Barbecue Chickpea Calzones (Vegan)

These vegan barbecue chickpea calzones are filled with barbecue chickpeas and tofu cheese and served with guacamole for a fun southern twist on an Italian recipe. 

Is there anything more heavenly than calzones? I think not! Today, I’m going to teach you how to make vegan barbecue chickpea calzones with creamy tofu cheese and guacamole for dipping. They’re surprisingly easy to make, and the whole family will love them. I think if you are feeling overwhelmed at this time, a vegan comfort meal might be just what you need. I’m sending you a big virtual hug and doing my best to share recipes that are both nourishing and comforting! 

BARBECUE CHICKPEA CALZONE INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE DOUGH: Dry active yeast, maple syrup, water, extra virgin olive oil, light spelt flour (or a combination of whole spelt and all purpose), and sea salt. 
• FOR THE BARBECUE CHICKPEAS: Olive oil, onion, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, chickpeas, barbecue sauce, tamari, and hot sauce. 
• FOR THE TOFU CHEESE: Firm tofu, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, light miso, red wine vinegar, and sea salt.
• FOR THE GUACAMOLE: Avocados, lime juice, garlic, sea salt, garlic, chili flakes, black pepper, and cilantro (if desired). 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by making the pizza dough. It needs to proof for one hour, so it’ll give you time to prepare the chickpeas and tofu cheese. 
2. Make the barbecue chickpeas: Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of fine sea salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, eight minutes. Stir in the pepper and smoked paprika, followed by the chickpeas. In a small dish, whisk together the barbecue sauce, tamari, and hot sauce. Pour over the chickpeas and stir to coat, cook until heated through, and remove from the heat. 
3. Make the tofu cheese: Crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, light miso, red wine vinegar, and sea salt. Process until smooth and transfer into a container. 
4. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it a few times. Divide into 6 equal balls. Lightly flour your countertop and grab a rolling pin. Take a ball of dough and roll it out into a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter. Add ½ cup of the chickpeas to one side of the circle, leaving a bit of space around the edge to allow for folding. Spoon 3 tablespoon of the tofu cheese on top and fold the dough over. Use a fork to firmly pinch the edges of the semi circle that you’ve created and transfer the calzone to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 5 dough balls. 
5. Bake the calzones for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. 
6. While the calzones bake, make the guacamole: Mash the avocados in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTION

• If you have a soy allergy, make the cashew cheese from this recipe in place of the tofu cheese. Omit the tamari in the barbecue chickpeas and use coconut aminos, instead. If you have a nut allergy, however, use your favourite store-bought nut-free vegan cheese!

MAKE-AHEAD OPTION

• If you’d like to make the calzones ahead of time, you can! Simply bake them and let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days and reheat them as desired. You can also freeze them. Wrap them individually in parchment paper and store in a Stasher bag (reusable Ziplock-style bag). To reheat, remove from the freezer, transfer to a baking sheet, and bake  them in a 400 degree F oven until heated through. 

I hope you love these vegan barbecue chickpea calzones! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you post a photo to Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen! 

Enjoy 

Barbecue Chickpea Calzones (Vegan)

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4.5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Allison
• Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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These vegan barbecue chickpea calzones are filled with barbecue chickpeas and tofu cheese and served with guacamole for a fun southern twist on an Italian recipe.

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Ingredients

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Pizza Dough

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 tsp pure maple syrup
• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 ½–3 cups light spelt flour plus more for kneading (if you don’t have light spelt flour, sub a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat or whole spelt flour)

Barbecue Chickpeas

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
• ⅓ cup barbecue sauce
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp Frank’s original hot sauce, or other mild hot sauce

Soft Tofu Cheese

• 1 block (450 grams) organic firm tofu
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp light/chickpea miso or tamari
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados, flesh scooped out
• Juice of 1 lime (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• Pinch of chili flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

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Instructions

1. MAKE THE CRUST: Place the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup and yeast; whisk to combine. Cover and wait for yeast to activate. You will know that the yeast has activated when it forms a layer of bubbles/froth at the top. Once the yeast is frothy, add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Stir to incorporate, adding more flour as you go to form a workable dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour as necessary, to form a smooth and elastic dough. The dough should not be too sticky, nor too stiff.
2. Transfer dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let it proof in a warm area of your kitchen until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Make the barbecue chickpeas: Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a tiny pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, eight minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and smoked paprika and stir to incorporate. Next, add the chickpeas and cook for a couple of minutes to allow the chickpeas to brown. In a dish, whisk together the barbecue sauce, tamari, and hot sauce. Stir the sauce into the chickpeas and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Make the tofu cheese: Crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, light miso, red wine vinegar, and sea salt. Process until smooth and transfer into a container until ready to use.
5. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it a few times. Divide into 6 equal balls. Lightly flour your countertop and grab a rolling pin.
6. Take a ball of dough and roll it out into a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter. Add ½ cup of the chickpeas to one half of the circle, leaving a bit of space around the edge to allow for folding. Spoon 3 tablespoon of the tofu cheese on top and fold the dough over. Use a fork to firmly pinch the edges of the semi circle that you’ve created and transfer the calzone to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 5 dough balls.
7. Bake the calzones for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.
8. While the calzones bake, make the guacamole: Mash the avocados in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and cilantro, if using.
9. Serve the calzones fresh out of the oven with guacamole for dipping.

Notes

If you want a more traditional vegan cheese that melts, use your favourite store-bought vegan cheese. I just wanted to keep everything homemade when I created this recipe, which is why I included the soft tofu cheese recipe. 🙂

You will have leftover tofu cheese. Store it in the fridge for up to a week and use on sandwiches, wraps, pasta, and pita pizza.

You can make 12 small calzones if you prefer. Just use ¼ cup of the chickpeas and 1 ½ tablespoon of tofu cheese in each calzone.

If you are allergic to avocado, you can make this green pea and asparagus guacamole.

• Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Category: Supper
• Cuisine: American

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