My brother love spicy food and recently decided to go more vegetarian-ish (his long-term girlfriend is a long-term pescatarian). So, this one is for you, Joe. These buffalo chickpea taquitos are crispy, spicy, surprisingly hearty, and protein-packed vegetarian/vegan friendly. They are also quick to throw together. Because they get their crispiness from baking or an air fryer, you can eat plenty of them without feeling guilty. In my mind they are a healthy version of fried buffalo wings and/or fried taquitos.
To make the buffalo chickpea filling, start with chopping about 1/2 an onion, and about 1 c. of sweet potato (about 1 medium sweet potato). Saute for a few minutes until they start to soften. Then add a drained can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans.
After adding the chickpeas, add the garlic and spices and saute for about a minute so the spices can bloom. Once the sweet potatoes are softened and the spices have bloomed, mash everything together. You can either use potato masher or just a fork. Add all of the other sauce ingredients (tomato sauce, hot sauce, milk, and vinegar). Simmer everything together for a few minutes.
Then it’s time to roll these taquitos. Fill a small tortilla (the fajita size ones) with about 2 tbsp of filling. It doesn’t have to be exact; you can eyeball it. It should look a little like the picture below. Roll them up and put them seam-side down in a casserole dish. Brush them with a little bit of oil and bake them in a 400 degree oven. The oil will help crips them up in the hot oven. You could also put them in an air fryer if you wanted them that style of crispy.
When the taquitos are golden brown and crispy served them with your favorite buffalo wing dipping sauce. I served these taquitos with a dairy-free ranch, but a blue cheese dressing would be delicious too, or a cheese-sauce, you get the idea.
Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 c. diced sweet potato about 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- ½ tsp. each garlic powder paprika, cumin
- Pinch each salt and pepper
- ½ c. tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp. hot sauce
- 2 tbsp. milk or almond milk if making it vegan
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar but apple cider or red wine works well too
- 10 fajita-sized tortillas
Instructions
- Heat ½ of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sweet potato. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes or until onions and sweet potatoes have started to soften.
- Add chickpeas, garlic, spices and brown sugar. Saute for a minute or two for the spices to bloom and the sweet potatoes to finish softening.
- Mash the mixture with a fork or a potato masher. Mash it to your desired consistency. I felt a few chickpea chunks for some texture, but if you want it smoother, mash until your heart is content.
- Add the sauce ingredients: tomato sauce, hot sauce, milk, and vinegar. Simmer for a few minutes until the mashed veggies have absorbed most of the sauce mixture.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- While the oven heats, assemble the taquitos by placing about 2 tbsp. of the filing onto each tortilla and tightly rolling them. Place them seam side down on a baking dish.
- Brush them with the remaining vegetable oil so that they crisp up nicely in the oven.
- Bake 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy.
- Pile the up and serve with your favorite buffalo wing inspired dip like ranch, blue cheese, etc.
