Easy roasted buffalo chickpea salad recipe! A vegetarian buffalo sauce lover’s salad with crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas and lots of veggies.
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Hi, Rhubarbarians!
It's getting SPICY up in here today! This amazingly delicious salad is loaded with crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas, tons of fresh vegetables, and topped with ranch dressing. Oh yes.
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A salad for the buffalo sauce lovers
Buffalo sauce is a fave in our house, especially tossed with chickpeas! We eat it on salad, roast it in zucchini boats, and make a chickpea wrap. It's just.... soooo spicy and we are in love.
So, if you're a buffalo sauce lover like we are, this buffalo chickpea salad is for you! It's a vegetarian version of a buffalo chicken salad, replacing chicken with crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas. Finally a healthy(ish) buffalo sauce recipe!
The veggies in this roasted chickpea salad are bright and crunchy, and pair very well with the spicy, tanginess of the buffalo sauce and the strong flavor of the blue cheese.
Have you tried our 15-minute arugula salad with lemon rosemary chickpeas?
The crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas
Let's start with these roasted buffalo chickpeas: They are crispy, spicy (obvs), crunchy, vinegary, addicting, and oh so snackable.
They definitely MAKE this buffalo chickpea salad.
We use Frank's red hot sauce combined with a little bit of melted butter as our buffalo sauce. Easy, right? Just toss the chickpeas together with the sauce and roast on a sheet pan. That's it! (see full instructions in the recipe card below)
Have you tried our bbq chickpea veggie rice bowls?
Variations and substitutions
You can definitely make substitutions to this spicy chickpea salad and make it your own!
- Easily leave out veggies that you don't like or don't have on hand. Other great options for added veggies are corn, tomatoes, or cucumber.
- Switch out the ranch dressing for blue cheese dressing or your favorite cooling, creamy dressing.
- Switch out the blue cheese for cubes of cheddar or crumbled gorgonzola cheese.
Make it a wrap: If you'd like to make this more of an on-the-go lunch, you can easily wrap this whole thing up in some flat bread or a tortilla. Load up the center with veggies then top with the chickpeas and some dressing and roll like you would a burrito. Wrap in tin foil and it's the perfect lunch!
Make it a mason jar salad: To make this roasted chickpea salad a travel friendly lunch, make it a mason jar salad! The dressing goes on the bottom, then the crunchy veggies like carrots. Crispy chickpeas are in the middle and the lettuce goes at the very top to keep it from getting soggy. You'll want to make sure there is enough salad in the jar to keep it from tossing while traveling. When ready to eat, dump out into a bowl and enjoy. This mason salad jar with dressing lid is awesome!
Make ahead, storing, and freezing tips
Make ahead: The buffalo chickpeas can be made ahead up to a day in advance and kept in an air tight container on the counter. You can also pre-chop your veggies and keep those together in the refrigerator. Don't dress the salad until ready to serve. (We love these produce saver containers!)
Storing: Undressed leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about a day. The leftover chickpeas can be stored in an air tight container on the counter for a day as well. (We love the Good Grips containers!)
Freezing: We don't recommend freezing any of the components! They are best fresh.
Want to know more about chickpeas? Check out our beginner's guide to chickpeas here!
FAQs
- Where's all the buffalo sauce? The sauce is roasted into the chickpeas! But if you need more sauciness, reserve 1-2 tablespoon of the buffalo sauce before tossing with the chickpeas. After roasting, toss the chickpeas in the reserved sauce.
- How can I make this vegan or dairy free? Either omit the butter or use vegan butter for the sauce. Omit the blue cheese and use vegan ranch dressing. We like this vegan ranch!
- Can I add a protein? YES! This spicy chickpea salad would be fantastic with buffalo tofu or buffalo tempeh.
Have a question? Ask in the comments and we will get back to you ASAP!
Recipe
Roasted buffalo chickpea salad
Ingredients
FOR THE CRISPY ROASTED BUFFALO CHICKPEAS:
- ⅓ cup cayenne hot sauce such as Frank's
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
FOR THE SALAD:
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, or other crisp lettuce
- 4 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 1 medium bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), seeded and diced
- 1 large avocado, seeded, peeled, and diced
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 6-10 tablespoon ranch dressing
- salt and pepper
Instructions
FOR THE CRISPY ROASTED BUFFALO CHICKPEAS
- Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up (optional).
- Combine the cayenne hot sauce and the butter in a medium mixing bowl. Add the chickpeas and stir to combine. Spread the chickpeas evenly on the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, tossing chickpeas once halfway through. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
FOR THE SALAD
- Toss lettuce, celery, carrots, bell pepper, avocado, onion, and blue cheese together in a large bowl. Divide among 4 plates and top each with ¼ of the chickpeas. Top with 1-2 Tablespoons of ranch dressing, depending on preference. Top with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians
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Sofia // From the Land we Live on
Love your resolution haha! This salad looks so delicious and interesting with a whole bunch of my favourite flavours - definitely happening soon.
Patricia Bozeman
Thanks Sofia!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I love anything with blue cheese.. so this salad is definitely one I know I would love!
Patricia Bozeman
The dressing is SO GOOD!
Angi
Oh my lord. You had me at "buffalo" but then I saw "chickpeas" which are one of my favorite things no matter how they're prepared, and fun salads are my favorite food ever...making this. Maybe with store bought blue cheese dressing but still...
Patricia Bozeman
ha! Making the dressing definitely makes you think twice about calling this a "salad." ALL THAT FATTY GOODNESS! So delicious.