Made with just 6 ingredients and flavorful Frank's Hot Sauce, this Buffalo Chickpea Salad is a quick and delicious base for a hearty snack or meal!
Chickpea salad never lasts long in our house. I personally love chickpea salad because it's super versatile. For a classic chickpea salad, I love to make this Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad and eat it with some whole wheat no-knead sandwich bread. But if I want some extra flavor and kick, I love to make this 6 ingredient Buffalo Chickpea Salad. If you like buffalo sauce, you're going to LOVE this buffalo chickpea salad!
Jump To
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- Made with just 6 ingredients, this buffalo chickpea salad takes minutes to put together. It's the perfect weekday lunch or snack recipe!
- If you're a fan of buffalo chicken wings but want to eat a more plant-based diet, this chickpea salad will satisfy your buffalo sauce cravings.
- This salad is perfect for meal prep. I like to make a double batch at the start of the week for quick and easy lunches or snacks. It tastes better the longer it sits in the fridge. Make it as one of your vegan bento box recipes for adults!
- If you're looking for a savory, protein-rich snack, this buffalo chickpea salad is perfect. Pair it with some cut up veggies or crackers and you'll be good to go!
Ingredients
- Chickpeas - You can either cook dried chickpeas from scratch (which would be about 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas) or just use 1 can of chickpeas.
- Tahini - Instead of mayo, I use tahini. This still gives the buffalo chickpea salad its desired creaminess, but with a single, more nutritious ingredient and no dairy!
- Buffalo Sauce - I always use Frank's Red Hot Original sauce in this recipe. It's perfect every time!
- Celery - The celery is optional, but buffalo sauce and celery are a match made in heaven in my opinion. The celery adds the perfect crunch as well!
- Onion & Garlic - I love to use fresh onion and garlic as fresh onion adds some crunch. If you're in a pinch, you could also try ground onion and garlic powder, but I've never tried that so can't say how it will turn out!
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Tahini - I haven't tried this with any thing other than tahini, but I think mayo would make a good, creamy substitution if needed.
- Celery - If you don't like celery, you could try another kind of crunchy vegetable. Shredded or finely chopped carrot could work.
- Frank's Hot Sauce - If you can't get your hands on the Frank's brand of hot sauce, you could try another brand/type such Tabasco sauce, Sriracha, buffalo sauce, etc. However, all of these hot sauces very in flavor and spice level so just start with a small amount and add more as needed.
How to Make Buffalo Chickpea Salad
Step 1: Start by placing the drained and rinsed chickpeas into a food processor along with the buffalo sauce and tahini.
Step 2: Pulse these ingredients until everything is well combined, yet fairly chunky.
Step 3: Add in the chopped celery, minced onion and garlic and pulse again to combine. Alternatively, you can simply stir the celery, onion and garlic into the chickpea mixture.
Step 4: Enjoy right away as a buffalo chickpea sandwich with some vegan ranch dressing or as a dip with veggies. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Top Tips:
- If you want to minimize the chopping you have to do for this recipe, you can start by mincing and chopping the onion and celery in your food processor. Remove the minced/chopped veggies and then pulse the chickpeas, tahini and hot sauce together. Lastly add back in the veggies and pulse/stir to combine.
- You can alter the spice level by using more or less hot sauce as desired!
Recipe FAQs
Think of chickpea salad as tuna, chicken or egg salad. However you would normally eat those foods is how you can enjoy this chickpea salad. We love this buffalo chickpea salad as the filling for sandwiches, a dip for raw veggies and/or crackers, on top of a leafy salad or right off a spoon!
Chickpea salad is a great food to meal prep as it stores beautifully in the fridge. To store this buffalo chickpea salad, place it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Use it for quick snacks and lunches throughout the week!
Buffalo Sauce is a vinegar-based hot sauce that is made spicy with cayenne peppers. The intense heat of the sauce makes it a popular choice for those who enjoy spice, while the vinegar provides a tangy contrast.
Buffalo sauce contains the following ingredients: distilled vinegar, aged cayenne red peppers, salt, water, canola oil, paprika, xanthan gum, natural butter type flavor and, garlic powder. Buffalo sauce is commonly poured over wings, but it can also be used in dressings and dips!
There are many variations of buffalo sauce and many brands that sell their version. Thankfully for all us plant eaters, Frank's Buffalo Hot Sauce doesn't contain dairy! It's a great condiment to have on hand to whip up buffalo cauliflower bites and of course, this flavorful buffalo chickpea salad!
Yes, the most widely-held origin story is that Buffalo Sauce was invented by Teresa Bellissimo in 1964 at a bar called Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo sauce is most famous for being the finishing touch on Buffalo Wings. Buffalo sauce can used to add flavor to burgers, sandwiches, as a salad dressing, or as a stand-alone dip for veggies.
Chickpeas and tahini are the primary protein source in this recipe. My recipe below will give you 8g of protein per serving.
More Vegan Chickpea Recipes!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
📖 Recipe
The Best Buffalo Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup Frank's Hot Sauce
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 stalk celery diced
- ¼ cup onion minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- PREP: Place the drained and rinsed chickpeas, hot sauce and tahini in a food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are broken down and the hot sauce and tahini are evenly distributed.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the prepared celery, onion and garlic.
- SERVE: Serve with crackers, on salad or as a sandwich!
- STORE: Store this buffalo chickpea salad in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
RICHARD CLINGERMAN says
Truly delicious. Thank you for this great idea! 8oD
Faith VanderMolen says
So glad you enjoyed this salad Richard!
Jen says
This a seriously delicious recipe! Second time making it- doubled it for the family ?
Faith VanderMolen says
Ah that’s music to my ears as this is one of my favorite recipes! So glad you like it. Thanks for sharing!