It's time to toss your sad desk salad. Culinary creator Grace Elkus just came out with Protein-Packed Vegetarian, a cookbook full of easy and flavorful plant-based dishes. Tucked among the dozens of delicious recipes is a simple lunch that's guaranteed to fill you up until dinnertime: open-faced green goddess chickpea salad sandwiches.
"This punchy, herby, Sweetgreen-inspired dressing is my favorite summer flavor booster, ready to liven up caprese sandwiches, raw and roasted veggies, and yes, a can of chickpeas," Elkus writes. "I leave most of the chickpeas whole for added texture, but feel free to smash them with a fork for a creamier consistency." No matter how you mash the salad, Elkus notes that this dish contains 22 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber — meaning that each bite is packed with nutrients and bright, vibrant flavor.
Elkus also adds that the easy, no-cook filling is meal prep-friendly: "You can make the chickpea salad up to 3 days in advance, then assemble the sandwiches day-of." That way, you'll be able to enjoy a quick meal between meetings.
Open-Faced Green Goddess Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
Author: Grace Elkus
Prep Time: 27 min
Calories: 560
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the green goddess dressing
- ⅓ cup 2% or whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1 cup tightly packed fresh tender herbs, such as basil, dill, cilantro, parsley, chives, or a combination
- ¼ small red onion, diced (reserve another ¼)
- Juice of ½ lemon (reserve the other ½)
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled but whole
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Hot sauce
For the chickpea salad
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
- ¼ small red onion, diced
- ¼ cup salted roasted sunflower seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Hot sauce
For the sandwiches
- 4 ciabatta rolls, split, or 2 demi baguettes, halved lengthwise and crosswise
- 2 cups packed baby arugula
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Make the green goddess dressing: In a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the yogurt, herbs, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, nutritional yeast, oil, garlic, salt, several grinds of pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Process, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed, until smooth. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, or hot sauce.
Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, onion, and sunflower seeds. Add the dressing, salt, several grinds of pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce and toss to coat. Taste and season with more salt as needed.
Make the sandwiches: Toast the rolls in the toaster, in a skillet, or under the broiler. Top each half roll with one quarter of the chickpea mixture, smashing it with a fork to help it adhere to the roll. Top each with a handful of arugula. Squeeze lemon juice over the arugula, then drizzle each serving with 1 teaspoon of the oil.
Reprinted with permission from Protein-Packed Vegetarian: Easy, Nourishing Recipes to Fuel Your Day: A High-Protein Cookbook. Copyright © 2026 by Grace Elkus. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Linda Pugliese. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
