My husband loves buffalo chicken salad, and it’s a great entree salad that comes together fairly quickly, which is great for busy weeknights!! Also, there are only a few ingredients, so less prep and less expensive. I wanted to change it up and try it with chickpeas instead of chicken to reduce the cholesterol but still maintain the protein. Chickpeas to the rescue!! I love chickpeas because they are so versatile; they can be prepared a multitude of ways and have a mild enough flavor to work well as a protein substitute in a variety of different cuisines!

While I prefer to soak my own beans, from a can (or now a days you can get beans in a box, which is just fabulous) are easier and quicker. Here I just added buffalo sauce to the chickpeas in a small saucepan and heated thoroughly. You could easily season them with garlic powder, and chili, bake them and then coat them with the buffalo sauce to add some additional crunch.

Buffalo Chickpea Salad

3 cups iceberg lettuce (about 1/2 medium head), torn into bite sized pieces

1 cup red leaf lettuce (about 4-5 outer leafs), torn into bite sized pieces

2 medium celery stalks, sliced

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 cup chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1/4 cup wing sauce

1/4 cup ranch dressing

Divide lettuces, celery and carrots into 2 plates

Put chickpeas into small sauce pan, add wing sauce. Over medium heat until heated through (approximately 5 minutes)

Divide chickpeas between the two servings and top with equal amount of ranch dressing

Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 289
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 11 g	16 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	5 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 3 mg	1 %
Sodium 316 mg	13 %
Potassium 777 mg	22 %
Total Carbohydrate 43 g	14 %
Dietary Fiber 13 g	50 %
Sugars 5 g
Protein 10 g	20 %
Vitamin A	169 %
Vitamin C	8 %
Calcium	13 %
Iron	19 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.