These spicy Buffalo Chickpea Tacos are quick, easy, and totally tasty! This vegetarian recipe makes 6 small tacos or 4 regular-sized tacos, perfect for 2 people to share!
My local grocery store started carrying these little street taco style corn and flour tortillas and if that’s not an excuse to taco it up on the regular, I don’t know what is!
TACOS FOR EVERYONE!
The first creation I whipped up needed to do these tiny tortillas justice.
I broke out the buffalo chickpeas from one of my favorite salads and introduced them to fluffy flour tortillas topped with shredded lettuce, spicy sliced jalapeños, fresh cilantro, and cool ranch dressing.
AM I DREAMING?! These were awesome!!
Normally I would roast my chickpeas before buffalo saucing them into submission but this time around I opted for crispy stovetop chickpeas.
They were ready much faster and tasted great!
tasty taco toppings
Here’s what I topped my crispy chickpea tacos with:
- shredded lettuce
- sliced jalapeños
- cilantro and/or scallions
- pickled red onion
- ranch dressing
- extra hot sauce – of course!!!
I’m still fairly certain I overstuffed them but holy cow was the combo delicious!
special diets and swaps
Looking to branch out a bit? You can use fresh red onion (chopped or sliced) in place of pickled or pickled jalapeños in place of fresh.
For sauces I opted for a cool, creamy ranch and spicy hot sauce.
Dairy-Free Ranch or a homemade/store-bought vegan ranch dressing can totally be used here to make the tacos dairy-free and/or vegan if needed.
Buffalo Chickpea Tacos
Let’s get our taco on!
If you get a chance to try these spicy buffalo chickpea tacos, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Buffalo Chickpea Tacos
Ingredients
- 15 oz canned chickpeas
- 1 TBSP avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 2-4 TBSP Frank's Red Hot Sauce (see notes)
FOR THE TACOS
- 6 street-taco sized flour tortillas or 4 regular tortillas
- 1 cup shredded lettuce plus extra as needed
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers, sliced thin
- ¼ cup ranch dressing (vegan or regular) store-bought or homemade
- 1/4-1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro and/or scallions
- pickled red onion to taste (optional but delicious!)
QUICK PICKLED RED ONION
- 1 medium red onion
- 1/2-3/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar of choice
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ¾ cup boiled water (I use my tea kettle)
Instructions
- If making the optional quick-pickled red onion, make those first. I like to use a whole onion so I have some on hand for later! Bring water to a light boil using a tea kettle or small pot. Peel onion and slice super thin. Add to a heat-safe bowl with vinegar and salt. Pour hot water over onion and allow to sit/cool in the liquid for 20-60 minutes. Transfer to a jar with a lid and pop in the fridge to enjoy in whenever the craving strikes!
- Drain and rinse chickpeas and set aside on a paper towel.
- Heat a pan/skillet to medium heat with 1 TBSP oil.
- Once oil is hot and starts to shimmer, add the chickpeas and cook until slighlty golden, stirring occasionally.
- Once the chickpeas start to brown, season with garlic powder, salt, and paprika. Reduce heat if needed and cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 4-5 minutes until golden then remove from heat. Stir in hot sauce and set aside.
- Serve on warm tortillas with shredded lettuce, sliced jalapeños, ranch, cilantro or scallions, and pickled red onion. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
hungry for more recipes?
Looking for some sassy side dishes? Serve up a bowl of Black Bean Salsa with chips or choose a big bowl healthy Mexican Quinoa Salad which is *BONUS* totally make-ahead friendly!
Keep the taco love going with Kristine’s recipe for fish tacos with pineapple peach salsa – yum!
Need another way to get your Buffalo sauce fix? Try these Buffalo Chickpea Sweet Potatoes or rock your dinnertime routine with a Buffalo Shrimp Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.
Questions & Reviews
These tacos are quick to prepare and delicious. They can be prepared for any occasion.
Spicy chickpeas paired with sour cabbage and creamy avocado are a vivid and interesting experience.
WOOT! Glad these tasty tacos were a hit!
I am always down for Buffalo anything, and I love the idea of spicy, crunchy chickpea tacos! These are going on next week’s meal plan for sure!!
So so excited for you to try them Erica! xoxo
You’re amazing and I’m definitely trying these.
This was fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing!! My husband who is still a meat-eater even really liked it. 😀 And it was super fast and easy to make – definitely going on my weeknight recipe list.
Ohmygosh yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them and that they made recipe rotation status! xo
What a great , creative , healthy abd tasty recipe that’s a change of pace from the usual. I have made it twice so far. Thanks for posting it.