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Quick to make and loaded with protein and fiber, these buffalo white bean tacos are the ultimate late-night snack or satisfying lunch. They’re paired with a punchy cilantro sauce that takes the flavor up a notch, and wrapped in gluten-free corn tortillas (which, after testing a bunch, turned out to be the most flavorful by far!).
save this recipe!These buffalo tacos are like pairing the two best foods: buffalo wings and tacos. They come together so quickly that you can make them when you’re short on time or just feeling lazy.
Cheap and quick to make, delicious to eat. What could be better?!
- Fast: This comes together in just 20 minutes, and everything is already cooked, so no need to worry about undercooking a protein.
- Protein and Fiber: Protein gets all the love, but fiber is crucial for a healthy diet (and white beans have both)!
- Pair them with another quick winner for an easy weeknight meal (looking at you, Chickpea Tortilla Soup).
Reader rating
“I made this super fast today for lunch for my family. It was a hit! Super easy and the flavors are amazing. Yum! This is a recipes to save and memorize since it’s so easy!” —KAtherine
Key Ingredients
These tacos use mostly pantry staple ingredients. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Cannellini Beans: Also known as white beans, they are large and soft, which makes them perfect for mashing into a taco filling.
- Buffalo Sauce: Use your favorite sauce! I like Primal Kitchen because it’s a bit thicker, but Frank’s is a great choice too.
- Yellow Onion: White onion works too. Just make sure to dice it super small (one of those fun choppers is great for this).
- Garlic: Fresh is always best!
- Corn Tortillas: I tested these with both flour and corn, and the corn was the clear winner. The slight sweetness is the perfect complement to the spicy buffalo sauce.
Using other beans
While you can use other beans, I would stick to soft white beans like Great Northern beans or these cannellini beans. Chickpeas will work, but they are tougher, so when I tested them, they were harder to mash and had a slightly gritty texture in the tacos.
How to make Buffalo White Bean Tacos
These tacos require a two-step cooking process. One for the filling and one for frying the tacos. This might seem excessive but I promise its worth it! This is an overview of the recipe. Jump to the recipe card for the full printable recipe.
- Make the flavor base: Saute the onions and spices until soft
- Add the beans: Stir these in with the buffalo sauce and mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
- Fill the tacos: Stuff the tortillas, fold, and fry in the pan until crispy on each side. Then enjoy with your sauce of choice!
clean the pan
The first time I tested this, I didn’t clean the pan between mashing the beans and frying the tacos. This led to the tortillas not getting as crispy as I wanted. The trick is to just scrape out any bits from the pan and then give it a quick wipe with a paper towel or similar (carefully though because it’s hot) before frying the tacos. Then with a little more oil they fry up perfectly!
Add sauce!
I’ve included instructions below for making a quick cilantro sauce to go with these, but you can also try buffalo bean tacos with any of these:
- Kefir Ranch Dressing: What’s more classic than buffalo and ranch??
- Greek Yogurt: Honestly, these are delicious in just plain Greek yogurt!
Psst: Sometimes I’ll add a little boost to these tacos by sprinkling in my walnut taco meat crumbles before cooking!
Crispy Buffalo White Bean Tacos (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp each smoked paprika, cumin, ground coriander seeds, black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 13-oz cans cannellini beans, drained, 370 g cans
- ½ cup buffalo sauce, 120 g
- 8 small corn tortillas
- For cooking: 2 to 4 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- Flavor Base: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add ½ medium yellow onion (diced) and 2 cloves garlic (minced). Cook until onion is soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in ½ tsp each smoked paprika, cumin, ground coriander seeds, black pepper and ¼ tsp salt and cook for 1 more minute.
- Mash: Add in 2 13-oz cans cannellini beans (drained) and ½ cup buffalo sauce. Use a potato masher or fork to roughly smash the beans (be careful not to scratch your pan if using nonstick). Scoop the bean mixture out of the pan into a bowl and set aside. Rinse the pan clean, then return the pan to the stove.
- Assemble: Wrap 8 small corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 45 seconds to make them pliable. Spoon the buffalo bean mixture evenly into each of the tortillas and gently fold each in half.Working in batches, lightly coat the skillet with oil and cook the tacos over medium heat until crispy on both sides.
- Serve: Serve warm with salsa, guacamole, or cilantro sauce (recipe in notes).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
You rinse the entire mixture? Aren’t you rinsing out the flavor?
Just rinse the pan after transferring the mixture to a bowl 🙂
Any ideas to replace buffalo sauce? It’s not my favorite flavor but I’d love to try this recipe!
You could use any hot sauce, really! Sriracha would be tasty 🙂
I made this super fast today for lunch for my family. It was a hit! Super easy and the flavors are amazing. I didn’t have smoked paprika but regular worked fine. I also only had flour tortillas but they were great too. I ate just the beans from a bowl. Yum! This is a recipes to save and memorize since it’s so easy!
You’re the best, thanks for the feedback!
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
So happy you loved it, happy eating!
This sounds great. Could they be air fried instead of pan fried?
Thanks!
Yes! Just air fry at 400F until brown and crispy (you might brush them with a little oil to help them get nice and golden).
I never would have thought to tried buffalo sauce with beans, but I really enjoyed this recipe.
Thanks for the kind words, happy eating!
These were great! But….I have some tweaks for next time. With the onion and garlic, I’d like a link of Beyond Meat Sweet Italian Sausage. Then the beans and Buffalo sauce. I found a Buffalo sauce that wasn’t that spicy, but I wonder if salsa would work too? Then I think I’d top with some vegan cheddar shreds before folding the wraps. They’d be more substantial that way. But as written, still GREAT!!!! Thanks!!
Thanks for making it and sharing!
How many grams of protein and fiber in each serving?
The full nutrition information is below the recipe in this post, but it’s about 9 grams each of protein and fiber 🙂
I love these. LOVE. I had some problems with the corn tortillas (user error – not the recipe) but once I figured that out – wow. So delicious. These easy little tacos pack a giant punch. They are so simple and flavorful. I will make again.
Thrilled you loved it, thanks for the review!
These look good but Om wondering if you have a recipe or source for buffalo sauce. I keep finding it with butter which isn’t vegan.
Great question! Traditional buffalo sauce is made with butter, but you can easily make a vegan version by swapping the butter for vegan butter or olive oil. Just mix about ½ cup hot sauce (like Frank’s RedHot) with 2–3 tablespoons vegan butter, a splash of vinegar, and a pinch of garlic powder. Heat it until melted and smooth—and you’ve got vegan buffalo sauce ready to go!