Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas

These Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas are absolutely the best vegan quesadillas you’ll ever try! Made with a spicy buffalo sauce, chickpeas, and a Mexican white sauce , this is often the last word comfort food! 

Like two-ingredient, store-bought vegan cheese and store-bought tortillas, simple. I don’t think I can call t a recipe. But, this past weekend, I had a touch overtime on my hand, so I experimented with upgrading my quesadillas by making these Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas. 

Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas

These quesadillas were so freakin’ delicious that I’ll never be going back to my simple cheese quesadillas. Sure, they take a touch more effort and time, but they're SO worthwhile . And that they really don’t take thaaat much effort and time. As long as you’ve got your cashews soaked beforehand , you'll make these spicy, cheesy quesadillas during a half hour. 

I hope you are trying out these Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas because they’re incredibly delicious and that I guarantee you'll fall crazy with them!

INGREDIENTS :

Mexican Cheese Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons water or vegetable broth 
• 1/2 cup (~120g) salsa of choice, but not a chunky variety (I used this one)
• 1 cup (~120g) raw cashews, soaked overnight (or soaked in boiling water for 1 hour)
• 1/2 cup (~112g) vegan unsweetened plain yogurt (I used this one)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 

Buffalo Chickpea Filling:

• 1/4 cup (~56g) vegan butter
• 4 tablespoons Frank’s hot sauce (original cayenne or Xtra hot), or hot sauce of choice 
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• A pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)  
• A pinch of kosher salt 
• 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced 
• 4 cloves  garlic, minced
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (~440g), drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch of scallions (~6-8 scallions), white and light green parts only, sliced thinly 

For serving:

• 8 large flour tortillas (can use gluten-free tortillas like this) 

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. 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.
2.  Next, prepare the Buffalo Chickpea Filling. 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. 
3. 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. 
4. 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 minutes or until softened, then add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute. 
5. 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, then turn off the heat. Mix in the sliced scallions and stir to combine. Wipe out the skillet so you can reuse it for making the quesadillas. 
6. 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. 
7. 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 smaller skillet on top of the quesadilla so that it presses down on the quesadilla, resulting in a nice crispy exterior. Cook the quesadillas for 3 minutes, then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until both sides are crispy and nicely browned. Repeat with the remaining sauce, filling, and tortillas. 

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