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Home Blog Course Main Course

Buffalo Chickpea Bowl

Cheryl Malik
Cheryl Malik Posted: 08/05/20 Updated: 01/16/22
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DF Dairy Free GF Gluten Free V Vegan VG Vegetarian

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This buffalo chickpea bowl is a simple but flavorful meatless meal that’s a spicy and satisfying. Creamy buffalo chickpeas are spooned over white rice and topped with blue cheese crumbles and a ranch dressing drizzle for a quick and cheap meal you’ll want to make over and over.

Chickpeas with buffalo sauce and ranch on a bed of white rice and celery tops

These spicy buffalo chickpea bowls are tangy, rich, and so filling. Naturally vegetarian, but with easy vegan swaps, these bowls will totally fill your cravings for buffalo wings. Made super easily in just a few steps, they are the perfect way to use pantry staples.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

Chickpeas – Loaded with protein, chickpeas are the perfect vegetarian option instead of chicken. They are super filling and allow the other flavors of the bowls to shine.
Buffalo sauce – You can use store-bought or make your own, but this tart, spicy sauce typically made from vinegar-y hot sauce and butter (or plant-based cream if vegan) is bright and gives the chickpeas a major kick.
Half and half or non-dairy cream – Adding a little bit of thick cream helps make the buffalo sauce richer and creamier.
Ranch and blue cheese crumbles – The ultimate dip and sides for buffalo wings, the ranch adds a little sweetness and an extra tang, while the blue cheese is sharp and creamy.

How To Make It

The full recipe & ingredients list are below, but here you’ll find a quick overview for making this recipe perfectly, along with useful tips and info!

  1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized skillet.
  2. Add the drained chickpeas. Cook for about 3 minutes or until they are softened and just beginning to brown on one side.
  3. Add the buffalo sauce and the half and half or cream to the skillet and let everything heat through.
  4. Divide white rice between two bowls and spoon the chickpeas over.
  5. Drizzle with ranch dressing and sprinkle with some blue cheese crumbles on top.
  6. Serve with celery and extra buffalo sauce.

Chef’s Tips

  • If you’re making your bowls vegan, skip the blue cheese crumbles or use vegan ones (check out this recipe), use vegan ranch, and swap out the half and half for a non-dairy cream (we like Ripple) or coconut cream (the solid white part in a can of coconut). You can use the same swaps to make this recipe dairy-free. Make sure that your buffalo sauce is vegan, too!
  • If you’re on a strict vegetarian diet (and not just a casual plant-based dieter), make sure that your buffalo sauce is vegetarian. Worcestershire sauce, one of the common ingredients, isn’t!
  • Don’t forget that chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans!
  • If you would prefer to cook your own chickpeas than use canned, and you have an Instant Pot, here is a great way to cook them.
Two bowls of buffalo chickpeas with ranch on a bed of white rice and celery tops

More Delicious Chickpea Recipes

  • Quick Creamy Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
  • Vegetarian Chickpea Tikka Masala
  • Chickpea Salad Sandwich
  • Chickpea Gyros
  • Easy Chana Masala

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Buffalo Chickpea Bowl

Prep:4 minutes
Cook:6 minutes
Total:10 minutes
This buffalo chickpea bowl is a simple but flavorful meatless meal that's a spicy and satisfying. Creamy buffalo chickpeas are spooned over white rice and topped with blue cheese crumbles and a ranch dressing drizzle for a quick and cheap meal you'll want to make over and over.
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2 bowls

Ingredients

  • 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas drained
  • 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil
  • ½ cup buffalo sauce homemade or store bought
  • ¼ cup half and half See Notes
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 cups rice cooked
  • 2 sticks celery cut in half
  • blue cheese crumbles for garnish
  • ranch dressing for drizzling, about 1/4 cup

Instructions 

  • Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add chickpeas and cook until softened and browning on one side, about 3 minutes. Add buffalo sauce and half and half or cream to skillet and heat through.
  • Divide rich between two bowls and spoon chickpeas over. Drizzle with ranch and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles. Serve with celery and more buffalo sauce for drizzling.

Notes

  • Vegan or dairy-free: Use vegan blue cheese crumbles, vegan ranch, and swap half and half for non-dairy cream or coconut cream. Ensure your buffalo sauce is vegan if on a vegan diet.
  • Chickpeas: Also called garbanzo beans
  • How to cook chickpeas in the Instant Pot: You can use this method instead of using canned.
 
Recipe yields approximately 2 chickpea bowls. Nutritional values shown are general guidelines, and reflect information for one bowl. Macros may vary slightly depending on specific types and brands of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the prepared components, then divide the weight (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 2. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1bowl, Calories: 1199kcal, Carbohydrates: 183g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 46mg, Sodium: 3322mg, Potassium: 777mg, Fiber: 13g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 589IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 364mg, Iron: 5mg, Net Carbs: 170g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

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Cheryl Malik

Meet Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She's been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.

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