Spice up your pasta salad (literally) with delicious and creamy Buffalo Chickpea Pasta Salad! This unique combo of ingredients and flavors will totally satisfy your craving for something savory and makes for the perfect side dish.

A Quick Look

Recipe Name: Buffalo Chickpea Pasta Salad
Ready In: 40 minutes
Serves: 8 servings
Main Ingredients: 16 oz bag brown rice noodles, 15 oz can chickpeas, buffalo sauce, celery, cherry tomatoes, carrots, shredded mozzarella cheese, ranch dressing
Why You'll Love It: Spice up your pasta salad (literally) with delicious and creamy Buffalo Chickpea Pasta Salad! This unique combo of ingredients and flavors will totally satisfy your craving for something savory.

The best buffalo pasta salad

Want to add a little something to your pasta salad? A little spice? A little bite? This is how.

Today, we're creating a delicious, huge bowl of buffalo chickpea pasta salad. Yep, we're skipping the common buffalo sauce pairing – chicken – and using chickpeas in its place! The chickpeas provide both a crunch and a long list of nutrients like potassium, iron, and fiber, to name a few!

To get a rich and creamy flavor, we're combining the buffalo sauce and chickpeas with a selection of veggies as well as some mozzarella cheese and ranch dressing.

It's truly a flavor party in a bowl. Let's dive in!

Ingredients in buffalo chickpea pasta salad

To make this buffalo pasta salad recipe, you will need the following 9 ingredients:

Brown rice noodles: Start with 1 16oz bag of brown rice noodles, or use a pasta of your choice! I love rotini or fusilli shape, but any cooked pasta will do.
Chickpeas: You will need 1 15oz can of chickpeas.
Buffalo sauce: Next, divide 1 cup of buffalo sauce for using at two points throughout the recipe. My favorites are Primal Kitchen and Tessemaes. Sub hot sauce for a spicier kick!
Celery: For veggies, start with 1 cup of diced celery.
Cherry tomatoes: Next, include 1 pint of sliced cherry tomatoes.
Carrots: Throw in 1 cup of diced carrots.
Mozzarella: Add a bit of cheesiness with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.
Ranch: And then add some creaminess by throwing in 1 cup of ranch dressing. Blue cheese dressing would be a great substitute here.
Green onion: Top if off with ½ cup of green onion!

Tools used to make chickpea and pasta salad

When it comes to cooking tools, you'll only need a few items to make this salad. Start with a baking sheet and parchment paper, and then grab a large pot, strainer, and stirring utensil. For measuring, you need ½ cup and 1 cup.

How to make pasta salad with garbanzo beans

Chickpea pasta salad is just as simple to make as any other pasta salad. Though we're adding chickpeas, they're easily cooked by tossing on a baking sheet and baking for 30 minutes. Then, mix everything together and enjoy!

To begin, preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Boil the noodles in a large pot according to the package directions. After cooking, drain and rinse the noodles with cold water and place them back in the pot.

Then, drain and rinse the chickpeas and then dry them completely. Add them to the baking sheet and toss them in 2 tablespoon of buffalo sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes, and then let cool.

Assemble the salad by adding the celery, tomatoes, carrots, and cheese to the pot with the noodles.

Next, pour in the ranch dressing and the remainder of the buffalo sauce. Toss to coat everything completely. You can transfer everything to a large bowl!

Loosely mix in the chickpeas, or just add them to the top with the green onion. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed!

Ingredient add-on options

When making pasta salad, you have a lot of options. Many alternative or additional ingredients will work, and there aren't many that would take away from the dish! So, if you're looking to add to your pasta, here are some ingredients you could include:

Onion (any will work, but red would be delicious)
Jalapeños (remove the seeds if you don't like a lot of spice)
Bell pepper
Black olives
Cabbage
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Storing buff chick pasta salad

Store pasta salad in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated. It should be enjoyed within about 3 days. Note that if left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, the pasta should be discarded.

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Craving some more creamy pasta dishes? Here are some different flavor combos that totally take regular pasta to the next level.

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa

Erin Antoniak