A vegan buffalo salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocados and a vegan aioli dressing. The buffalo crumble is made with nuts, chickpeas and rice and resembles ground meat while being entirely vegan and gluten-free. Delicious and healthy!
I love buffalo sauce. There’s just something about it, that is so addicting. Once you have a taste, you just want more.
And it’s a distinct taste. Kind of unlike any other. There’s no real substitute for it. It’s one of those classic American flavors that I seriously miss when I’ve been traveling outside the country for months. While in the US I rarely order anything with buffalo flavor, but when I need a reminder of home and nostalgia hits, buffalo anything would be a real comfort.
And when I think of buffalo sauce, what I’m really thinking of is buffalo wings. Now that is one of the few classic American dishes that I did truly miss during my 21 month traveling adventure across Europe and Asia. When I got back to the US I was ready for an American bar food outing.
The problem with buffalo wings though is that they are not healthy, and far from vegan, therefore not available to those with dietary eating restrictions. There had to be a plant based way to enjoy all those flavors.
There had to be a way though, to capture that delicious buffalo flavor but smear it over a more healthy and nutritious set of ingredients.
Well hello buffalo crumble. I came across this recipe on the Naturally Ella blog and legitimately my jaw might have dropped a few notches in awe.
A buffalo salad where the mixture resembled ground meat in texture and even in taste but is really uber healthy and vegan?
Umm sign me up – I need this now.
The original crumble was made with brown rice, chickpeas (my new favorite cooking ingredient) and pecans, but I swapped out the pecans for cashews instead – those are my favorite nuts after all.
After a few pulses in the food processor something magical happens — the mixture clumps together and starts to resemble a ground meat type texture. Cook that mixture in olive oil for a few minutes and then pour on that hot sauce, mix it up and voila the cooking is done. It’s seriously amazing! Even die hard carnivores might never even know this is not ground meat. It looks like ground meat, has that same texture and feel and yet is entirely plant based. I love it! I’m simply amazed and in awe and will be making so many recipes with this combination.
I served the mix over a salad, though the serving creations are endless. The buffalo salad had that ultimate buffalo taste but was healthy, and full of vitamins and nutrients. Light and delicious. Perfect for lunch or dinner. In the buffalo salad I had arugula, tomatoes and avocados – the main star ingredients all drizzled with a vegan aioli.
Lunch or dinner is ready with that addictive buffalo flavor!
A vegan buffalo salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocados and a vegan aioli dressing. The buffalo crumble is made with nuts, chickpeas and rice and resembles a ground meat while being entirely vegan and gluten-free. Delicious and healthy!
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/2 cup chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot sauce
- 2 ounces arugula
- handful cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 -1 avocado cubed
- dressing:
- 1 tablespoon vegan mayo
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
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Add cashews, cooked brown rice, chickpeas, garlic, smoked paprika, and salt to a food processor. Pulse until broken up and just starting to clump together.
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Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add the mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1-2 tablespoons hot sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
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In a small bowl make the dressing by whisking together vegan mayo, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.
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Serve buffalo crumble over arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and avocados. Top with dressing.
Recipe Adapted from Naturally Ella
Michaell @ Foodscape says
Wow this looks amazing! Gastropub food for the fit and healthy…love it! I’ve never tried Frank’s hot sauce, so I’m excited for a new sauce to add to my fridge 🙂
Vicky says
Frank’s is definitely a good one to have on hand! Hope you enjoy this recipe : )
Jeni says
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe! Love it! Can’t wait to make it!
Vicky says
Hope you enjoy the recipe! I was seriously impressed by how similar in texture and taste the mix is to a ground meat but made with wholesome vegan ingredients!
Jill says
Hi is there a nutritional breakdown for this recipe?
Thanks for all you do!
Vicky says
If you divide the salad into 2 servings there are 813 calories, 75 grams carbs, 14.6 g sugars, 24.4 g protein
hope that helps!
Jenny says
Delicious! My steak and potato family ate it and asked me to make it again. Such a nice light without being all lettuce change-of-pace salad.
Vicky says
Yay! So happy to hear that ; ))