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This Buffalo Chickpea Salad is a spicy twist on the classic chickpea salad! Protein-packed and perfect for slathering on sandwiches and bringing with you on the go. Vegan & Gluten-Free.
This Buffalo Chickpea Salad is a fun, fuss-free, and delicious twist on the classic “chickpea” salad. Spicy buffalo hot sauce combined with creamy plant-based mayo, crunchy vegetables, and protein & fiber-rich chickpeas create a main that’s portable, wholesome, and packed with delicious tangy flavor!
INGREDIENTS + INSPIRATION
This Buffalo Chickpea Salad is inspired by my favorite childhood snack—a chick’n salad sandwich. My parents always made me meat-free versions, but chickpea was by faaaar my favorite. This recipe is reminiscent of all the crunchy, creamy deliciousness I remember from my childhood, but with a tangy buffalo kick!
For the hot sauce, I used “Franks Red Hot,” which is a super popular buffalo hot sauce in the US, but feel free to use any of your favorite hot sauce brands to customize the flavor and spice level to your liking! For that creamy goodness that every chickpea salad needs, we’ll use my Homemade Vegan Mayo, which has both a cashew version (for extra creaminess) or a tofu-based version for even more protein.
HOW TO MAKE BUFFALO CHICKPEA SALAD
We love a good “no-cook” recipe, especially during the hot summer months! This Buffalo Chickpea Salad is a no-cook, no-fuss dish that’s ready in just 15 minutes. All you have to do is mash your cooked chickpeas, dice your veggies, and combine everything in a yummy mixture of hot sauce and mayo! It’s easy as 1-2-3:
- In a bowl, whisk together vegan mayo and hot sauce.
- Mash the cooked chickpeas in the same bowl then toss in diced celery, onion, and carrot, along with some chopped dill and cilantro. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Enjoy alone, in a sandwich, or as a dip!
I like to keep it classic and load my Buffalo Chickpea Salad into a sandwich like the good ol’ days, but it is just as delicious on its own or served inside lettuce cups (my favorite is butter lettuce!). It’s also SO good as a chunky dip for crackers or veggie sticks 🙂
This protein-packed dish is perfect for packed lunches or easy meal prep for the week—just pre-portion it into smaller jars to make your lunches even easier! Chickpea salad will store well in the fridge for up to 5 days, so don’t be afraid to make a double batch for the week, if necessary 😉
If you’re looking for more hot & tangy buffalo recipes, you’ll also love this Healthy Buffalo “Chicken” Dip, this Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole, and this Buffalo Tofu Salad with Creamy Ranch Dressing!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
Buffalo Chickpea Salad
This Buffalo Chickpea Salad is a spicy twist on the classic chickpea salad! Protein-packed and perfect for slathering on sandwiches and bringing with you on the go. Vegan & Gluten-Free.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 0 Minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 4 cups (665 g) cooked salt-free chickpeas*
- 1/2 cup (60 ml) Homemade Vegan Mayo (or store-bought)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) buffalo hot sauce*
- 3 large ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, diced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 tablespoons chipped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- Add-ins (optional): 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels , 1 cup finely diced cucumber
- For serving (optional): toasted bread, lettuce or lettuce cups, crackers, carrots and/or celery sticks
Instructions
- Buffalo Mayo: place the mayo and hot sauce in a large bowl and whisk until combined.
- Mash the Chickpeas: Add the cooked chickpeas to the same bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to mash to your liking; I prefer to roughly mash around 75% them to give a nice texture, but you can adjust according to your own personal preference.
- Mix It Up: toss in the celery, onion, carrot, dill and cilantro. Mix well, until the dressing is evenly distributed. Add any additional salt or black pepper to taste, if necessary.
- Serve: serve as-is, in a sandwich, or as a hearty “dip” with crackers, veggie sticks, or lettuce cups. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you are using canned chickpeas, make sure to drain and rinse them well
- Buffalo hot sauce is a common hot sauce in the US, usually with the brand “Franks.” If you don’t live in the US, you can use your favorite mild hot sauce instead for a fun twist!
Keywords: buffalo salad, vegan chickpea salad, buffalo chicken salad, healthy buffalo salad
This is my go to lunch for work! Thank you!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Marla!
This buffalo chickpea salad is SO good! I don’t like celery so I subbed jalapeño for an extra little spicy kick and loved it!
★★★★★
Glad to hear you loved it, Miranda! Thank you for the feedback.
This was seriously delicious!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Anna! Glad you liked it!
This recipe is so good and so easy!! I’ve made it multiple times for a nice protein packed lunch that I can take to work and eat on the go. Got my mom and dad making it now too! It’s definitely my go to for a fast delicious lunch.
★★★★★
That’s awesome! Thank you Amber 🙂
We don’t have buffalo sauce where I live, so I just used regular Frank’s hot sauce instead (same amount). My salad came out much drier than the salad in the photos in the recipe, so I added two more tablespoons of mayo (so 6 tbsp in total). That was just perfect 👍 I really enjoyed the addition of some diced cucumber in the salad as well, as recommended in the recipe notes.
Thanks for a perfect lunch recipe.
★★★★
Truly appreciate the feedback, Tobbe. Glad it turned out great! 🙂
This was yummy and easy to make. I forgot to buy dill but the mixture was very flavorful without it. We had lunches for a couple of days. This salad is very good in a wrap. We will definitely make again as most of these are ingredients that we keep on hand in our house. Thanks for sharing!!
★★★★
You’re welcome, Shalleene!
I halved the recipe because it’s only me eating this. I used chickpeas, previously pressure cooked, veganaise, cucumber, green pepper, scallion, and dill and used Franks hot pepper sauce. One of my newer favorite chickpea salad recipes. Last time I made this recipe, I used homemade cashew mayonnaise which also was tasty. Great recipes, thanks!
I don’t see where to upload any pictures.
★★★★★
This was such a nice change from tuna salad and egg salad. The Buffalo dressing was a nice addition but not at all overpowering. I added a sprinkle of smoked paprika and that put it over the top. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for giving the recipe a try, Bonnie! Glad you liked it.
Used vegan yogurt instead of mayo (just a mayo hater over here) and wow wow wow this was unreal. Thanks for this! The PERFECT camping snack with pita chips 🙂
You’re welcome, Cassidy! 🙂
Delicious!! Didn’t have dill but super flavorful. Cannot wait to make wraps with this the next few days.
★★★★★
Wraps are a great idea!
Such a delicious recipe! It was so easy to make. Came together so quickly and now we have lunch for the next couple days.
★★★★★
Thank you for the feedback! I’m glad you like it! 🙂