Easy, flavorful, and packed with plant protein, these sesame chickpeas are a vegan chickpea recipe that make for a quick and delicious dinner the whole family will love. They’re ready in just 15 minutes and are great to meal prep for the week.
I have a thing for super easy dinners. These sticky sesame chickpeas, sesame noodles, chana masala and these Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes are my favorite easy dinners at the moment.
But I’m partial to these vegan sesame chickpeas because they literally take 15 minutes to make and have so much flavor your taste buds are going to explode.
Plus, this sesame sauce can be used on so many things. From chickpeas, to tofu, tempeh, salmon, sesame chicken, noodles, cauliflower, or any kind of buddha bowl! It’s a versatile recipe that is loaded with flavor.
Orange Chickpeas, General Tso’s Chickpeas, Peanut Chickpeas, I just love chickpeas!! This is the perfect recipe to use up those canned chickpeas that have been sitting in your pantry for months on end! Try my sesame chickpea meatballs, chickpea scramble or tortilla soup next!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make- 15 minutes!
- Vegan and gluten free
- Packed with flavor
- Plant based protein
How to make vegan sesame chickpeas
Drain and rinse the chickpeas until no bubbles remain. Set them aside as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Mince the garlic (I like using this garlic press so it’s very finely minced) and add to a pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Saute until the garlic is slightly golden brown and very fragrant.
Whisk together the arrowroot powder and 2 tbsp vegetable broth in a bowl and set aside. We’ll be using this in a minute to help thicken the sesame sauce. You can also use chicken stock or water instead.
To the pan with the garlic, add the sesame oil tamari (or soy sauce if not GF), maple syrup, ginger, rice vinegar, and the remaining vegetable broth. Whisk together.
Re-whisk the arrowroot mixture to make sure no clumps formed at the bottom and add to the saute pan with the rest of the sauce. Whisk together.
Cook over medium/low heat until the mixture starts to bubble.
Once it is bubbling around the edges, give it a quick stir and add in the chickpeas and carefully fold the sauce over the chickpeas until they are well coated.
The sauce will start to thicken, keep stirring so the sauce covers the chickpeas. Let the chickpeas cook until the sauce is nice and thick. The chickpeas will also darken as they absorb the sauce, this is good since it yields major flavor!
After 5 or so minutes or once the sauce is thick, turn off the heat and allow all of the flavors to blend together for an additional 5 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to have this vegan chickpea recipe is with my instant pot rice, steamed broccoli, and scallions or chives to top it all off!
It’s also delicious with quinoa, bok choy, sautéed spinach and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. You really can’t go wrong. This sesame sauce can also be reused for chicken, salmon, tofu, cauliflower, or any other protein.
You can even add it to my peanut noodles, or sesame noodles with extra veggies of choice. Make it into a stir fry with tons of veggies, rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, or anything you have on hand.
How to store
Once prepared, this vegan chickpea recipe will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. To reheat, add it to a pan with a splash of veggie broth or oil so it gets nice and saucy.
Beans and legumes unfortunately don’t keep for too long, you’ll notice it’s gone back when it starts to smell!
Are chickpeas gluten free?
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a legume that are naturally gluten free, and so is this whole recipe! Be sure to use tamari (gluten free soy sauce) if you have a gluten intolerance or allergy.
I suggest low sodium tamari so this recipe isn’t too salty! The full strength stuff is just a bit too much in my opinion.
What sweetener is best for sesame sauce?
This sesame sauce does need a bit of sweetener to really round out the flavors. I usually opt for maple syrup or honey, but you can also try brown sugar or coconut sugar.
If you want a lower sugar option, you can cut back to 1-2 tablespoons in place of 3. I don’t recommend cutting out the sugar entirely because it does help make the sauce sticky and really balances the flavors of the dish.
Try these recipes next!
- Mushroom Broccoli Rigatoni
- Easy Dairy Free Pesto
- Sesame Tofu
- Spicy Ramen Noodles
- Lemon Chickpea Soup
- Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles
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4.96 from 131 votes
Vegan Sticky Sesame Chickpeas
by: claire cary
Easy, flavorful, and packed with plant protein, these sesame chickpeas are a vegan chickpea recipe that are a quick and delicious dinner the whole family will love. They’re ready in just 15 minutes and are great to meal prep for the week.
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Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Total: 15 minutes mins
4
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 3-4 large cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- ⅓ cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger or 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- ¼ cup low sodium vegetable broth water divided
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional for spice
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and set aside.
Mince the garlic and add to a sauté pan with the avocado or olive oil. I suggest using a
garlic press so it's very finely minced and you don't end up with any large pieces in the sauce.
Sauté for a few minutes or until the garlic is very fragrant.
In a small bowl combine the tapioca starch and half of the vegetable broth and mix until no clumps remain. Set aside.
To the sauté pan with the garlic, add in the low sodium soy sauce,sesame oil, maple syrup, rice vinegar, ginger, and the additional 2 tbsp of vegetable broth. Whisk together.
Add in the tapioca mixture and stir.
When bubbles start to form, add in the chickpeas and stir until they are well coated.
Cook on low heat until the sauce becomes thick and sticky, about 5 minutes. stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and let sit to allow the chickpeas to absorb all of the flavor.
Serve with steamed broccoli, quinoa, or rice.
Notes
The tapioca starch can be subbed for any other thickening agent such as corn or arrowroot starch.
Tamari is the gluten free version of soy sauce, but regular soy sauce will also work. If you are gluten free, just ensure you use tamari. Be sure to use low sodium or this can get way too salty!
If the sauce does not thicken properly after 10-15 minutes, add in an additional two teaspoons of arrowroot powder.
The maple syrup can be subbed for honey if desired or even brown or coconut sugar. You can also lower the amount if you are looking for a lower sugar option.
Serving: 1bowl / Calories: 321kcal / Carbohydrates: 49g / Protein: 11.5g / Fat: 9.6g / Fiber: 10.5g / Sugar: 9g
