Sweet and Sour Chickpeas Peppers and Broccoli. 1 Pot Weeknight Protein Meal. Serve over rice, grains or noodles. Chickpeas and veggies cooked in Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce. Vegan Gluten-free Nut-free Recipe
Chickpeas and lentils work beautifully as a tofu or meat sub in flavorful Asian sauces. The spicy kung pao, the deep Teriyaki or a addictive sweet and sour sauce. Veggies and chickpeas in the sweet and sour sauce make it one hearty meal. The veggies get cooked over high heat, then simmered in a tangy and sweet sauce till it thickens. A good dash of black pepper and cayenne brings out the strong sweet and sour flavors even more.
2016 is almost here! What are your plans for the next year? I haven’t thought of the food front yet. But some things we hope to do more of next year is research deeply on ethical and fair trade clothing and switch to using those options. We probably shop once or twice a year for some new additions that are really needed, and I would like to have the options ready for that time. Another thing we want to reduce is the amount of packaging and plastic. Though this might be difficult with the many shipments we get from Amazon. Each small object in one big box with loads of plastic packing.
More Asian recipes from the blog
- Massaman Curry Veggies GF
- Celery Black Pepper tofu GF
- Kung Pao Lentils GF
- Lentils & Veggies in Thai Peanut Sauce GF
- Chickpeas in Firecracker sauce with crunchy salad. GF
- Chickpeas in Teriyaki sauce in steamed Bao bun.
Video:
Sweet and Sour Chickpeas Peppers Broccoli
Ingredients
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar I use 2 tbsp sugar and 2 or more tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 to 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp soy sauce use certified gluten-free tamari to make gf
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garlic powder
- 2 tbsp water
Chickpeas and Veggies:
- 1 tsp oil
- 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 (0.5 ) large red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 (0.5 ) green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 cup (91 g) small broccoli florets
- 15 oz (425.24 g) chickpeas or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
- a generous dash of salt black pepper, cayenne
To thicken
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp cornstarch or other starch
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside. You can also add them directly to the pan at step 5.
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the peppers and mix in. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the broccoli and mix in. Cover and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chickpeas, sauce ingredients, a generous dash of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Taste the sauce carefully and adjust to preference. Add more sour, sugar or salt.
- Mix cornstarch in room temperature water and add the mixture to the pan. Mix in. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and scallions and serve with cooked rice or grains of choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Reading for the day.
This article with photos on the terrible plight of tourist and temple elephants in India. Chained to one spot for decades to break their spirit. What can we do? As consumers, we can refuse to tour with companies that associate with elephant tourism, refuse to visit places where elephants are used in any kind of festivities, events, parades etc. Any and all elephants endure the training of breaking their spirit using torture. If you see them being abused, document it and pass it on to many wildlife organizations working to help these elephants. Write to Wildlife SOS site or on their facebook, asking them to step up for the 57 elephants in this training camp on the article above.
Robert says
December 28, 2015 at 10:31 pmFirst!
What an awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing.
My plans for 2016 are to grow my vegan blog. It’s in its infancy now, but I hope one day it can be as big and awesome as your site!
You’re totally right about the excess plastic and cardboard that goes along with shopping online. Was just thinking about this myself. Would be great if Amazon and similar companies could start batching products together when shipping them.
Richa says
December 29, 2015 at 11:21 amThank you Robert. All the very best with your blog! I know right. Very many times the shipments could be reduced by half as the boxes anyway get stuffed with plastic packaging to fill them up. I make sure to order many things together, but it doesnt seem to affect the shipments.
Margaret Loyon says
December 28, 2015 at 10:40 pmDear Richa,
I’m so happy to have found you via your blog. You’re my kind of cook, and I love your generous, world-embracing spirit. I also appreciate your concern for animals and the environment.
What I enjoy the most (in addition to the wonderful food recipes) is the fact that this blog is not about you, but about sharing the bounty that you participate in, thanks to your family and your own wide-ranging culture and intelligence. You’re an inspiration and a gift to the world.
Thank you,
Margaret Loyon
France
Richa says
December 29, 2015 at 11:18 amThank you Margaret. Hope you have a wonderful 2016!
Zo says
December 29, 2015 at 7:38 amI love what Margaret Loyon said about your spirit and concern for animals and I echo that.
Very glad to have found an Indian cookbook and blog with a vegan focus.
Thank you,
Zo
Los Angeles
Richa says
December 30, 2015 at 5:43 pmThank you Zo!
jacquie says
December 29, 2015 at 8:27 amwere you planning on including some of your research findings w/ regards to ethical and fair trade clothing? I would be learn more about those issues. I appreciate that you bring items to your blog such as the elephant issue you mentioned above and I hope you continue to do so.
Richa says
December 29, 2015 at 10:26 amThank you Jacquie. yes i will.
Kristen says
December 30, 2015 at 4:23 pmDelicious! Absolutely loved the flavors in this one!
Richa says
December 30, 2015 at 5:42 pmAwesome!!
Adrianr says
January 1, 2016 at 7:10 pmI made this tonight it was absolutely delicious! I added pineapple and used less cornstarch
Richa says
January 1, 2016 at 7:20 pmAwesome!!
Joëlle says
January 13, 2016 at 5:09 pmSoooo goood, and simple! Thanks for the recipe. I used tofu instead of chickpeas, and added roasted cashews with red pepper flakes. Very good!
Richa says
January 13, 2016 at 5:28 pmawesome!!
Ana @ Ana's Rocket Ship says
February 29, 2016 at 1:50 pmMmm…. I love sweet and sour. But I swear the store bought stuff is 100% sugar. I can’t wait to try it – I’m sure it will be so much nicer!
kelsie says
April 2, 2016 at 4:38 pmMade this for dinner this evening. My husband and I loved it!! Cooking everything in the sauce made it so tasty – almost sinful tasting ???? Definitely will be making this recipe over and over! Thanks!
Richa says
April 2, 2016 at 5:03 pmAwesome! Yes so much easier than a blanching station and cooking station and so on 🙂
Sue Share says
April 25, 2016 at 11:25 amRicha, This looks so good; I don’t know how I missed it! Thanks for mentioning it. I’ll be making it soon.
Kenya Scott says
May 31, 2016 at 11:26 amThis recipe was so amazing! The pineapple chunks really took it over the top. Quick question about the chickpeas: did you drain yours or did you include the juice from the can?
Richa says
May 31, 2016 at 12:03 pmAwesome! I drain the chickpeas.
Courtney Hermanson says
May 31, 2016 at 5:17 pmADD PINEAPPLE. I can’t explain how delicious it is!!
Wesam says
June 26, 2016 at 1:42 amThis looks amazing. I can’t wait to make for my friends tonight.
I wanted to ask, will the taste change if I made it oil-free?
Thank you!
Richa says
June 26, 2016 at 10:59 amno oil should work just fine.
Emily Kelly says
August 7, 2016 at 9:31 amIs there another option instead of ketchup?
Richa says
August 7, 2016 at 10:11 amtomato paste.
Linda Johnson says
October 13, 2016 at 2:18 pmI made this for my daughter who is Vegan and normally I just don’t like chickpea’s all that much but I want to eat them more as I know how fantastic they are for you.
I thought I would just give it a taste after I finished making it and was wowed by the taste!
So I shared this yummy dinner with my daughter and she loved it too and we will be making it again a lot!
Richa says
October 13, 2016 at 3:00 pmAwesome!
Michelle says
November 15, 2016 at 9:24 amJust made this – how delicious! Such a treat for Chinese food lovers.
Skye says
January 21, 2017 at 6:17 pmThis was so delicious can’t wait to try more of your recipes 🙂 thank you
Richa says
January 21, 2017 at 8:58 pmThanks!
Smangele says
February 17, 2017 at 3:44 amHey 🙂
Could I use tofu instead of chickpeas?
Richa says
February 17, 2017 at 10:43 amyes, totally. You can crisp it up in a pan or bake before using.
Omri says
March 13, 2017 at 3:09 pmGreat and incredibly easy recipe! The sauce turned out wonderful and the chickpeas add a nice twist. Thank you ❤️
Maureen Miller says
May 5, 2017 at 9:38 amDo you think I could use Maple Syrup or Honey to replace the sugar? I can’t eat processed sugar at all. =(
Richa says
May 5, 2017 at 9:54 amyes you can use maple syrup. You might need less of it too.
Maureen Miller says
May 9, 2017 at 3:24 pmHi Richa;
I made this tonight and used 2T of maple syrup in the sauce instead of sugar. Thanks for the heads up to use less, I’m sure a 1/4 cup of maple syrup would have made the sauce too sweet. I added pineapple chunks at the end and it was amazing. Thank you so much!
Kelly says
June 4, 2017 at 8:04 pmWOW this was so amazing. Made some adjustments like adding tempeh and using mixed stir fry veggies, and also the sauce somehow got tastier as it cooked. Tastes so authentic!
Delphine says
July 12, 2017 at 5:45 pmHello Richa,
I love this recipe! It is so easy and satisfying! I was wondering if I could make a batch of the sauce, and keep it in a jar in the fridge ? How long would it last ?
Thank you !
Richa says
July 12, 2017 at 11:03 pmyes you can mix up the sauce ingredients in a jar and refrigerate them for upto a month. Toss in the veggies and add the cornstarh slurry to thicken.
Tiffany says
November 13, 2017 at 6:54 pmI am not a “officially” a vegan but gave been trying to reduce consumption. This dish was AMAZING! I followed the directions to the tee and it came out perfect. So flavorful and the texture of the chickpeas made it complete. Thank you for the great recipe!
Richa says
November 14, 2017 at 12:30 amAwesome!!
Tiffany George says
January 21, 2018 at 3:59 pmExcellent! Replaced chickpeas with lentils (all I had). Left out the broccoli, but everything else was the same. Thanks!
Richa says
January 21, 2018 at 7:42 pmAwesome! Yes i use lentils often with the sauces too!
Tara says
April 6, 2018 at 8:20 pmVery tasty! Just a little too sweet for my taste. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I’ll reduce it. Great easy weeknight dinner.
Richa says
April 6, 2018 at 10:45 pmgreat! yes adjust the sweet and tang to preference.
Kelsey says
June 15, 2018 at 7:42 amI love this recipe! This sauce is brilliant!! I’m tempted to get a jar and make an entire batch for whenever I get a takeout craving. It’s become our favorite way of using up left over vegetables. I reduced the sugar and it still tasted excellent! I’ve had it with red pepper flakes to make it spicy and also added pineapple. I never have a thickener so I make it a little watery which is perfect for marinating tempeh.
Richa says
June 15, 2018 at 10:28 amI have this sauce scaled up to make ahead in my second book for this reason. It keeps so well and is amazing to make a stir fry with whenever needed with veggies, beans, tofu, baked cauliflower, seitan etc
TIffabny says
August 27, 2018 at 4:22 pmI LOVE this. I make this over and over!
Richa says
August 27, 2018 at 5:19 pmyay
Ashley says
October 21, 2018 at 2:48 pmServed to my (non-vegan) parents and they LOVED it! Mom even asked for the recipe. 🙂
My only substitution was to double the sauce ingredients (except the sugar). Served with riced cauliflower for fewer carbs.
Richa says
October 21, 2018 at 10:20 pmawesome!
Annie says
January 21, 2019 at 2:32 pmThis recipe is amazing – so glad I found it and you. I might be eating the sauce with a spoon. 🙂
Kristy says
March 26, 2019 at 2:30 pmDelicious! skipped the cayenne, and added around an extra cup to cup and half of veggies ( pea pods, zucchini, bok choy, and water chestnuts) and still had enough sauce. My 3 yr old also loved it and asked for more! Thank you
Richa says
March 26, 2019 at 6:47 pmawesome
Jessica says
April 20, 2020 at 7:49 amExcellent! I was able to make this oil-free by sauteeing in vegetable broth, and it worked great. Definitely worth making again! I think this could also be good using soy curls in place of chickpeas. I might try that.
Jwiltz says
May 22, 2020 at 2:01 pmWe made this as written and it was DELICIOUS! It was so quick to make also. — Forget the takeout; make this!