Tumblr
    • Email