Spicy Chickpea Avocado Toast

I make this spicy avocado toast at least twice a week! It's super simple, packed with flavour and keeps me full until dinnertime. It's also easily made gluten-free by using gluten-free bread.

Adding chickpeas offers some plant-based protein whilst the avocado itself gets a tasty boost from lots of chilli and lime juice. YUM.

How to choose the perfect avocado

There's nothing I despise more than slicing into an avocado only to discover, to my absolute horror, that it is unripe beyond consumption. A day when this happens is a day ruined.

So to avoid ruining your day, here are my top tips for choosing the perfect avocado:

Give it a squeeze. Ripe avocados are usually tender. If your avocado is VERY hard, it's best to leave it to ripen at room temperature for a few days.
Remove the 'nub'. The little dot on the top of the avocado will come off easily if the avocado is ripe!
Check the colour. There are many varieties of avocado with different coloured skins, but generally a dark green/black looking avocado is going to be ripe.

two slices of avocado toast and a bowl of chilli flakes

How to make spicy avocado toast

This recipe is SO EASY. Simply remove the flesh from ½ a ripe avocado (photo 1) then mash with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and lime juice (photo 2).

Spread this onto your toasted sourdough (photo 3) and top with chickpeas, coriander and sliced chillies!

avocado flesh being scooped out with a fork

avocado and seasonings ready to be mashed

If you like toast as much as I do, you'll LOVE my chilli cheese toast recipe!

Notes on this recipe

As a twenty-something, trust me when I say I've made a lot of avocado toast in my lifetime. And naturally I've worked up a few tricks for making the perfect a avocado toast every time:

Use good-quality ingredients. Just like homemade bruschetta, avocado toast is a pretty simple dish with minimal ingredients. Therefore it's important to use the best ingredients you can get!
Mash the avocado separately. Perhaps this goes without saying, but you do NOT want to be mashing your avocados right on the toast to save on washing dishes. Unless you like your toast wet and mushy. I mean, you do you (but don't do you this one time please).
DON'T forget the lime! Mashing avocado without lime is a criminal offence. Well, it's not, but it's incredibly bland otherwise, which is not cool.

two slices of spicy avocado toast on a tray

FAQ

Which bread is best for avocado toast?

You can use any bread of your choosing (gluten-free or regular) but sourdough bread is my personal favourite.

Can I use bottled lemon/lime juice instead of fresh?

The flavour from using freshly squeezed lime is unmatched, but you can use bottled lemon or lime juice in a pinch.

More quick and healthy lunch recipes:

If you're looking for more chickpea recipes, be sure to try my restaurant-style chana masala as well!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please leave a rating + review below and share your photos on Instagram tagging #shivanilovesfood!