Buffalo Chickpea Salad

If you are looking for the perfect work-at-home lunch or a fresh yet spicy easy dinner look no further! This Buffalo Chickpea Salad stars delicious saucy buffalo roasted chickpeas that are placed onto top of a fresh bed of salad with your favorite toppings and dressing! Or turn it into a delicious wrap, the possibilities are endless!

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Buffalo Roasted Chickpea Salad (Or Wrap!)

This is one of those salads that I hope everyone else will become as obsessed with as me.

I have been making a version of this salad for years. As someone who has almost always worked at home a fresh and easy salad is one of my favorite lunches, and this one has always been on the top of the list!

The best part is that you can customize it pretty easily to your diet, what you prefer, and what you have in your fridge.

Just think crunchy roasted chickpeas slathered in buffalo sauce topped over a salad filled with complimentary toppings like tomatoes, red onions, and avocados (plus anything else your brain can imagine). Then a drizzle of ranch or blue cheese dressing to finish it all off!

It is pure perfection!

This is also a perfect morphing salad because it just as easily can be turned into a delicious wrap! Use a bit less lettuce and just roll it all up! It is a great way to make the same lunch over and over again ‘new’.

So you better bookmark this one because I think you will also be just as obsessed as me!

Ingredients

• Chickpeas – A regular 15 ounce can is what you need here (If you are someone who cooks your beans from dry you will want about 1.5 cups of chickpeas). You will want to make sure your chickpeas are well drained and rinsed off. Then make sure you pat them dry so they aren’t wet when adding the oil, if they are too wet the oil and sauce won’t stick to them and they won’t get as crispy. When patting dry you might have some of the thin skin on the outside of the chickpea come off and that is okay, just remove them from the bowl and discard them.
• Olive Oil – Just a bit of oil, you don’t need a lot to make crispy chickpea which is so nice! Just enough to give them a really light coat.
• Buffalo/Hot Sauce – I am a classic Frank’s Buffalo Sauce user (not sponsored, just a fan), something about that taste I just love. But feel free to use your favorite hot sauce or buffalo sauce!
• Baby Spinach or Other Lettuce – I tend to use baby spinach for this salad but honestly really anything goes. I also tend to use a spring mix, arugula, or romaine! What you already have or what you have works best!
• Red Onion – I think that red onion is such a classic flavor that pairs with buffalo, the crispness and sharpness match the spiciness well. If you don’t care for raw red onion no fret you can just omit it.
• Avocado  – A nice smooth and creamy avocado is the perfect opposite to buffalo sauce, which helps balance out the salad!
• Blue Cheese Crumbles – Totally optional for those who don’t care for blue cheese! I have also been known to use feta crumbles when I have had that on hand before and it is also good!
• Cherry Tomatoes – A sweet freshness that give a nice burst again the spiciness! I like to quarter cut mine to make eating easier. You can also just use part of a diced tomato, it doesn’t have to be a cherry tomato specifically.
• Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing – Both known to go with buffalo, choose which one you prefer! I like to use a greek yogurt based dressing that helps keep the salad light!
• other good toppings are: banana peppers, pickled jalapeños, black or kalamata olives, feta cheese, and cucumber

For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Drain the chickpeas well and use a towel to pat dry, try to get as much of the water off as possible so the oil and sauce can stick to the beans.

Transfer the chickpeas to a mixing bowl and add the olive oil and toss. Add the buffalo sauce and toss again.

Transfer the chickpeas to a baking sheet. Reserve the bowl with remaining sauce.

Cook for 10 minutes and then toss. Cook another 10 minutes. 

Once the chickpeas are crispy transfer back to the bowl and toss in any residual sauce. If you want the chickpeas saucier just drizzle on more buffalo/hot sauce on and toss.

Enjoy plain or continue on to make the salad (or turn into a wrap!)

Add the spinach, red onion, sliced avocado, blue cheese, cherry tomatoes to a large bowl along with whatever other toppings look good. Top with the warm chickpeas and drizzle on the dressing. Toss and enjoy. 

How to Serve

Besides a salad:

• Wrap it Up: You can just as easily turn this into a wrap either on a tortilla, whole grain wrap, or even lettuce! Just reduce the amount of spinach/lettuce so it can be wrapped up.
• Grain Bowl: You can also make a grain bowl if you are feeling that you need more to the meal! Add a layer of your favorite grains on the bottom like quinoa, rice, or farro
• Plain: Eat them how they are! If you want them for easy snacking you will probably not want to toss them in sauce to keep them cleaner to eat. Or heck sauce them up and just use a spoon to eat them!

Variations

Make it Vegan, ensure the sauce you are using is vegan. Sub or leave out the cheese and dressing for somthing vegan friendly.

Air Fryer. If you are in love with your air-fryer like me you can make the chickpeas in the air fryer with a few modifications. Preheat your air fryer to 390º F. Add the oil to the chickpeas but not the buffalo sauce yet. Add the chickpeas to the air fryer and cook about 7 to 8 minutes. Stopping to shake the basket every few minutes. Once the chickpeas are looking pretty crunchy transfer them back to the bowl and the hot sauce and toss. Transfer the chickpeas back to the air fryer and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until the chickpeas are crispy and the sauce is cooked on. Transfer the chickpeas back to the sauce bowl and toss in the sauce, add more sauce if preferred! I like this method on days when I don’t have as much time because it tends to be quicker.

If you like this Buffalo Chickpea Salad you might enjoy these other salads:

• Easy Antipasto Salad
• Marinated Chickpea Chopped Salad
• Greek Quinoa Chickpea Salad
• Two Bean Mediterranean Salad
• Summer Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken
• Healthy Grilled Chickpea Salad with Feta

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