10 Minute Smashed Buffalo Chickpea Salad

Pantry friendly and ridiculously tasty, this quick + easy Buffalo chickpea salad works well as a sandwich, salad, or wrap. Packed with filling fiber and plant-based protein, it’s budget friendly and so so good for you.

You know the feeling. You don’t want to cook, but you want something super yummy. And you’re tempted to grab the delivery app when you remember, you’ve got a can of chickpeas in the cupboard. Maybe you could make something out of that?

This mindblowingly good Buffalo chickpea salad is that thing. No cooking, 10 minutes to prep with stuff that’s probably already sitting in your pantry…just grab a fork and smash those chickpeas.

I was SUCH a tuna sandwich kid. So now that I’m plant-based, I’ve been making chickpea tuna for well over a decade and this Buffalo version brings the heat without being too spicy.

Looking for more low effort, major flavour plant-based recipes? Grab a copy of my latest cookbook Plant Magic!

So easy, you almost don’t need a recipe to make this Buffalo chickpea tuna salad

Because I make chickpea tuna so much, I do have a few opinions on how to make it the best-est. First things first: you’ve got to get the moisture right, so it’s not dry but also not too sloppy. There’s enough sauce here that you don’t need to add more to the bread if you don’t want to.

Some folks like it straight up – you do you – but I like to add a little crunch to my chickpea salad because all these years as a recipe developer has taught me that texture really makes a meal more satisfying. I always toast the bread. And I like to dice up some crunchy celery and maybe add some sunflower seeds if I’m feeling extra.

I’m gonna be straight with you: this Buffalo chickpea tuna is actually so flavourful I can easily crush the whole dang bowl myself, as lettuce wraps, or with sliced veggies. But if you’re making sandwiches, ¼ of the chickpea filling is 4.5g protein and 4g fibre. I make my sandwiches on sprouted grain bread because it’s so high in fibre and protein (I know, I’m such a dietitian ha), so a sandwich nets about 15g protein and 12g fibre.

More easy – and flavour packed – vegan sandwiches:

• Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich with Tofu
• Sweet + Spicy Roasted Squash Sandwich
• My OG Vegan Chickpea Tuna
• 20 Minute Pan-friend Satay Tofu Sandwich
• 15 Minute Smashed Pea Toasts

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10 Minute Smashed Buffalo Chickpea Salad

Pantry friendly and ridiculously tasty, this quick + easy Buffalo chickpea salad works well as a sandwich, salad, or wrap. Packed with filling fiber and plant-based protein, it’s budget friendly and so so good for you.

Course sandwich, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword buffalo sauce, canned chickpeas, chickpea tuna, sandwich

Dietary Preference egg free, Gluten-Free, nut free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Desiree Nielsen, RD

Ingredients

• 1 14 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup vegan mayo
• 2 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

Optional, crunchy things

• 1 rib celery diced
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Imperial – Metric

Instructions

• In a small bowl, smash the chickpeas with a fork until no whole chickpeas remain.
• Add the mayo, Frank’s, vinegar, salt, onion and garlic powders and mix well. Add any crunch if you want it.
Want more heat? You can do 3 tbsp hot sauce, but I would decrease the mayo to 3 tbsp first. You can always add more, but if it’s too runny….
• Serve a scoop on salad, on a sandwich, wraps, or eat the whole thing with lettuce cups!

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