Lemony Broccoli, Chickpea & Avocado Pita Sandwiches
This simple pita sandwich recipe features a fresh broccoli and chickpea slaw with Greek flavors, on a pita with mashed avocado!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
What day is it? What time is it? I’m in a tornado of last-minute cookbook details. Imagine a vortex of words, vegetables and papers with notes on them, swirling around a very frizzy-haired me in the middle. Then add Cookie running in circles around my feet, catching the crumbs and stray kale leaves. That’s about right.
With all the recipe testing, I’ve hardly been eating proper meals. Don’t worry, I’m not going hungry. I’m just eating bites here and there, all day long. I don’t remember the last time I ate a real sandwich, or a pita sandwich for that matter, so this recipe was a refreshing change of pace.
Basically, it’s a fresh, lemony broccoli and chickpea salad (lots of texture!) with Greek flavors, folded into a warm pita bread, with mashed avocado to keep it interesting. It’s fresh, delicious, and hearty.
I think the broccoli chickpea salad would be equally tasty on avocado toast, or if you want to take this idea and change it even further, you could use hummus instead of avocado. Then you would have double the chickpeas! Chickpeas offer a myriad of health benefits (they’re rich in protein, fiber, folate and more), and offer a lot of substance in this otherwise fresh and light meal.
You all know I’m a fan of beans, chickpeas, lentils and dry peas (called pulses, collectively), and I’m glad to be singing their praises during the United Nation’s International Year of Pulses. To learn more about the benefits of pulses, and to join me in taking the Pulse Pledge—a commitment to eating one serving of pulses every week (easy!)—visit PulsePledge.com.
Lemony Broccoli, Chickpea & Avocado Pita Sandwiches
These simple broccoli, chickpea and avocado pita sandwiches are a fresh lunch or dinner option. If you would like to have leftovers, store individual components separately, with plastic wrap pressed against the top surface of the mashed avocado to prevent oxidation (or, use hummus instead). Recipe yields 4 pita sandwiches, or 4 large toasts.
Ingredients
Broccoli chickpea salad
- 1 bunch of broccoli, florets removed and sliced thin
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
- ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese or thinly sliced Kalamata olives
Lemon dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey or maple syrup, to taste
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Pinch red pepper flakes
Everything else
- 2 medium avocados, or about ¾ cup of your favorite hummus
- Salt, to taste
- 4 whole grain pita breads, or 4 large, thick slices of hearty whole grain bread
Instructions
- To prepare the broccoli chickpea salad: In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients as listed. Toss to combine.
- To prepare the lemon dressing: In a small liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the ingredients as listed. Whisk the ingredients together until emulsified. Taste, and add additional salt if necessary. The dressing should be a little tart, but if it’s too tart, add a little more sweetener to balance the flavors. If it’s not tart enough for your liking, add a little more lemon juice.
- Pour the dressing over the broccoli chickpea salad and toss to combine. Set the bowl aside to marinate while you work on the rest.
- To make the mashed avocado, halve and pit the avocados, then scoop the flesh of the avocados into a bowl. Mash them with a pastry cutter or a fork until they are mostly mashed, and spreadable. Season with a pinch of salt, and add more to taste.
- To prepare the pita breads, warm them for a few minutes in the oven, or in a toaster oven, or even in the microwave. (If you’re using slices of bread, pop them in the toaster until golden.)
- Spread mashed avocado (or hummus) over one-half of the top surface of each pita round, and cover the other half with a few generous spoonfuls of broccoli chickpea salad. (If you’re serving on toast, spread avocado over the top surface of each slice, and spoon broccoli chickpea salad on top.) Serve immediately.
Notes
Make it vegan: Use Kalamata olives instead of feta, and maple syrup instead of honey.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
This was incredible! After the first bite, my partner turned to me and informed me this is the best dinner we have had in several months, maybe ever! And it was way speedier than usual! I used hummus since I don’t like avocado, and goat cheese instead of feta. Also added some chopped bell peppers. This will go into the usual rotation!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Nicole.
This is a keeper! One that will become a go to for a fast easy and delicious treat for the tastebuds!
This is so delicious! I will be making this every week! We did use naan instead of the pita and it was fantastic! Thank you for another amazing and healthy dish!
You’re welcome Cinleia! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! I added extra feta and smoked paprika, which I recommend. My kids weren’t fans, but what else is new. They just ate the pita with smashed avocado. I’ll definitely make this again!
Wonderful to hear, Annie! I’m happy to hear you loved it.
This is super delicious! I usually don’t like raw broccoli or sun dried tomatoes but the pictures looked tempting and all of the recipes I’ve tried here have been excellent so I made it as written and I love it! The crunch from the broccoli added great texture. I would highly recommend this, it’s both light and filling. It comes together fast and without using the stove (!), perfect on a hot day. Love it. Thanks Kate!
Thank you, Rebecca! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
This is great! Made it for a craft day’s lunch with a vegetarian friend.
We ate it as a salad. Made it exactly as written in the recipe except for cubed avocado instead of mashed. I went heavy on the lemon. Used feta, didn’t include olives.
We finished the entire bowl! I will be keeping this recipe.
We love this! We make it frequently and it always pleases, we even mix it up and use whatever veg we have on hand from the CSA that week.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Caleb. Thank you for your review!
Another Kate recipe that is so much greater than the sum of its parts! I have had this on my list of recipes to try for a while now, and finally served it for dinner during the heat wave. Something magic happens to turn all those simple ingredients into a 5-star meal. I served it in coconut wraps to make it gluten free, and used a nice block of feta which I crumbled myself- makes a big difference! I also marinated it for an hour (because I had to pick up kids from practice), and it got even better over time. This will definitely stay in our main dinner rotation. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Heather! I’m glad this one made your list to make.
I made this dish and both my husband and I love it!!! The only thing I’ll do next time is slightly crush the chickpeas in my blender…only because we are messy eaters!!!
That’s great, Jean! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! Wonderful bright flavor. Very filling. Will eat again and again.
That’s great, Holly! Thank you for your review.
This recipe is unbelievably delicious. My boyfriend who is a picky carnivore LOVED this dish. Will be making for lunches.
I’m mostly a chickpeas are fine in falafel or hummus kind of pulses eater, but this recipe was really delicious! Looking forward to having the leftovers tomorrow.
I can’t believe how good this one is, although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as I’ve never been disappointed by a single one of Kate’s recipes. But I mostly made it because I’d been feeling really sluggish and eating poorly for a few days and it sounded light and healthy- I wasn’t wildly excited about broccoli and chickpeas. Its completely delicious. The texture and balance of flavors is perfect. I made a huge batch and I’ve basically been living off it the last few days. Made almost exactly as suggested, I just left out the sun-dried tomatoes because I’m not a huge fan.
I’m glad you loved it, Sofie! Thank you for sharing.
I made a few minor adjustments for my taste (including steaming the broccoli for a few minutes) but this was SOOOOO delicious
I’m happy you were able to enjoy it, Melissa!
LOVE this recipe! I’m GF so I eat the salad on its own and it is absolutely phenomenal. Every time I make it for family or friends they ask for the recipe and it’s become expected that this salad is what I bring to BBQs and family lunches now.
Thank you for sharing! Yes, the salad is delicious on it’s own.
Obsessed with this recipe!! Every time I remember it exists I make it and it never disappoints.
That’s great to hear, Katherine! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
All your recipes look so good, but I’m a diabetic and I am unable to have your recipes with carbs over 32g. Maybe in your notes you could show how to modify your recipe to fit into my diet like you do for vegan diets.
Thank you,
Donna
Hi Donna, I don’t provide nutritional adaptions, sorry.
OUTSIZE delicious
This recipe is a staple at my house. It is so delicious and easy to make.
We do a slight mod where we roast the broccoli and chickpeas (425 for 25 mins) and when cool add to the rest of the ingredients.
I have to tell you that I make this for my husband’s lunch every week! Going on almost 4 years now :)
That’s great to hear, Malorie!
Tasty and healthy. This recipe didn’t take too much effort or time, which is perfect for lunch prep, or when I don’t feel like cooking. Leftovers stored beautifully, nothing turned soggy. I’ll likely make more dressing next time since it was a bit subtle with the amount of broccoli I used. Glad to have tried this one and I will be making again!
That’s great to hear, Chris!
Love these! They are delicious and easy to make. I make a big batch to take for beach days or a quick lunch while on vacation. They travel great!
Thank you for your comment and review, Mary Ann!
This recipe is sooo yummy. The sun dried tomatoes add a really good flavor note and the dressing is delicious and tangy. They are a very filling sandwich. The only thing I did different is I cooked the broccoli in the oven as I am not a fan of raw broccoli.
Thank you for your review, L!
I can’t wait to make this week!
I hope they were a hit!
Love the fixings on their own as a salad. It does not seem like a salad per se
( to me).
Tried with pita and guacamole, also good.
Next time will try with homemade hummus. Can’t wait! Another keeper from Cookie&Kate
Perfect no bake recipe for a hot summer day in a house with no a/c!
I love this recipe. I add spinach and make it a salad.
Another great recipe! I steamed the broccoli a bit and used the sun-dried tomatoes you recommended from Trader Joes. I also included some kalamatas. As usual it was delicious!! Thanks!!