Description
This Vegan Sticky Sesame Chickpeas recipe offers a flavorful, nutrient-packed plant-based dish featuring tender chickpeas coated in a sticky, savory-sweet sesame sauce. Perfect to serve with steamed broccoli, quinoa, or rice, this quick and easy recipe brings an ideal balance of garlic, tamari, maple syrup, and toasted sesame oil for a delicious and healthy meal.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chickpeas
- 2 15 ounce cans chickpeas
Sauce & Seasoning
- 3-4 large cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/3 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth or water, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare Chickpeas: Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas thoroughly and set them aside to be added later.
- Sauté Garlic: Mince the garlic finely, ideally using a garlic press, to avoid large pieces in the sauce. Heat avocado or olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the garlic until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Make Tapioca Slurry: In a small bowl, combine the tapioca starch with half of the vegetable broth (about 2 tablespoons) and whisk until smooth with no lumps. Set this mixture aside.
- Combine Sauce Ingredients: Add tamari, toasted sesame oil, maple syrup, rice vinegar, ground ginger, red pepper flakes (if using), and the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth to the sauté pan with garlic. Whisk together thoroughly.
- Add Tapioca Mixture: Pour the prepared tapioca slurry into the pan and stir continuously. Wait for bubbles to form, indicating the sauce is starting to thicken.
- Coat Chickpeas: Add the drained chickpeas to the pan, stirring gently to coat them completely in the sticky sauce.
- Simmer: Reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes thick and sticky, clinging well to the chickpeas.
- Rest and Serve: Remove the pan from heat and let the chickpeas sit briefly to absorb the flavors fully. Serve over steamed broccoli, quinoa, or rice for a complete meal.
Notes
- Tapioca starch can be substituted with corn starch or arrowroot starch as alternative thickening agents.
- Use tamari for a gluten-free option; regular soy sauce works too but ensure use is low sodium to prevent excess saltiness.
- If the sauce does not thicken after 10-15 minutes, add an additional two teaspoons of arrowroot powder to help it thicken.
- Maple syrup can be replaced with honey, brown sugar, or coconut sugar, and the amount can be reduced for a lower sugar variation.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1/4 of recipe)
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 9.6g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 10.5g
- Protein: 11.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
