Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla

These vegan buffalo chickpea quesadillas are SO delicious and satisfying! Makes for a perfect healthy plant-based lunch or dinner, plus you can meal-prep them ahead. They combine a buffalo chickpea mixture with a sweet potato mash and a simple avocado dipping sauce. 100% vegan and dairy-free and they are much easier and quicker to make than it seems!

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dairy-free, healthy, spicy, Vegan, vegetarian

Servings: quesadillas

Calories: 501kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Ingredients

1 yellow onion diced
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
15 oz canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 cup vegan buffalo sauce plus more for serving, I used my homemade vegan buffalo sauce
1 sweet potato
6 tortillas I used whole wheat tortillas

To serve

1 large avocado
½ lime juiced
¼ cup cilantro roughly chopped
salt to taste

Instructions

Start by cooking the sweet potato: make an opening with a knife on top or poke a few times through the skin with a fork. Then, microwave them for about 7-10 minutes or until soft and tender inside. You can also bake them in the oven at 425º for about 40-50 minutes. When done and cold enough to handle, remove the peel simply by pulling on it and mash the sweet potatoes on a plate using a fork.
Meanwhile, add the chickpeas to a bowl and use a fork to roughly mash them while keeping a coarse texture with some chickpeas still intact.
Also, make the vegan buffalo sauce.
Heat up a little oil in a large non stick pan (optional, can be made oil-free) and then, cook the onion for about 5-7 minutes or until softened. Then, add the cumin, paprika and cook for one more minute.
Add the chickpeas and buffalo sauce to the pan, stir well and remove from the heat after about 1-2 minutes (the sauce will thicken pretty quickly, so don't cook it too much). Transfer the buffalo mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Wipe clean the pan you used to make the chickpea mixture and warm it up on low-medium heat with a little oil (optional). Then, add a tortilla in the pan and cover it with some of the mashed sweet potatoes and then, layer some of the chickpea mixture over. Place another tortilla over and keep cooking for 3-4 minutes.
Then, carefully flip and cook the other side for another 3 minutes or so. Transfer on a cutting board and keep going with the remaining chickpea mixture.
While the quesadillas are cooking, mash the avocado with the lime juice, cilantro and salt. Set aside.
Slice the quesadillas in quarters and enjoy with the avocado mash and the remaining buffalo sauce.

Video

Notes

The quesadillas are best when just made, but they also make for great leftovers! Keep them in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days. They will soften as they rest, so try to reheat them in a pan (or toaster oven) to bring back some of their crispiness.
Feel-free to make the buffalo chickpea mixture and cook the sweet potato ahead of time. Just warm up in the microwave before making the quesadillas.
The avocado mash is best when freshly prepared as it will turn brown over time. You can buy individually packaged guacamole to serve with leftover quesadillas the next day.
The homemade vegan buffalo sauce tends to thicken quickly in the pan (because it is made without butter and using hemp seeds instead), so simply stir in with the chickpeas and then remove from the heat once warmed up, about 1 minute.
Feel-free to use a store-bought vegan buffalo sauce if you prefer! This buffalo sauce from the brand Noble Made would work well.
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving (for each whole quesadilla) provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition