Easy Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Salad

Back when I first went vegetarian one of the things I missed the most was buffalo chicken! Recently I found a super easy way to make a vegan version of one of my favorites, buffalo chickpea salad. This recipe is super simple and you can get a few meals out of it!

Buffalo Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas
1/2 cup of flour (approx)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp of cooking oil (vegetable, olive, coconut...whatever you like!)

salad greens and other toppings
1/2 of an avocado (optional - good to counter the spice, especially if you don't find dairy-free ranch)
Just Ranch (optional - most grocery stores and Target have dairy-free alternatives for ranch, but out of all I've tried, this one is definitely my favorite)

your favorite buffalo sauce! (just read the label of ingredients and make sure it doesn't contain dairy as some buffalo sauce will; *vegan hack: use the app, "Is it Vegan?," from my last blog posting! Sweet Baby Ray's and Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauces are vegan 😛)

Directions:

1. Heat a medium-large sized frying pan over medium heat with the 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. 
2. Open can of chickpeas and drain the liquid. 
3. Dump the chickpeas in a Tupperware container with a lid.
4. Add pepper and garlic and shake the container to evenly distribute. 
5. Cover chickpeas with the flour (this may not take the whole 1/2 cup). 
6. Put the lid on the Tupperware and shake until all the chickpeas have a light layer of flour. 
7. Dump the chickpeas in the warmed frying pan and cook until they are golden, stirring occasionally. You may want to turn the heat up to medium-high heat, but watch closely to avoid burning!
8. Once the chickpeas are golden, lower the heat and stir in just enough buffalo sauce to cover the chickpeas. (Too much makes them a little soggy and mushy which I don't like, but if you do, go for it!) 
9. While the buffalo sauce is warming, prep your salad veggies in a large bowl or plate. 
10. Top your salad with the buffalo chickpeas and avocado and/or vegan ranch dressing. 

Bon Appetit!

xo,
Danielle