These Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos are crispy, spicy, and satisfying! You can make the taquitos in your air fryer or oven; the recipe is gluten-free, vegan, and easy to make.
Crispy Taquitos – Baked or Air-Fried
Crispy, spicy, hearty, satisfying, and tasty! Yes, please! I am talking about these delicious vegan Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos. I love crispy finger food like Air Fryer Chickpeas, Hasselback Potatoes, Vegan Hash Browns, or Vegetable Pakora, and of course, taquitos!
Did you ever make your own taquitos? They are super easy to make and since I tried them for the first time a few months ago, I am hooked. Taquitos are a great snack, just think about your favorite Netflix series and all these hearty taquitos in front of you. Perfect evening, right?
No Chicken Taquitos
After a quick Google search for Buffalo Taquitos, I found about a million “Buffalo Chicken Taquitos”. Seriously, this isn’t very nice, especially since I have a pet chicken called ERNA. Yes, Erna is my rescue chicken, and she is living with me for 10 months now. She is quite a character and pretty popular because her story was shared on “The Dodo”. My Instagram followers love her. If you want to see Erna in action, go and check out my highlighted Insta stories. Here is a picture of Erna:
Having said that, I really cannot imagine that someone would kill my sweetheart Erna just for the pleasure of eating a dish for a few minutes.
There are so many cruelty-free plant-based alternatives to meat which are healthy, protein-rich, and tasty, like these Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos. Once you try them, you might change your mind. Erna would be very glad if other people would stop eating her friends.
Quick and Easy Recipe
It took me only about half an hour to make these crispy Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos. This recipe is super easy to make, and I bet you probably already have most (or all) ingredients at home. You’ll just need tortillas (I used homemade, gluten-free tortillas), chickpeas, a bell pepper, one onion, garlic, tomato sauce, hot sauce, and some spices. So if you are looking for a quick vegan dinner or snack, this easy recipe is perfect for you!
How To Make Baked Taquitos
- Using a fork, roughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl.
- Heat oil in a pan/skillet over medium heat and add the chopped onion and bell pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic and spice mix and sauté for a further minute.
- Add all other sauce ingredients + chickpeas to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Let simmer on low heat for about 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat.
- Taste the mixture, if you want it spicier, add more chili powder to taste.
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees F (210 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place about 2 tbsp of the filling onto each tortilla and roll them up tightly. Place every tortilla seam-side down on the baking sheet, next to each other.
- Brush them with a little bit of vegetable oil (to make them even more crispy).
- Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Drizzle with vegan cheese sauce (optional) or top them with your favorite vegan cheese before baking. Enjoy with your favorite dip!
Air fryer Vegan Taquitos
Spread them in a single layer, seam-side-down, in your air fryer basket with space in between (cook in batches if necessary). Then air fry in a pre-heated air fryer at 350F/175C for 6-8 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy on the edges.
These vegan taquitos will turn out crispy when you bake them in the oven, and even crispier in the air fryer. There is no need to deep-fry them. I mean, you could deep-fry them, but I always get sick when I eat deep-fried food, so I prefer to bake or air-fry my taquitos. The secret is to brush them with a little bit of oil (1 tbsp oil is enough for 10 taquitos) and bake or air-fry them until they are golden brown and crispy!
Since I like spicy meals, I often add chili powder to my savory dishes. Because every person has different taste buds, though, it’s difficult to recommend the right amount of hot sauce and chili powder. 3 tbsp of hot sauce and a pinch of chili powder will add a pleasant spiciness, at least to my taste buds.
If you dislike spicy meals, you better leave out the chili powder completely and just add 1 tbsp (or even less) of hot sauce. And if you are like my boyfriend, who slathers his food in chili powder, I would recommend adding more hot sauce and more chili powder until you are happy with the spiciness.
If you make this delicious meal and maybe even take a photo of it, then I would love to see it. You can DM it to me on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me in your Insta caption + photo with @elavegan and use the hashtag #elavegan, and I will gladly check out your post. And if you are a fan of Buffalo Chickpea recipes, definitely also try out my Avocado Chickpea Pizza which is gluten-free and vegan as well.
More Crispy Vegan & Gluten-Free Snacks
- Veggie Taquitos
- Crispy Polenta Fries
- Baked Vegan Onion Rings
- Vegan Quesadillas
- Chickpea Fritters
- Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
- Air Fryer Zucchini Chips
- Oven-Baked TacosÂ
Or browse my list of 32+ Vegan Super Bowl Snacks
Baked or Air-Fried Taquitos
Ingredients
Buffalo chickpea sauce:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium-sized onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (passata)
- 3 tbsp hot sauce (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Sea salt & black pepper to taste
- Chili powder to taste
Tortillas:
- 10 small flour tortillas (gluten-free if needed) about 14 cm in diameter
Dipping Sauce (optional):
- vegan cheese sauce (or your favorite dipping sauce)
Instructions
- Using a fork, roughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl.
- Heat oil in a pan/skillet over medium heat and add the chopped onion and bell pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic and spice mix and sauté for a further minute.
- Add all other sauce ingredients + chickpeas to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Let simmer on low heat for about 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat.
- Taste the mixture, if you want it spicier, add more chili powder to taste.
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees F (210 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place about 2 tbsp of the filling onto each tortilla and roll them up tightly. Place every tortilla seam-side down on the baking sheet, next to each other.
- Brush them with a little bit of vegetable oil (to make them even more crispy).
- Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Drizzle with vegan cheese sauce (optional) or top them with your favorite vegan cheese before baking. Enjoy with your favorite dip!
Notes
- I used homemade gluten-free tortillas.
- I describe the method for air-fryer taquitos in the blog post above.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Easy and super delicious. Will definitely make these again soon! All of your recipes are so good 🙂
So happy you like my recipes, Suzanne. 🙂
Hello:)
I dont have balsamic vinegar, is there a substitution I could use? Can’t wait to try it!
Hi, you can leave it out or use a litte tamari. 🙂
This is a staple in my house. I love these with sour cream. I made a large batch and didn’t cook in the oven. I froze them and throw a couple in the air fryer for an easy meal. Even my meat eater boyfriend loves them
That’s awesome, Jenny! So glad you like them. 🙂
Made these for dinner for the family and everyone loved them. I didn’t have green pepper so I left it out, had to substitute regular sugar for brown sugar, dry minced onion for onion, and used jalapeño juice because I didn’t have hot sauce. The family loved them. Ate them all up and asked me to make more. Thanks for such a great recipe!
That’s good to hear, Melynda. I am glad everyone enjoyed them. 🙂
Have you tried air frying?
Yes, that works fine!
Easy and delicious! What more could you ask?
So glad you liked them, KimL. 🙂
This was sooooo delicious and easy! Before I filled the tortillas I tasted it and it was a tiny bit bland so I added about a teaspoon of taco seasoning and it was perfect for my taste. Also got the plant based hidden valley and this dish is a game changer!!
Sounds awesome, Colleen! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
What is plant based hidden valley?
Can you freeze these? And how long do they last in the fridge?
Hello Lauryn, I never tried freezing them, but I think it should be fine. You can store them covered in the fridge for a few days (about 2-3), that’s no problem. 🙂
These were wonderful. I served them with the new Hidden Valley plant based ranch. Delish!
So happy you liked them, Max! 🙂
I freeze these for work lunches and they defrost perfectly.
Thanks for sharing, Amanda! 🙂
In the instructions you said to add “spice mix” into the pan with the garlic and onion and bell peppers. What is the spice mix you are referring to?
All spices that are listed in the recipe under ingredients:
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Sea salt & black pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste
I made your gluten free tortillas the day before and also used your quick vegan cheese sauce.recipe before putting them in the oven. Wow, so impressed. I am going to be looking for more of your recipes. Delicious. Thanks so much.
Happy you loved those recipes, Gerry. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
I made this recipe for dinner and it was amazing. My husband and I loved it. I didn’t have tomato sauce so I used a bit of tomato paste mixed with water. I didn’t make it vegan as I used non-vegan cheese. So delicious I will definitely make it again
I am glad you and your husband loved it. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
This turned out great! Will definitely make again!
So glad it turned out great. 🙂
Fantastic recipe, and so easy! I’m not a bell pepper fam, so instead of peppers I added a lot of chopped cauliflower. Made them last week and back for more tonight. Thanks for sharing!!
Fantastic! Adding cauliflower is a great idea. Thanks for your feedback, Lori. 🙂
Would this recipe work with flour tortillas? And still turn out crispy? I have every single ingredient minus corn tortillas and would love to not have to go to the grocery store!
Yes, I am pretty sure they will turn out fine. I didn’t use corn tortillas though, I used homemade grain-free / gluten-free tortillas, linked in the post. 🙂
I don’t see the link to the tortillas?
Can you share it here?
Sure, here is the link: https://elavegan.com/gluten-free-tortillas-recipe
Awesome! I can’t wait to try this!