I love chickpeas (AKA. garbanzo beans). I love how easy it is to whip up a chickpea salad sandwich on a hot summer day. I also have a soft spot for Arby’s Pecan Chicken Salad that they sell in the summer (Yeah, I know…it is embarrassing to admit). So, I was inspired to make a Chickpea Pecan Apple Salad that I could eat as a sandwich or in a bowl.
I realized as I ate the first bite that I had basically made my mom’s Waldorf salad only adding chickpeas. It is still a flexible, customizable, and delicious salad. You can add and remove ingredients to meet your individual taste or mood.
It will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
I use pecans and leave most of them in halves because my daughter doesn’t like nuts, but loves chickpeas. Leaving them in bigger pieces just makes them easier for her to pick them out. If I am making it for anyone else, I chop the pecans into large pieces.
Choose your favorite apple variety. Ambrosia and Honeycrisp are my favorites for this dish, but I use whatever is in season or that I have on hand.
Chickpea Pecan Apple Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
- 1/4 c. pecan halves or pieces
- 1 small apple, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. +/- Miracle Whip. mayonnaise, or Greek yogurt
- 1/4 c. dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or raisins
- 1 stalk. celery, sliced
- 1/4 c. grapes, halved
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a bowl.
- Mix until well blended.
- Can be eaten right away or covered and placed in refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Serve plain or in a sandwich.
- Keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
