Chickpea Salad meet Cucumber Cups! I love these! Easy to make and ridiculously good with cool, crunchy cucumber cups stuffed with creamy chickpea salad, then topped with green onion, toasted sesame seeds, and a generous drizzle of spicy chili oil!
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Are you even ready for this? What we have here is a creamy chickpea mayo salad scooped, tucked, and piled generously into cool and crispy cucumber cups with sprinkles of green onion and sesame seeds and a hefty drizzle of chili oil (or chili crisp) to really seal the deal.
I've been using Okazu Spicy Chili Miso Oil, and it is SO GOOD, especially on these. It's what I used to anoint them in the pictures!
These stuffed cucumber cups are messy and delicious, creamy, cool and spicy, and remind me of eating a sushi roll. A big yes from me and perfect for a light no-cook summer lunch, dinner, or appetizer.
My inspiration for this recipe came from the very lovely (and funny) Charlotte Smythe of the website Clean Foodie Cravings, who made a non-vegan version with tuna mayo salad in a Reel on her Instagram. It looked so delicious that I just had to recreate it with my vegan chickpea salad!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
For the creamy chickpea salad:
- Chickpeas - I use canned chickpeas, but you can use home-cooked chickpeas if you prefer.
- Onion - Yellow, white, red, or green. Choose your onion depending on how strong you like the raw flavour. I use yellow because I love raw onion and like quite a strong flavour.
- Pickles - Any type of pickles will do. Dill pickles, sweet pickles, spicy pickles, sour pickles, bread and butter pickles, or gherkins in the UK. Use whatever you enjoy. I've been using jalapeno pickles lately, and they add some lovely bites of heat!
- Celery - For texture and flavour. If you don't like celery, you can omit this or use something else instead. Grated raw carrot would be a great alternative!
- Mayo - Any vegan variety. I used Hellman's for these photos and the video.
- Mustard - This adds some depth to the flavour. Dijon or wholegrain is fine. I wouldn't use yellow mustard in this recipe as it's too strong. If you like a bit of spice, sriracha makes a great alternative!
- Garlic powder - For some extra flavour. It's not as bitey as raw fresh garlic, so it works better in this salad.
For the cucumber cups:
- Cucumber - My cucumbers were absolutely huge, so I only needed one to use up all of the chickpea salad. In most cases though, I would guess you'll need 2 average-sized cucumbers. Cut just one into pieces first, scoop out the wells and fill, then cut another as needed to use up the rest of the salad.
- Green onions and toasted sesame seeds - To garnish and for extra flavour/prettiness. I feel like they also give the stuffed cucumber cups a sushi roll kind of vibe.
- Chili oil or chili crisp - Adds loads of extra flavour and interest, a pop of heat, and makes the cucumber cups look really pretty with the contrasting colour. I used Okazu Spicy Chili Miso Oil. If you're making these for children or you would prefer them not to be spicy, just omit the chili oil.
Don't Waste The Cucumber Insides 🥒
My dogs love cucumbers, so they always eat the scooped-out flesh from inside the cucumber. If you don't have dogs, you can squeeze the liquid out of the flesh, chop it up, and then stir it into your chickpea salad. Or save it in a container in the fridge and add to your next smoothie.
Let's Make Stuffed Cucumber Cups!
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
1 - Make the creamy chickpea salad. It's as easy as mashing the chickpeas and then mixing in all of the other ingredients.
2 - Cut the cucumbers into 1-inch-long chunks and use a teaspoon or a melon baller to hollow out a well in each piece.
3 - Fill each cucumber cup with a very generous dollop of chickpea salad.
4. Top with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
5 - Drizzle with chili crisp or chili oil, then enjoy!
How To Toast Sesame Seeds
Pop a few tablespoons of natural (as in not already toasted) sesame seeds into a small, dry skillet/frying pan over medium heat and toss frequently for a few minutes until golden and smelling toasty. Please don't leave them unattended. Once they get hot, they colour up very fast and can burn quickly. Once golden, turn the heat off, allow to cool, then transfer to a small sealed container. You can keep them in the pantry for months.
Recipe
Stuffed Cucumber Cups
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
For the chickpea salad
- 1 x 15oz can (about 1½ cups) chickpeas (398ml can in Canada or 400g can in the UK)
- 4 to 5 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons diced pickles , sweet or spicy (gherkins in the UK)
- 4 tablespoons very finely minced onion , red, yellow, white, or green depending how strong you want the flavour
- 1 stick celery diced finely
- 1 tablespoon Dijon or wholegrain mustard
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the cucumber cups
- 1 to 2 English cucumbers (1 large or 2 smaller ones)
- sliced green onions
- toasted sesame seeds
- chili oil or chili crisp
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the creamy chickpea salad. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then either put them in a mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher or fork, or put them in a food processor or blender and pulse until broken down into small pieces, then transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the mayo to the smashed chickpeas. Start with 4 tablespoons and add another dollop if necessary at the end. How much you need varies every time, depending on the particular batch of chickpeas and how hard or soft they are.
- Then add everything else and stir really well. Add a little more mayo if you'd like it creamier and check the seasoning.
- Prep the cucumber. Cut the pointy ends off, then slice the cucumber into thick 1-inch wide pieces. If your cucumbers are quite large you might only need one to use up all of the chickpea stuffing so start by prepping one then do the other later if needed.
- Using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop deep wells out of each cucumber piece. You can squeeze the liquid out of the flesh, chop it up, and then stir it into your chickpea salad. Or save it in a container in the fridge and add to your next smoothie. Or if you have dogs like me, they love eating it!
- Fill the cucumber cups. Add a generous scoop of chickpea salad to each well. I like to use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to get a nice dome. Then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, green onions, and a generous drizzle of chili oil or chili crisp.
NOTES
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