Buffalo Chickpea Wrap | Kathy's Vegan Kitchen (2024)

Published: Mar 1, 2024 · Modified: Mar 11, 2024 by Kathy Carmichael · This post may contain affiliate links.

Spice up your chickpea salad with this buffalo chickpea wrap loaded with veggies and dressed in a mild vegan buffalo dressing. Served cold or grilled in a skillet, this buffalo chickpea salad recipe can be eaten in a wrap, in a bowl, or as a salad.

If you love buffalo sauce, try a buffalo chickpea wrap. Buffalo sauce is a fancier version of hot sauce with a little kick. So, if you like a little spice and love wrap sandwiches, this buffalo chickpea wrap recipe is right up your alley. But if you want to avoid eating the bread, this buffalo chickpea salad recipe tastes great in a bowl.

Despite their differences, my family loves spicy food, and any food with buffalo sauce at my house is a hit! Instead of making my usual chickpea tuna salad, I opted to jazz it up a bit with some vegan buffalo sauce and some extra veggies and love.

Please remember that traditional buffalo sauce contains butter, so please find a vegan buffalo sauce made without butter. Of course, I like to make homemade buffalo sauce.

Buffalo Chickpea Salad Ingredients

• Canned Chickpeas: Drain the chickpeas and reserve the aquafaba for other recipes.
• Red Onion: Red onion is sweet yet tangy and flavorful.
• Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper is sweet, vibrant, and flavorful in this wrap sandwich.
• Celery: Celery gives the buffalo chickpea salad a fresh crunch.
• Carrots: Carrots are crunchy but also a sweet contrast to the spiciness.
• Parsley: Parsley gives the salad a fresh herbal taste.
• Lavash Bread: Lavash bread is oil-free and makes a great wrap sandwich.
• Green of Choice: I used power greens, a combination of kale, collard greens, spinach and arugula

Buffalo Chickpea Salad Ingredient Substitutions

• Instead of chickpeas, try white beans.
• Green onions or scallions are an excellent substitute for red onions.
• Try baby bell peppers, which are colorful and similar in taste to red bell peppers.
• Fennel is often used as a substitute for celery. However, be aware that fennel has a black licorice flavor.
• Choose any parsnips to replace carrots for crunch and sweetness.
• I love dill in this buffalo chickpeas salad as a substitute for parsley.
• See the serving suggestions below for bread-free options.

Homemade Buffalo Sauce Ingredients

• Raw Cashews: Soak raw cashews in water overnight if you don't have a quality high-speed blender. Or, for a quick and easy way to soften cashews, boil them in water for 10 minutes, drain, and then add to the blender.
• Water: The water thins the buffalo sauce.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar supplies the acidity and tanginess of the buffalo sauce.
• Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce:I usedNoble Made by New Primal. Whenever adding hot sauce or spices to any recipe, I suggest adding a small amount and adjusting for individual preference. I love spicy food, but not everyone shares my spiciness.
• Maple Syrup: The maple syrup softens the flavor by adding sweetness.
• Soy Sauce: Soy sauce provides and umami flavor.
• Lime Juice: I prefer using fresh lime juice whenever possible.
• GarlicPowder: Garlic powder gives the sauce depth and warmth.
• Smoked Paprika: Smoked paprika gives the sauce a smokey kick.

Just blend and BAM, oil-free buffalo sauce. See the substitutions below for those who prefer a more straightforward or no-nut version.

Buffalo Sauce Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose silken tofu, white beans, or unsweetened, unflavored plant-based yogurt for a nut-free option.
• Or, choose sunflower seeds instead of cashews.
• You can skip the hot sauce if you prefer a mild buffalo sauce.
• Rice vinegar substitutes apple cider vinegar in recipes.
• Date syrup or agave nectar replace maple syrup.
• Tamari or liquid aminos provide a gluten-free option for soy sauce.
• Try low-sodium soy sauce for those who prefer less sodium.
• Bottled lime juice works well if fresh lime juice isn't available.
• Regular paprika works in this buffalo sauce with a less smokey flavor.
• Or combine ½ cup cashew mayo with ¼ cup of your favorite vegan bottled buffalo sauce.

As far as store-bought vegan brands, I like these:

• Mild Buffalo Sauce Made by New Primal
• Medium Buffalo Sauce Made by New Primal
• Hot Buffalo Sauce Made by New Primal

As a side note, if you make your own buffalo sauce, remember buffalo is hot! There are, however, mild versions of buffalo sauce, so taste as you make it.

The spice level is mild since the buffalo chickpea wrap dressing is diluted with cashews and other ingredients. So, if you prefer a little more heat, adjust the dressing by adding a little more buffalo sauce until the desired heat level.

Once the dressing is mixed and chilled in the refrigerator, it's time to make the buffalo chickpea salad.

How to Make Buffalo Chickpea Salad Recipe

• Step 1: First, lightly process the canned chickpeas in a food processor. Since the recipe only requires one can of chickpeas, I used my Mini Cuisinart Food Processor. Although mashing chickpeas with a fork takes longer, this method also works.
• Step 2: Be sure, however, to avoid over-mashing the chickpeas. To do this, pulse rather than blend, and crush the chickpeas leaving some whole or partially mashed.

• Step 3: Then scrape the mashed chickpeas into a large bowl and assemble the other ingredients.

• Step 4: Next, add the dressing mixture and stir to combine.
• Step 5: After stirring the mixture together, cover and place in the refrigerator for the flavors to enhance.

Again, start with the base dressing recipe, which is mild, and add buffalo sauce in small amounts to reach your specific heat level preference.

Assembling the Buffalo Chickpea Wrap

To make the buffalo chickpea wrap recipe, I chose lavash bread, which is oil-free and whole-grain. But feel free to select a tortilla or other preferred flatbread.

1. Begin wrapping toward the chickpea salad, greens first, so the salad acts like glue on the other end to hold the wrap together.
2. As a result, the wrap can now be grilled in a skillet on medium-low heat for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown or cut in half as a cold sandwich.
3. Also, the wrap tastes excellent cold or grilled in a skillet. Regardless of how the wrap is prepared, I suggest evenly spreading the buffalo chickpea salad on one end and adding greens to the other.

Additional Serving Suggestions

• Add buffalo chickpeas salad as a protein to a salad.
• Serve on rice crackers.
• Eat it in a bowl with a spoon or fork.
• Stuff a tomato or green or red bell pepper with this buffalo chickpea salad recipe.
• Hollow out zucchini and fill with the chickpea salad.
• Make a sandwich instead of a wrap.
• Turn the wrap into a hot panini.
• Use cherry tomatoes and stuff as an appetizer.
• Serve on cucumber slices as a tea sandwich, bread-free.
• Scoop the chickpea salad into a lettuce wrap.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Do not over mash the chickpeas. Pulse them in the food processor or use a fork to mash them, but the texture should be chunky, not thin.
• Dice the vegetables small so they blend in the salad well.
• Add small amounts first and adjust to personal preference when using any spice sauce or spice.
• Buffalo chickpea salad lasts 5 days in the refrigerator.
• I do not recommend freezing chickpeas salad.

So, regardless of how you eat the buffalo chickpea salad recipe, it will wow your tastebuds!

Other Fabulous Vegan Sandwich Suggestions

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