This vegan chickpea melt is one of those sandwiches that reminds you why you like sandwiches. Perfectly composed, with a bit of crunch, tang, lots of flavor, fresh greens, a creamy avocado sauce, and the best part: melty vegan cheese!
We love partnering with Field Roast to share our favorite recipes with their Chao slices. We throw them on just about anything we can, and even eat them plain sometimes! In case you missed some of our recent posts, we used Tomato Cayenne Slices in these cheesy vegan Hasselback potatoes, Creamy Original Slices in amazing lasagna roll-ups, and Tomato Cayenne in vegan quesadillas! Next, we’re working on an enchilada recipe we think you’ll love – stay tuned!
The Creamy Original Chao is our favorite choice for sandwiches like this vegan chickpea melt. Since it’s the most similar to regular cheese and it melts beautifully, we love it grilled. We use it on all sorts of sandwiches/paninis. For example, an apple, caramelized onion & fig panini (yum!!), a pesto avocado grilled cheese, and this chickpea melt!
The chickpea salad filling for this melt is a slight variation of a recipe we shared last year. I honestly forgot how good it was. It’s super flavorful and fresh, because of all the fresh dill (my favorite herb!). We usually make a double batch and keep leftovers in the fridge for a quick, healthy lunch or snack. We eat it plain, in a sandwich or scooped into half an avocado. By the way – don’t waste the liquid from the can of chickpeas! Save it and use the aquafaba for chocolate mousse or the best waffles you’ve ever had. There are plenty more uses for aquafaba, and it’s quickly becoming one of our favorite ingredients, so don’t waste it!
Doesn’t get much better than this for a delicious, filling vegan lunch! Plus – it would be easy to take on the go or pack for meal prep, if you like to work ahead of time.
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This vegan alternative to a tuna melt is equally delicious and a great way to change up your lunch routine.
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour in hot water or 2–4 in room temp water
- 1 tsp miso
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 16. oz can chickpeas, drained
- 1/3 cup diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
- ¼ fresh chopped dill
- 1 1/2 tbsp chives
Sandwich:
- Gluten free/vegan sandwich bread of choice
- 2 slices Creamy Original Chao Slices per sandwich
- Chickpea salad
- Pickled red onion
- Microgreens
- Avocado spread
Instructions
Chickpea salad:
- Soak cashews for 1 hour in hot water or 2-4 hours in room temp water. Drain and rinse cashews.
- Add miso, water, lemon juice, mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to blender.
- Blend until starts to form a smooth paste.
- Slowly stream in olive oil and continue blending until smooth. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
- In a bowl, stir together chickpeas, cucumber, carrot, celery, sunflower seeds, dill and chives. Pour sauce over mixture and stir well to coat.
Sandwich:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place two slices of Chao on the bottom half of bread. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melty.
- Remove from oven and top with chickpea salad, onions, greens, and another slice of bread spread with avocado.
Notes
Make the chickpea filling up to a week ahead to pull this sandwich together quickly.
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