This easy vegan gochujang chickpea smash recipe is a tasty and high-protein filling for sandwiches, wraps and tacos. You'll love it!
I'm upping my sandwich game with this smashed chickpea sandwich filler.
This protein-packed lunch received 5 stars from my husband, so it's on regular rotation now.
It's quick to make, with a spicy filling that will make your taste buds tingle.
🥪 For more sandwich ideas, say hello to the 150 Easy Vegan Sandwiches (with 6 ingredients or less) ebook. You'll never be stuck for lunch ideas again! All for the price of a coffee.
Keep it on your phone when shopping or in the kitchen or print it out to keep handy to glance through. Get it now!
Jump to:
- 💭 What is gochujang?
- 🥪 What you need to make Gochujang smashed chickpea sandwiches
- 📖 Variations
- 🍽 Equipment
- 👩🏻🍳 Smash those chickpeas!
- 🍞 Toast that bread!
- 🥣 Storing the chickpea mixture
- 🌡️ Can you freeze smashed chickpeas?
- 🌮 Serving gochujang smashed chickpeas
- 🥪 Related recipes
- ⭐ Sign up for a free recipe sent to your inbox every morning
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make Vegan Gochujang Chickpea Smash for Sandwiches & Tacos
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
At a glance - gochujang chickpea smash for sandwiches & tacos
⏲️ Ready in: 10 minutes
👪 Serves: 3
🍽 Calories: 218
🧾 Main ingredients: chickpeas, carrot, red onion, red pepper, gochujang paste, tahini paste, lemon juice, dried or fresh dill
👩🏻🍳 Suitable for: vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian
Summarise & save this recipe:
💭 What is gochujang?
Just in case you haven't come across or tried gochujang paste yet, it is a fermented red chilli paste from Korea.
This sweet and spicy paste is used regularly in Korean cooking and is becoming more and more popular in the west.
It's made from fermented glutinous rice (sticky rice grown across Asia), soybeans, chilli powder, barley malt powder and salt.
And happily it's vegan too.
It comes in a range of heat levels, so be careful when buying it.
Once you've tried these smashed chickpeas in a gochujang sauce, try crispy fried tofu with gochujang sauce or shredded gochujang tofu and chickpea wraps.
🥪 What you need to make Gochujang smashed chickpea sandwiches
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these chickpea salad sandwiches.
Chickpea salad smash ingredients
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - I used canned chickpeas, but you can soak and cook dried chickpeas if you prefer to do that
- Red bell pepper - use another colour of bell peppers if you prefer
- Carrot
- Red onion - use a regular brown onion, if that is all you have or even spring onions (green onions)
- Gochujang paste
- Tahini paste - sesame seed paste
- Lemon juice
- Dill - fresh dill or dried dill
Sandwich ingredients
- Good quality bread - white, wholemeal, seeded or sourdough bread
- Vegan mayonnaise
- Salad leaves - a mixture of soft salad leaves or crunchy iceberg lettuce
- Cucumber - sliced, for a cool contrast to the chickpeas
I like to keep the sandwich fillings simple and let the chickpea smash shine, but you can vary these to suit your mood.
Some grated carrot is a good option to add, if you want more fresh veggies in your sandwich and quick pickled radish would give it a bit of zing.
See the step-by-step photos and printable recipe card below for method, quantities, noted and nutritional information.
Also, try these delicious Caesar's smashed chickpea sandwiches.
📖 Variations
A few tweaks you can make when you meal prep this delicious sandwich filling.
- Peanut butter - instead of tahini paste if you don't have tahini
- Mayo - add mayo to the chickpea sandwich spread to make it creamier and less spicy
- Fresh herbs - you can add chives or parsley instead of dill
- Spring onions - instead of red onion for a softer finish
- Thousand Island coleslaw - to add to the sandwich or serve on the side
🍽 Equipment
All you need to make this gorgeous chickpea salad sandwich recipe is:
- Cutting board & a sharp knife
- A large bowl (mixing bowl)
- Potato masher
- Measuring spoon
- Spoon to mix and dollop onto sandwiches
👩🏻🍳 Smash those chickpeas!
Chickpeas are such an amazing ingredient, they are a great source of plant-based protein, dietary fibre, iron, vitamin B6, magnesium and calcium!
Stock up on them, so you always have a few tins in the cupboard, ready to add to dishes like this smashed chickpea salad sandwich, but also add them to salads, soups, stews and curries.
Use a potato masher to smoosh your chickpeas (no need for a food processor), but the secret to good chickpeas smash is to leave some chickpeas whole.
Hint: You want a good texture to your chickpeas mash, so don't mash it until it is smooth. An uneven texture gives a much nicer mouth feel.
Love chickpeas? Try these easy buffalo chickpea tacos.
🍞 Toast that bread!
This type of sandwich filler is best served in bread with a bit of substance or crunch.
If you want to serve it with fresh bread, you want a firm one with a good crust like a sourdough.
My recommendation is to toast (broil) your bread before assembling your sandwich.
It is sooooo good!
🥣 Storing the chickpea mixture
Once you make the spicy chickpea smash, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Which is very convenient, because there is just enough chickpea filling for 3-4 sandwiches, depending on how generously you dollop it on.
🌡️ Can you freeze smashed chickpeas?
Yup, they freeze well, so you can freeze it in portions in freezer bags, labelled and stored flat, so they don't take up too much space.
Pop a portion in the fridge overnight and it will be ready to add to your bangin' vegan sandwich in the morning to take with you to school or work in your lunch box or to make fresh at lunchtime.
🌮 Serving gochujang smashed chickpeas
Here are a few more serving suggestions for this scrumptious sandwich filling.
- Lettuce wrap - serve it in a crunchy iceberg lettuce wrap and top it with quick pickled onions or pickled cabbage and tahini dressing
- Tortilla wrap - with salad leaves and tortilla chips for crunch
- Baked potato - pile on a baked spud and top with sour cream or grated vegan cheddar
- Tacos - soft or crunchy tacos filled with iceberg lettuce, the chickpea smash and topped with sour cream and cheese
I'm sure you will have some good ideas too!
You may also like my lentil and peanut pate as a sandwich filler with salad.
🥪 Related recipes
Looking for more sandwich inspiration? Try these:
For more inspiration, check out 101 Vegan Sandwiches - Back to School Kids Lunch boxes.
⭐ Sign up for a free recipe sent to your inbox every morning
Join my list and have one recipe emailed to you every morning for inspiration.
Also, make sure you are signed up for my new recipe email, so you don't miss any new recipes here at the lunchbox.
👩🏻🍳 How to make Vegan Gochujang Chickpea Smash for Sandwiches & Tacos
These step-by-step photos will show you how to make the most delicious lunchtime sandwiches.
Step 1
- Add the drained chickpeas to a mixing bowl.
- Smash them until you have a rough texture with some whole chickpeas.
- Add the veg (full recipe card below).
Step 2
- Add the gochujang paste, other flavourings and herbs.
- Mix until well combined.
Step 3
- Toast (broil) your bread.
- Spread both slices generously with mayo (cream cheese would work well too).
- Add salad leaves to one slice.
Step 4
- Add a generous layer of smashed chickpeas on top of the salad leaves, then top with slices of cucumber.
- Top with the other slice of bread and serve!
- Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Gochujang Chickpea Smash for Sandwiches & Tacos
Ingredients
- 230 g chickpeas (more is ok too if your can is a bit bigger)
- 1 carrot (grated)
- ½ red onion (finely chopped)
- ½ red pepper (sliced)
- 2 tablespoons gochujang paste
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (more if you like)
- 1 tablespoon dill (fresh or dried)
Instructions
- Add the drained chickpeas to a mixing bowl. Smash them until you have a rough texture with some whole chickpeas.
- Next, add the red pepper, red onion and carrot.
- Spoon in the gochujang paste, tahini paste, lemon juice and dill.
- Mix well until completely combined.
- Serve on toasted (broiled) bread with mayo, salad leaves and slices of cucumber.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Don't have tahini paste? Use peanut butter instead.
- Once you make the spicy chickpea smash, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- There is enough sandwich filler for 3-4 sandwiches.
- It's better served on firmer bread like sourdough or on your regular white or wholemeal bread, but toasted (broiled).
- This sandwich filler freezes well. Pop a portion in the fridge overnight and it will be ready to add to sandwiches the next day.
Jackie Howard says
This is lovely I had a dollop with couscous and salad.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh nice idea Jackie. I bet that was good.
Branwen says
I made this and it's lovely. Works quite nice on sourbread. Will def make it again.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh I bet it was. I like it in wraps with salad too.
Chrissie Douglass says
OMG just had this for lunch on wholewheat crackers. Absolutely gorgeous.
I love the way your brain works, :O) :O) :O)
Thank you so much
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Yay! I am so pleased you enjoyed it and nice call with the crackers.
Chenee says
This was so delicious and had just the right amount of spice.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I am so glad you enjoyed the chickpea mash Chenee. Thanks for letting me know.
DK says
I love the gochujang taste in this sandwich! Spicy and savory - it's perfect!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Thanks DK, I am so pleased you liked it.
Angela says
Ok, this made me stop my scroll. This looks so good - can't wait to try it tomorrow for lunch!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Haha I'm glad it caught your eye. Enjoy your lunch tomorrow.
Lisa says
I really love the whole concept of mashed chickpeas in sandwiches and tacos. The gochujang was delicious but I can imagine a variety of potential add-ins! Great recipe.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes definitely play about with it.
Graham says
This stuff is very tasty indeed. Make more soon. (Graham the husband)
Jacqueline Meldrum says
A wee hint there then. I know you love this stuff. I'll make more for you soon x
James says
Hot dawg that looks good! Adding it to my I have to make this soon list. Boom!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Haha I hope you enjoy it James. If you are anything like my husband, you will love it.
Sammie Jo says
This is the best sandwich I have seen in a long time. Making it!!!!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Aww thanks Sammie Jo, I hope you really enjoy it!
Jill says
I am literally drooling over the keyboard here Jacqs. I cannot wait to try this. Jill x
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Haha so many nice comments, it's obviously caught the attention of people. It's a tasty one Jill. Let me know when you've tried it.