These Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas are a fan favorite for a reason. Despite being mind blowingly tasty and flavorful, they’re made with mostly pantry ingredients and easy to make. And they’re extremely popular with vegan skeptics, omnivores, and picky kids.
Check out the video on Youtube for a look at how to make these (including the trick to getting crispy, not soggy quesadillas). And some, err, cooking mishaps and awkward outtakes lol. There’s also a short food-only video at the end of this post :)
Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas: Recipe Video
BUFFALO CHICKPEA QUESADILLAS | must-try vegan quesadillas
These quesadillas were so freakin’ delicious that I’ll never be going back to my simple cheese quesadillas. Sure, they take a little more effort and time than plopping some vegan cheese on a tortilla. But they are SO worth it. And they really don’t take thaaat much effort and time. As long as you’ve got your cashews soaked in advance, you can make these spicy, cheesy quesadillas in a half hour.
Ingredient Rundown
Buffalo Sauce
Hot Sauce: For these quesadillas, I married the oh-so-popular Buffalo flavor that people associate with hot wings with my favorite plant protein (chickpeas). The result is a hearty and delicious mashed chickpea buffalo sauce filling. Then I combine this filling with an irresistible Mexican cheese sauce for a match made in heaven.
I wanted the “buffalo” flavor to be pronounced but not overwhelming, which is often the case in buffalo-flavored foods. I use Frank’s Xtra hot sauce for that traditional, spicy “buffalo” flavor because I like things xtra spicy. If you’re okay with spice but want a slightly more moderate heat, I recommend Frank’s original sauce.
If you can’t find Frank’s hot sauce, you can make your own hot sauce (this is a copycat recipe for Frank’s hot sauce). Or use Cholula, Tabasco, or any hot sauce of your preference. Since the hot sauce gets mixed with (vegan) butter, you’ll want a hot sauce that’s pretty vinegar-y to balance out the butter.
Vegan Butter: Buffalo sauce is typically made with a hot sauce and melted butter. But, obviously, we’re going to be using vegan butter! I’ve made this with Violife plant butter, Country Crock Plant Butter, and Earth Balance vegan butter, all with great results.
PS: Looking for more great buffalo-flavored recipes? Try my Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower bites!
Chickpea Filling
Chickpeas + Aromatics: Once the hot sauce is mixed in with the melted vegan butter and some spices, it gets folded into the mashed chickpea mixture. I rely on canned chickpeas make this recipe a quick, weeknight-friendly meal. And to give them extra flavor, I first sauté an onion and minced garlic in a bit of oil before adding the chickpeas.
PS: If you’re looking for more great quesadilla fillings, these Chipotle copycat Sofritas and Mexican Black Beans are excellent in quesadillas!
Mexican cheese sauce
This is the EASIEST cheese sauce ever, and it really tastes like a Mexican-flavored cheese dip. It features raw cashews, vegan yogurt, salsa, a few spices, and nutritional yeast.
The hardest part of this recipe is remembering to soak your cashews in advance. If you find that you’ve forgotten to soak your cashews overnight, you can soak them in boiling water for 1 hour.
Simply add all the ingredients to a high-powered blender and whiz until creamy. Even if you don’t make these quesadillas, you should definitely add this cheese sauce to your recipe repertoire because it’s insanely good (and healthy!). It’s great with burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and nachos!
Tips for making these quesadillas
For the chickpeas, the recipe calls for one (15-ounce) can of chickpeas because that’s the most convenient amount to use. But if you have extra chickpeas on hand, I like to add about 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans (about 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas). It makes each quesadilla a bit more filling. If you do increase the amount of chickpeas to 1 1/2 cans (2 1/2 cups), you shouldn’t need to make more of the buffalo sauce because the mixture is already so flavorful.
To achieve that perfectly crisp, crunchy texture on the outside of the quesadilla, follow this step. Weigh down the quesadilla with another skillet while it cooks in the pan. After a few minutes, flip the quesadilla and do the same for another minute or two. You’ll be in quesadilla heaven, I promise!
More Delish Chickpea Recipes
In the mood for more Mexican recipes that are not 100% authentic but are 100% delicious? Give these a try:
I hope you try out these Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas! They’re incredibly delicious and I guarantee you will fall in love with them! If you love them, please rate and review them below :)
Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Queasadillas
Ingredients
Mexican Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup (130-140g) raw cashews, soaked overnight (or soaked in boiling water for 1 hour)
- ½ cup (115g) vegan unsweetened plain yogurt (see Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons water or vegetable broth
- ½ cup (115-130g) salsa of choice (see Note 2)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Buffalo Chickpea Filling
- ¼ cup (56g) vegan butter (1/2 stick)
- 4 tablespoons Frank’s hot sauce, original cayenne or Xtra hot, or hot sauce of choice (see Note 3)
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- A pinch of cayenne pepper (optional; I don’t use it when I use Xtra hot sauce)
- A pinch of kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15-ounce /425g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (see Note 4)
- 1 small bunch of scallions (4-5 scallions), white and light green parts only, sliced thinly)
For serving
- 8 large flour tortillas****
Instructions
- Prepare the Mexican Cheese Sauce. Drain the soaked cashews and pat dry. Add the cashews, along with the remaining sauce ingredients, to a high-powered blender. Blend until thick, creamy, and smooth. The sauce should be quite thick and creamy, but if you’d like it to be even thicker, add the sauce to a saucepan over medium-low heat for a few minutes to thicken up slightly.
- Next, make the buffalo sauce. Melt the vegan butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave (or in a saucepan on the stove). To the melted butter, add the hot sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper (if using), salt, and sugar. Whisk until the hot sauce and butter are completely incorporated.
- Pour the drained and rinsed chickpeas in a medium bowl and roughly mash them with a fork or a potato masher, leaving some beans intact.
- Heat the 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat and once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until softened and they have a little color, then add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- To the onions, add the buffalo-butter sauce and the mashed chickpeas, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the scallions and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and wipe out the skillet so you can reuse it for making the quesadillas.
- Assemble the quesadillas. Spread an even layer of the Mexican Cheese Sauce (1/4-1/3 cup) onto one of the eight tortillas. Arrange about 1/2 cup of the Buffalo Chickpea Filling on top. Place another tortilla on top to cover.
- Lightly grease the large skillet with a bit of oil and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the prepared quesadilla to the skillet. Place a slightly smaller skillet on top of the quesadilla so that it presses down on the quesadilla, resulting in a nice crispy exterior. I also like to weigh the smaller skillet down with a couple cans of beans/tomatoes or just press down on the skillet with my hands (using a kitchen towel so I don't burn myself). Cook the quesadillas for 3 minutes, then flip and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, or until both sides are crispy and nicely browned. Repeat with the remaining sauce, filling, and tortillas.
Notes
A NEW STAPLE. Me and my girlfriend love these so much. As a dip we mix vegan cream cheese with salsa and a little extra hot sauce, it is a great addition. I’m a saucy gal so I have to find a dip to go with everything. We use 2 cans of chickpeas and about 1 1/2 the amount of buffalo because we cannot get enough. Its the perfect amount for dinner and lunch the next day. We usually have left over mexican cheese sauce so we put it on our tacos if we make some the same week.
I love this recipe! So easy to make and so delicious!
Seriously!! This was really delicious. I just made this tonight and I had to leave a review. This is going to go into regular rotation!
Ok this recipe is IT. So yum. I didn’t stuff my tortilla too full bc I like my tortilla ratio to be high- I’m all about the carbs, so I had left over filling – I’ve made two batches of loaded nachos w the cheesy sauce- it’s sooo good. The Buffalo chickpeas are awesome too . But I strongly suggest my vegan cheese loving friends keep the Mexican style sauce in your kitchen repertoire. So easy to make and w pantry staples too ! Thank you , Nisha for another perfect recipe !
SO YUMMY! We made this tonight and it’s definitely going to be on a regular rotation. We used almond flour tortillas and slightly less butter and they turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I’m not vegan but my 70+ year old father apparently is now for health reasons. I made this for him on Friday to rave reviews! I can’t handle the level of spice in this dish, but it’s right up his alley. Dug out my mom’s electric quesadilla maker, used a pizza cutter to finish. First -good- and filling vegan meal he’s had yet. I intend to peruse your blog for more! Thank you so much for a great family meal!
He says you could bottle the cheese sauce and sell it on its own, btw. 😉
We made this recipe at home at least 6 times now! It’s one of our favourites along with your Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale and Gremolata! So delicious!
Headed to find that soup now, thanks for adding it in your review!(:
So filling and delicious. A little involved to make the separate ingredients but it’s so worth it.
I made this for the first time yesterday and OMG it’s absolutely divine! I can’t believe how good the nacho cheese is and the buffalo sauce was perfect. Thank you so much!
So friggin good! I was going to replace the yogurt for vegan sour cream but I had to throw out the sour cream when I looked at it. Ended up making the cheese sauce with plain almond milk and chickpea flour instead of yogurt. It was still super good! Would make again.
I made this other and day and it was awesome! I used some buffalo wing sauce and it turned out great. The funny thing is when I was a meat eater, you would have never caught me eating Buffalo wings. No interest in the mess. I have just started my vegan journey and your website and video are the best. Great production values on top of the great food. Not much of an insta-pot fan though, looks like a lot of trouble.
This was delicious! I had to improv a little bit because I didn’t have large tortillas, only small corn tortillas, so I did a taco situation. I also divided the nooch in half because I’m not a huge fan. But it was still delicious and that Buffalo sauce is TO DIE FOR!
Soo good! Highly recommended!
Can you please provide the nutritional info in terms of total calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates.
Thanks!
Made this tonight and it was so so good! Will definitely be making this again.
Nisha this recipe is absolutely delicious!!!! I can’t stop eating it haha. I also love your page, every thing you post is amazing! Never stop being you ❤️ P.s. my nickname is also Nisha :)
Very yummy! I wound up using the leftovers the next day on top of a salad with ranch. Really good–I’ll definitely make this again. I had no idea buffalo sauce was so easy to make.
HANDS DOWN THE BEST VEGAN QUESADILLA OUT THERE. This recipe was perfection! Very easy to follow and easy to make! The cheese sauce is out of this world! 10/10!
Absolutely delicious and so filling! Definitely a keeper!
I like spicy also. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. It looks so very delicious. Ordered Franks Hot Sauce. Will let you know how it all worked. Thanks for all your good food.