Baked Buffalo Chickpea Tacos

Two buffalo chickpea tacos on a large plate next to sauce and a kitchen towel.

This easy recipe for chickpea tacos is flavorful and nutritious, thanks to a smashed garbanzo bean filling that's loaded with veggies and simmered in buffalo sauce and Greek yogurt ranch. The tacos are then baked in the oven to get crispy — a game-changing step! Enjoy this vegetarian dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings 8-inch tacos

Calories 344kcal

Author Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

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

US Customary - Metric

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!
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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.

Nutrition