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These Kung Pao Chickpeas are cooked in a flavorful sauce that rivals your favorite take-out restaurant, and they couldn’t be much easier to prepare. Just throw the ingredients in your slow cooker in the morning and it will be ready for you by dinnertime!
I love using chickpeas as a substitute for chicken in vegetarian recipes because they’re loaded with filling fiber and plant-based protein. Chickpeas have about 15 grams of protein per cup!
Like other pulses, chickpeas are also a source of complex carbohydrates, which are thought to help balance your blood sugar levels and give you sustained energy.
Cooking this dish in a slow cooker allows the chickpeas to marinate in this flavorful Kung Pao sauce, for maximum flavor with minimum effort.
While developing this recipe, I noticed that other recipes for Kung Pao Chicken call for a prepared hoisin sauce and one or more types of chiles. I’ll be honest– those ingredients sound a little too complicated for me, so my goal was to make this version as easy as possible.
I hope you’ll enjoy this less-authentic (but still totally delicious) recipe that you can make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
You can can add a handful of peanuts at the end for some added crunch, but I decided to make my recipe nut-free and more allergy friendly.
Either way, it’s a total crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 1/2 red onion , chopped
- 1 red bell pepper , chopped
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or two 15 oz. cans, rinsed and drained)
- 1/4 cup tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (the more syrupy, the better)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 minced garlic cloves)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 green onions , chopped
- sesame seeds , for garnish
- Cooked white rice , for serving (or cauliflower rice)
Instructions
- Add the red onion, bell pepper, and chickpeas into the bowl of your slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker and stir well.
- Cover the slow cooker and set it to cook for 3 hours on high heat, or 6 hours on low heat. If you need to cook it longer due to your schedule, I'd recommend adding 2-4 tablespoons of water to the mixture to help prevent the sauce from over-cooking. (If you have a super-nice slow cooker, it might also give you the option to have the cooker start cooking later in the day on a timer.)
- Once the cooking is done, give the chickpeas a stir and serve them warm over a bed of white rice (or cauliflower rice) with a sprinkling of green onions and sesame seeds on top.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Video
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 120, Carbohydrates: 19, Protein: 8, Fat: 2
Recipe Notes:
- You can use honey instead of maple syrup in this recipe if you don’t need it to be vegan.
- If you’re not gluten-free, you can use regular soy sauce if you prefer. (I use full-sodium soy sauce in my recipes, but you can use low-sodium if needed.)
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below! I’d also love to hear from you if you make any substitutions. We can all benefit from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite way to serve chickpeas?
This recipe was so easy and seriously the best! I followed the recipe and the taste was spot on. I did add a tablespoon of corn starch at the end and it thickened right up. I think next time I will add broccoli and mushrooms, just because I love veggies. Will definitely make this again!! 👌
My family felt that the sauce flavor was spot on. I doubled the sauce but did not double the red pepper flakes, and it was plenty hot. I added carrots, celery, and water chestnuts. I cooked it for 4 minutes in the instant pot, and it was great. Next time I’m going to cook it on the stovetop and try to replicate the crunchy vegetables found in take out kung pao.
Love these Kung Pao Chickpeas , this recipe seems super delicious and unique , will love to try this one
I have made this many times over the last few years. It makes for very easy food prep. I served it over cauliflower rice and a side of broccoli.
This has become a staple meal for us. Even my non-vegan parents loved it when they came to visit.
I’ve made this in my crockpot probably 20 times. It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes. My only adjustment is to add some cornstarch at the end of cooking to thicken the sauce a bit. I use about 2 tsp. I also use the sauce recipe constantly to make tempeh and tofu veggie stir fry in my wok.
I have been making this recipe for the last few years and my whole family loves it (including my meat loving buy not chickpea loving husband). I use coconut aminos instead of Tamari to keep it soy free and leave out the red pepper flakes since my child doesn’t like heat.
Made this twice. Quick & delicious !
Hi! My son is dairy free and almost a year old, so we haven’t introduced honey or maple syrup yet. I would love to make this for him! But any ideas on what I could substitute the maple syrup with? Thanks in advance!
P.S.- We’re only dairy free, so any suggestions that are dairy free would be great!
I used coconut amino,s and I just used the sauce over some veggies with some rice and chicken on the side. It came out really good.