Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrot

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? An easy pantry meal with so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

Well, this will be quick, because I’m having a crazy busy week – (virtually) attending two separate online Summits!

Of course they overlap! Doesn’t it always work that way? But at least I can do this online – I could not physically attend two conferences in different cities. I am so often amazed by the resources available to me now that weren’t – well, sometimes even five years ago! Let alone when I was a young woman and the internet did not yet even exist.  And by the end of a week, I will have a melted brain, and a great deal of information about both blogging and the migraines that originally inspired my methods of easy cooking. (There is nothing like knowing that one of the best treatments for your disabling condition is eating regular, balanced meals of good, whole, unprocessed food when the condition itself makes it difficult to prepare those meals…) And yes, in fact, my migraines have improved considerably, or I could not even think of doing this, even online!

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

But this is a perfect recipe for days when you need a solid, balanced meal, but don’t have the time or energy…  I threw it together a few weeks ago, and liked it so much that I promptly made notes, and have made it a few times since. (I had not done anything silly like measure anything the first time… and it took a time or two to recreate it!)

See – I went into the kitchen to make tuna salad, and took out the two cans of… wait… the one can of tuna? I thought we had two cans? No? But…  it’s lunchtime, and we need to eat. Well, I had some cooked chickpeas sitting next to the tuna, so, why not a tuna chickpea salad?  And I went from there.

Directions

Take a cup and a half of chickpeas – one can, if you use canned, or the cooked beans if you have them. Rinse and drain them, as the liquid will just make the recipe soggy, and let them drain a few minutes while you follow the next step.

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

Grate two carrots. I just used a little hand grater, I don’t bother with a processor for this amount, but you can if you want – and I certainly would if I doubled the recipe. (And it doubles quite nicely.)

Now put the chickpeas, grated carrots, and a drained can of tuna (again, the liquid would make the salad soggy) into a bowl large enough to mix them well. And then, in fact, mix them well… It is easiest now, before you add anything else.

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

Then add a quarter of a cup of mayonnaise, and two tablespoons of (drained) capers. Now mix all of them well, until fully blended. Now taste. These are the measurements I used here for the pictures. We did like it when I used more capers, but not everyone is as fond of the briny little buds, so I gave you a baseline – add if you like. You certainly don’t need salt – every ingredient other than the carrot is already salted! – but you can always add a touch of a salt free seasoning if you like. We preferred it plain.

Also, other vegetables can be a nice add in. The first time I made it, I happened to have and use some bean sprouts. I skipped them here, because they’re not an ingredient in every refrigerator…  It is still good without them, but we liked the crunch. A little celery or diced cucumber would be a lovely option, and I’m sure I’ll use them as the summer progresses and I have them on hand. And we will definitely eat variations of this as the weather gets warmer!

You can eat it at once, and it’s good, but the flavor improves with a few hours in the fridge, and it keeps well for a few days. You can easily double or triple it, and use it for lunch all week. It also works well as one salad in a salad bar – make a meal of this, a few stuffed eggs, and some potato salad, for instance, with a nice big tossed green salad, and you have a feast!

Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots, on a plate with crackers

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!

Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrot

Anne Murphy
Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!
4.80 from 10 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course lunch, Salad
Cuisine American, Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 can tuna
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/4 c mayonnaise
  • 2 T capers

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Drain the tuna. Grate the carrots.
  • Mix those ingredients well. Add the mayonnaise and capers, and mix that well.

Notes

You can serve it at once, but the flavor improves if you let it rest a few hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. Which makes it a great recipe to double for lunch later in the week!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Why eat a plain tuna salad when you can have a Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots? Several textures, so much flavor, and a quick, terrific lunch!



29 thoughts on “Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrot”

  • This looks so good and healthy! I am not a huge fan of chickpeas and I would have never thought to make it this way. Yum!

    Love,
    Ivelisse | CarnationDreams.com

    • Thanks!

      Chickpeas are wonderfully versatile. While they certainly can stand alone (if you like them) many traditional recipes mix them with other food, for the flavor. They mix very well with meat stews and curries, for instance (as most firm beans do, for that matter.)

    • Thank you! Enjoy it! (And thar’s pretty much how I made it in the first place – I wasn’t developing a recipe, I was just making lunch with what I had around.)

  • 5 stars
    What a great lunch – that would definitely keep me full til dinner. I love chickpeas, and don’t use them enough!

    • Thanks! They are so useful – though I find I use them a little differently than I do other beans. I’m glad I tried them in this!

  • 5 stars
    What a delicious Tuna Chickpea Salad with Carrots! I simply cannot wait to try it! Very interesting combination of ingredients. I am saving this recipe for later.

    • Enjoy! You know, I really improvised it the first time – but then Rich kept asking for it so I knew I had to put it on the blog!

  • 5 stars
    What a great salad for lunch or dinner. I love using tuna this way. Chickpeas are a stable here…I use them in everything. Great amount of protein in this recipe.

    • I use them all the time, too – which is the reason I had them on hand. And yes – it’s so easy to skimp on protein in a salad without quite realizing it – but this made a good solid meal (we had it quite often last summer, and will again this year I’m sure!)

  • 5 stars
    I love the addition of the chickpeas! My son loves them and he loves tuna – so I will definitely be making this for his meal prep lunches!

  • That is a quick and easy recipe and a great way to use some texture and flavor to the meal. I love adding chickpeas to all my salads.

  • I’m like you…so many times I don’t measure the first time I make a recipe, and then have to figure it al out with more practice! You think I would have learned by now. This looks delicious

  • 5 stars
    This is a great twist on both tuna and chickpea salad, it is high protein and great for family picnic.

  • 5 stars
    This is protein packed salad I like the addition of chickpeas along with tuna and carrot. You made delicious as well healthy meal in less time.

  • 5 stars
    Just made this and first bite prior to resting was delicious! I had been making carrot chickpea salad for lunch and it tastes well but I needed to change it where it was more filling. I am very excited to eat this during the week and I bet I won’t be starved once I get home. Thank you again!

    • Thank you! It’s funny, I started from the other direction, with a tuna salad that needed more oomph… But either way it works. And yes, it’s a great carried lunch, nothing goes soggy. Enjoy it!

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