Love the flavors of buffalo plus cool, creamy dressing? You’re going to adore it in one handheld vessel. This buffalo chickpea sandwich is ready in just 20 minutes!
Here’s an easy, flavorful sandwich that makes a terrific lunch.
Buffalo chickpeas are cooked in a mixture of hot sauce & non-dairy butter. Then they’re loaded onto a toasted bun, and topped with vegan blue cheese dressing.
So much spicy goodness with cooling dressing in each & every bite.
The dressing walks the line between blue cheese and ranch. It has texture by way of crumbled tofu. But the herbs are reminiscent of ranch with parsley, oregano, basil, and garlic powder.
This buffalo chickpea sandwich puts me to the mind of a sloppy joe in that you’ll want to be seated when you’re eating it. You might have some chickpeas rolling out of the bun or vegan blue cheese dressing dripping onto your hand. That makes it all the more satisfying, though.
What kind of hot sauce should I use?
In my mind, it’s not really buffalo sauce unless it’s Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. It has that quintessential buffalo flavor to me. But feel free to use the vinegar-based hot sauce of your choice.
I’ve never used it, but Frank’s Buffalo Wings Sauce is accidentally vegan, if you’d prefer to use that instead. In which case, you can leave out the non-dairy butter & add an additional Tablespoon of sauce.
How to make a buffalo chickpea sandwich
Sauté onions & garlic in a skillet.
Add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas (or 1 ½ cups), and let them get warm. Smash some of the chickpeas with a fork, so that they will hold better on a bun.
Add hot sauce, non-dairy butter, and granulated onion. Let the chickpeas cook down & absorb the sauce.
Make the vegan blue cheese dressing
In a bowl, mix the following:
- Eggless mayo
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Non-dairy milk
- Dried parsley
- Dried oregano
- Dried basil
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Crumbled super firm tofu
Put the buffalo chickpeas onto toasted buns. Top with vegan blue cheese dressing.
(Not a fan of tofu? Top the sandwiches with vegan ranch dressing instead.)
Make it your own
You can make this sandwich your own by adding:
- Lettuce
- Sliced onion
- Pickles
- Chopped celery
- A few more splashes of hot sauce
What to serve with this sandwich
- Oven baked fries
- Fried zucchini
- Potato salad
- Broccolini with garlic and kale
- Roasted cauliflower
- Southwest salad with grilled corn
- Easy spinach salad with pecans & vinaigrette
How to store leftovers
If you have leftovers, I recommend storing the buffalo chickpeas separate from the dressing. Store them each in covered containers in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Then you can reheat the chickpeas in the microwave or on the stove. If the chickpeas seem dried out, add a few splashes of hot sauce.
Here are more buffalo recipes I know you’ll enjoy:
Buffalo chickpea sandwich with vegan blue cheese
Ingredients
For the buffalo chickpea sandwich
- 1 teaspoon organic canola oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups chickpeas or a drained 15 ounce can
- 3 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Sauce or your preferred hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon non-dairy butter
- ¼ teaspoon granulated onion
- 4 hamburger buns toasted and/or warmed
For the vegan blue cheese dressing
- ¼ cup crumbled tofu about 2.5 ounces super firm tofu*
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise I use Vegenaise
- 1 to 2 teaspoons non-dairy milk I use cashew milk
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch salt
Instructions
To make the buffalo chickpea sandwich
- Bring a large non-stick skillet to a medium heat with oil. Add onions and garlic. Saute a couple minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the drained chickpeas to the skillet. Saute a few minutes more to warm the chickpeas. Mash them a little with a fork, so that they will stay on a bun easier.
- Add the hot sauce, non-dairy butter, and granulated onion to the skillet. Use a spatula to make sure everything is evenly combined. Cook for a few more minutes to allow the chickpeas to absorb the sauce. Then remove from heat.
- Put a few generous dollops of the buffalo chickpeas on toasted or warmed hamburger buns. Top with vegan blue cheese dressing, and serve right away.
To make the vegan blue cheese dressing
- In a bowl, combine the crumbled tofu, vegan mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, and pinch of salt. The dressing shouldn't be too liquidy, because you want it to hold on a sandwich. However, if you'd like a runnier dressing, add the additional teaspoon of non-dairy milk. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. Move dressing to refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
Content, recipe, and photos updated July 2020. Originally posted May 2013.
When I first shared this recipe back in 2013, I roasted the chickpeas in the oven before tossing them with sauce. But when I updated this post, I opted for the skillet instead. That way you’re eating faster & don’t have to heat up the house.
While I was at it, I sautéed onions & garlic in this new variation for more flavor. Finally, I added vegan blue cheese dressing for a cooling effect.
Abby
Sounds good! Although I think I would have to smash the chickpeas first, as one can’t have them rolling out of the bread. Man down! Man down!
Cadry
Ha! Yes, a chickpea is a terrible thing to waste. I always break my chickpeas down quickly in the food processor when I’m making traditional chickpea salad sandwiches. However, for this buffalo version, I liked the texture of the whole chickpeas. Still, only you know your chickpea-suicide tendencies! 😉
Caitlin
i’ve been wanting to make something with buffalo sauce, too, and what could be better than chickpeas?! i love that you roast the chickpeas in nooch, too. SO YUM.
Cadry
Yes, I love chickpeas roasted in nutritional yeast! They’re great as a snack, on salads, in pasta… I hope you make all of your buffalo dreams come true! 🙂
Andrea
Believe it or not, I learned about buffalo things on vegan blogs! I’ve made similar sauces — just never knew they were “buffalo” mixes. I’ve made Kittee’s buffalo soy curl rolls and can vouch for their deliciousness. I make a chickpea salad with mayo and sriracha that’s really good, but Franks is my favorite hot sauce so I guess it’s time to try your recipe and buffalo some chickpeas!
Cadry
That’s awesome that you were introduced to buffalo sauce through the vegan blogosphere! I don’t imagine most people can say that. I’m not surprised that Kittee’s buffalo Soy Curl rolls are delicious. Someone needs to do a whole month of buffalo sauce-covered items for VeganMoFo this year! 🙂
Barb@ThatWasVegan?
I love Franks, but I use their wing sauce instead of their regular hot sauce… It’s vegan and has zero calories! So, yes, there is a whole bunch of artificial nonsense in there that’s probably eating away at my insides but it’s. just. so. good.
Can’t wait to try this sandwich, it looks wonderful!
Cadry
Thanks, Barb! I hope you enjoy it!
An Unrefined Vegan
Definitely something magical about buffalo sauce together with ranch dressing! This is looking like one of my lunches this week ;-)!
Cadry
Yes, the mixture of hot & spicy with cool & creamy were meant to be together! I hope you enjoy it!
Cara
Loving the usage of chickpeas for this–how stinkin’ creative! xo
Cadry
Thanks, Cara! Chickpeas are welcome anytime as far as I’m concerned! 🙂
luminousvegans
I love the simplicity of this. It looks delicious. I have never roasted chickpeas before. I will be trying this soon.
Cadry
You’ve never roasted chickpeas before? Oh, you should, even if it’s not for this particular recipe! When I’m roasting them for salads or a snack, I roast them a bit longer than for this recipe (usually about 20 minutes instead of 15). Add a pinch of salt, and they are so addictive as a snack to munch on while watching TV or whatnot. When I first went vegan, I ate roasted chickpeas all the time, as if garbanzos were going out of style!
Somer
I think it was you who got me into roasted chickpeas, I’ll have to try this one! I adore anything that’s vegan buffalo!
Cadry
Yes, there’s everything to love about buffalo sauce! 🙂
Maggie Muggins
I weirdly have never had anything buffalo related until I went vegan, but now I can’t get enough of the bloody stuff! It’s all in the hot sauce 😉 I have all of this stuff right now! Totally having me some buffalo chickys on bread tonight.
Cadry
Hot sauce is the best. It’s officially my favorite condiment. If you try this out, I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Richa
i love the idea of buffalo ranch.. i was thinking of doing something with chickpeas and buffalo as well.. then saw erins then your post.. something different with buffalo then:))
this sandwich much taste heavenly!
Cadry
Chickpeas and buffalo sauce are apparently in the air! Luckily, you have lots of other options where buffalo sauce is concerned! I look forward to seeing what you make!
Kelly @ Vegan Iowan
Yum! When we go to Jethro’s I desperately want to ask them to just toss whatever vegetables they have lying around in buffalo sauce, but I feel like that wouldn’t go over well/be very well understood.
Cadry
I can only imagine their faces if you brought them a tub of vegan butter along with hot sauce and cauliflower and told them to make some magic happen! 🙂
Joey
I’m a newbie to the whole ranch and buffalo thing (what have I been doing with my life)? I’m grateful I don’t have to dust down my time machine to give them both a go!
Cadry
Wait a second. You have a time machine? I’d heard that they are more common in England than they are here, but I’d assumed that people were just exaggerating. Do all of the men there look like David Tennant too? Now I’m really envious! 😉
Becky
This looks awesome, and I love that there’s a 5 minute version!
Cadry
Thanks, Becky! You can’t get much quicker than a five minute lunch! 🙂
Kristy
Aw! Thank you for mentioning my pizza! 🙂 I have a love/hate relationship with buffalo sauce because as much as I love the taste of it, it generally destroys my stomach. Your version, however, seems mild enough for my stomach to handle but tasty enough to satisfy my taste buds. And you know me and chickpeas… 😉
Cadry
Yes, I hope my mention of chickpeas wasn’t too hard for you. I know the both of you had quite the dramatic love affair. 😉
Tracie
I just made this for lunch (the roasted version)- delicious!
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Tracie! Thank you for letting me know!
Katie
I made this tonight with Just Mayo’s Chipotle flavor stuff, and it’s delicious!! I was doing the happy dance all night after that. Ha ha! Thanks for the awesome recipes!
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Katie! Thanks for letting me know!