We have taken an all-time favourite British classic – a Coronation Chicken Sandwich – and made it into a vegetarian salad featuring the humble chickpeas! Is there enough flavour in this salad, you ask? With the creamy curried chickpea filling, bursting with flavours of cumin, lime, sweet sultanas and a hint of chilli heat and warm boiled potatoes on crunchy leaves, there’s enough flavour and texture to impress even the harshest critics! Our Coronation Chickpea Salad is a wonderful quick lunch option whether you’re eating at home or in the office. And what a perfect way to celebrate Platinum Jubilee!
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I am not going to sugar-coat it – this recipe isn’t new nor is it unique! We have taken our Coronation Chickpea Sandwich recipe and simply turned it into a salad by replacing the bread with potatoes! Yes, it’s that simple! The good news is, if you like our Coronation Chickpea Sandwiches, you will love this vegetarian salad! With the added benefit of being gluten-free, this salad can also easily be made vegan by using vegan mayo!

How to Make Coronation Chickpea Salad?
Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. They normally take about 18-20 minutes.
Drain and rinse your chickpeas under running water to remove the starchy residue. Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of oil and curry powder, add the chickpeas and cook stirring continuously for 3 minutes, until all chickpeas are well coated and warmed through.

Make the Coronation Dressing:
Deseed and finely chop chilli (use half if you don’t like things spicy!). Finely chop the coriander, including the stalks.
In a large bowl, mix the mayo with mango chutney, juice of ½ of lime, sultanas, chilli and coriander. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the chickpeas, scraping the pan to get all the curry powder into the dressing too. Mix well.

Assemble the Salad:
In a large bowl, add the shredded lettuce and cucumber. Toss with a tablespoon of lime juice (use the remaining ½ a lime), a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Divide the salad between two bowls.
Top with boiled potatoes and creamy curried chickpeas! Scatter some toasted flaked almonds on top!
Coronation Salad Variations:
There are many things that you can substitute in this salad to make it suit your own taste. Change up the ingredients or some of the cooking methods. Here are a few suggestions:
- Roast the potatoes instead of boiling them for extra crunch and flavour in your curried chickpea salad.
- Use various curry powders – we typically use Medium Curry Powder, but Garam Masala or even a mixture of cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder will do just great!
- Try chopped up dried apricots instead of sultanas!
- If you have some dried chickpeas, boil them following packet instructions, but make sure not to overcook them – you want the chickpeas holding their shape.
- Use spinach or mixed salad leaves instead of iceberg lettuce.
- Use mild curry powder and skip the chilli if you want to make this Coronation Chickpea Salad less spicy.

Recipe FAQs:
A dish, known as Coronation Chicken is said to be created specifically for the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s II coronation in 1953. Various sources say that it was actually served with a side of green salad, rather than a sandwich, which coronation chicken is known for today. We have swapped the chicken for curried chickpeas to create our vegetarian Coronation Salad.
Yes, absolutely! The only ingredient you need to substitute is mayonnaise. There are plenty of plant-based opinions to choose from, but our favourite is Hellmann’s Vegan Mayo.
Other Recipes with Chickpeas:
Do you like cooking with chickpeas as much as we do? If so, you may be tempted by one of the following recipes:
- Coronation Chickpea Sandwiches
- Crunchy Smoky Chickpeas
- Roast Berbere Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Ginger & Cucumber Relish
- Green Bean and Chickpea Biryani with Crispy Onions

Coronation Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 300 g baby potatoes larger ones cut in half
- 1 tablespoon odourless oil
- 400 g tin of chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon curry powder we used medium
- ½ red or green chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 30 g sultanas
- 1 lime juice only
- 80 g mayonnaise
- 20 g mango chutney
- 10 g coriander finely chopped, including stalks
- 120 g cucumber about half of a long cucumber, thinly sliced
- 120 g iceberg lettuce torn into pieces
- 15 g flaked almonds toasted
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. They normally take about 18-20 minutes.
- Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of oil and curry powder, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and cook stirring continuously for 3 minutes, until all chickpeas are well coated and warmed through.
- In a large bowl, mix the mayo with mango chutney, juice of ½ of lime, sultanas, chilli and coriander. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the chickpeas, scraping the pan to get all the curry powder into the dressing too. Mix well.
- In a large bowl, add the shredded lettuce and cucumber. Toss with a tablespoon of lime juice (use the remaining ½ a lime) , a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Divide the salad between two bowls. Top with boiled potatoes and creamy coronation chickpeas! Scatter some toasted flaked almonds on top!
Nutrition

Vidya Narayan
I am always looking for easy chickpea recipes and I think I have found a great recipe in this salad. I’ve got everything I need to make this for dinner tonight. Thanks.
Ieva
That’s great! I am sure you will like it – it is so full of textures and flavours! 🙂
Gina
I love this version of the salad! Lovely way to make it meatless and it makes for a great lunch!
Ieva
That’s so lovely to hear! Glad you tried it! 🙂