These baked buffalo chickpea tacos are made with a vegetarian filling of smashed garbanzo beans simmered with veggies, seasonings, Greek yogurt, and blue cheese in buffalo sauce. They finish cooking in the oven for a crispy exterior. Make this delicious and easy dinner recipe when you’re craving lots of flavor for minimal work!
If you love buffalo sauce, this one’s for you! It’s a vegetarian twist on buffalo chicken tacos that’s loaded with plants and flavor. It reminds me of my Buffalo Chickpea Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and Buffalo Chickpea Salad Celery Sticks — two winners!
Using a method similar to the one for my Crispy Smashed Black Bean Tacos, you’ll cook the filling in a skillet and smash it a little before stuffing the tacos. Then, sprinkle on some cheese, fold the tacos, and bake until crispy. That’s it! And thanks to a perfect combo of seasonings, buff sauce, red onion, carrot, celery, and blue cheese, every bite is oh-so-flavorful.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chickpeas: Use a can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas or about 1.75 to 2 cups of chickpeas you made yourself. If you don’t have chickpeas, sub white beans.
- Red onion, celery, and carrot: These vegetables are commonly served with buffalo wings, so they are a great addition to buffalo chickpea tacos to cut the heat while also providing more fiber and nutrients!
- Buffalo sauce: I like using Tessa Mae’s or Frank’s RedHot brand.
- Greek yogurt: This helps to cut the heat in the sauce. Use regular plain yogurt if you don’t have Greek. Sub a dairy free yogurt if desired.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, and dried dill: Sub dried minced garlic and/or onion if you don’t have the powders. You can use fresh dill too.
- Blue cheese: A good stinky blue cheese that crumbles easily is an ideal match for buffalo! Omit if you don’t like blue cheese.
- Shredded Mexican cheese: Use Colby Jack or even cheddar if you don’t have a Mexican blend. If you need the recipe to be dairy free or vegan, use a plant-based cheese substitute.
- Tortillas: I personally prefer to use a flour-corn blend or plain flour tortillas for baked tacos, but you can definitely use corn tortillas if you want to or need the recipe to be gluten-free. Try to use a brand that folds easily without crumbling, since you will need to fold the tacos before baking. My favorite brand of tortillas for this recipe is Maria and Ricardo’s soft corn tortillas that are made with a blend of corn and wheat. They have a great texture and don’t fall apart.
Instructions
The full recipe card for buffalo chickpea tacos is at the bottom of the post. Scroll down to see it. Here’s a preview of the steps with photos to guide you while in the kitchen.
Cook the veggies in a skillet until soft. In the meantime, preheat the oven.
Add the chickpeas, buffalo sauce, and Greek yogurt mixed with the seasonings. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until warmed through and thickened. Smash the beans with the back of your spoon, then stir in half of the blue cheese.
Assemble the tacos. First, brush a small amount of olive oil on one side of each tortilla. Put the oiled side down on a lined baking sheet. Fill one half of each tortilla with the buffalo chickpea filling, then sprinkle with cheese. Fold in half.
Bake the tacos for about 8 minutes on each side until crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before eating.
Storage and Reheating
Tacos are best eaten right away, but baked tacos reheat remarkably well. Keep leftovers in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Place the tacos on a lined baking sheet and reheat for about 10 minutes until warmed through. You can also reheat in a skillet over medium-low, flipping occasionally.
Serving
I love serving buffalo chickpea tacos with some extra blue cheese, Greek yogurt ranch, chopped celery, avocado, and cilantro. They’re also delicious drizzled with a creamy sauce, such as my Lime Cilantro Garlic Sauce or Healthy Creamy Jalapeno Sauce, or topped with a quick pickle like the Quick Pickled Red Cabbage or Quick Pickled Red Onions (No Cook). For an easy side to complement the flavors, try the Apple Jicama Slaw.
More Taco Recipes
Love these easy vegetarian tacos? Try some of my other concoctions while you’re here:
I’d love to hear how you like this recipe! Rate/review using the stars on the recipe card or in the comments, and follow the Veg World on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Looking for something totally different? Browse the recipe library.
📖 Recipe
Baked Buffalo Chickpea Tacos
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - divided
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 small carrot - shaved into thin pieces or chopped
- 1 rib celery - thinly sliced; more for serving if desired
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese - divided
- 6 to 8 tortillas - 6 to 8-inch, flour or a corn and flour blend
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/218 degrees C. Line a large baking sheet or half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prepare the buffalo chickpea filling. In a large skillet, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion, carrot, and celery to the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the veggies begin to soften.
- In the meantime, stir together the Greek yogurt with the garlic and onion powders and dried dill. If you want to make a little extra of this "ranch" for serving, add some more yogurt and seasonings and set aside.
- Add the chickpeas to the skillet with the Greek yogurt ranch mixture, followed by the buffalo sauce. Stir to coat the veggies and chickpeas. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until everything is warmed through.
- Remove the skillet from heat. Smash the chickpeas with the back of a spoon. Stir in half of the blue cheese crumbles.
- Prepare to assemble the tacos. Brush the rest of the olive oil on one side of each tortilla, then put the tortillas oiled side down on the lined baked sheet. Spoon the chickpea filling onto one half of each tortilla, dividing it evenly across all of the tortillas. Sprinkle the filling with Mexican cheese.
- Fold the empty half of each tortilla over the half with the filling. At this point, I like to carefully flip each taco so the side with the cheese is facing down on the baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the center rack of the oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then carefully flip each taco and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy with the rest of the blue cheese and toppings of choice!
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post)!
Notes
- Possible toppings: More blue cheese or Greek yogurt ranch, cilantro, pickled veggies, chopped celery, avocado, or a creamy sauce
- Storage and reheating: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F for 6 to 10 minutes or in a skillet until warmed through.
- Tortillas: I like to use flour or a corn and flour blend of tortillas, since they are usually softer and easier to fold without crumbling. If you want the recipe to be gluten free, you can use corn tortillas, but try to use a brand that doesn’t fall apart easily for best results.
Sandy
I made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely delicious. I don’t have any tortillas so I used what I had – pita pockets which worked just fine. Thanks for this quick and tasty recipe Lizzie!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the tacos. Thanks for your 5-star review! Great to hear that pita pockets worked fine too.