There's a cafe in my hometown that serves an epic pulled pork sandwich smothered in slaw. Every time I see it made, I felt like I was missing out on this big, sloppy sandwich. Enter this bbq chickpea sandwich. You could easily use any bbq sauce but if you have a couple of peaches sitting around, I highly recommend making the homemade bbq sauce recipe below. It's become my favorite and I ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches with the sauce for dipping- so good! Also, you could easily use your favorite slaw for topping but I love that with the tahini slaw, this sandwich is vegan!
PrintBBQ Chickpea Sandwich with Tahini Slaw
A solid vegetarian sandwich made from mashing chickpeas with homemade peach bbq sauce and topping the sandwich with a vegan tahini slaw.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
Ingredients
Peach BBQ Sauce
- 1 lb yellow peaches
- 1 medium shallot (chopped)
- 2 cloves small garlic (smashed)
- ½ jalapeños (see note, chopped)
- 3 tablespoons muscovado sugar (see note)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (see note)
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Sandwiches
- ½ recipe for the tahini slaw
- 1 ¾ cup chickpeas (one can, drained and rinsed)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 slices bread or buns (toasted)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- To make peach bbq sauce, bring a pot of water to a simmer. Cut an 'x' in the bottom of the peach and drop in the water for 20 seconds. Remove and place in an ice bath to cool. Peel off the skin and roughly chop into cubes. Combine peaches with the shallots, garlic, and jalapeño in a roasting pan. Toss until well combined then roast until peaches release their juice and shallot is starting to brown, 30 to 40 minutes. With about 5 minutes remaining, sprinkle the sugar over the peaches and continue to cook.
- Once the peaches are done, combine with the remaining ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. Store in a jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- To make the sandwiches, prepare tahini slaw according to directions (I left out the sesame seeds). Place chickpeas in a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times, just enough to leave a few whole chickpeas. Alternatively, use a potato masher.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil to the pan followed by the chickpeas. Cook until the chickpeas are warm. Add in roughly ½ cup of the bbq sauce and continue to heat until the sauce is hot.
- Assemble the sandwiches with a thick layer of chickpeas and coleslaw. Serve immediately.
Notes
Tips & Tricks: Jalapeños: I left 4 to 5 seeds in for a bit of heat- experiment if you like a hotter bbq sauce.
Muscovado sugar: subsitute brown sugar if you can't find this sweetener. The flavor won't be quite the same, but it will be close. Worcestershire sauce: This brand is vegan!
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: tahini, chickpeas, cabbage
Nutrition: see the information.
Links: Peach BBQ Recipe adapted from this recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 644
- Sugar: 34.3
- Sodium: 802
- Fat: 18.9
- Fiber: 16.3
- Protein: 25
- Cholesterol: 0
Step by Step
BBQ Chickpea
variations
Similar to the buffalo chickpeas, these chickpeas can be used quite a few ways and in fun, new meals. The key is to make sure you're using a good bbq sauce (either store-bought or homemade). Bon Appetit has a good primer on how to make a solid sauce.
Lentils: I had originally planned this recipe to be made with lentils but I felt the peach bbq sauce would be better balanced with chickpeas. If you want to make this sandwich with lentils, I recommend something like this recipe.
Sandwich Alternatives: Not keen on bread? The bbq chickpea mixture would be amazing as a topping for potatoes, maybe even with a drizzle of homemade ranch. Another option: bbq chickpea tacos (because it's hard to go wrong with tacos).
Slaw: If you're not sure about the tahini slaw, here are three easy slaw dressing you can use instead.
Explore BBQ Sauce

I have a weakness for good BBQ sauce and even though this sauce is usually synonymous with meat, there are so many uses for it in a vegetarian diet. We always have a jar in the refrigerator and during the summer is the perfect time to try your hand at making homemade.
BBQ Blue Cheese Lentil Bites
Cheesy BBQ Loaded Potatoes
BBQ Cauliflower Salad
Barbara (BarbB) says
This looks really amazing. I can't wait to try it.