Teriyaki Chickpeas

Teriyaki Chickpeas is a quick and easy recipe that can be made in 10 minutes! A healthy vegan version of teriyaki chicken with all the same salty, sweet, tangy, and umami flavors of your favorite takeout! This one-pan meal is also gluten-free, allergy-free, and completely plant-based! It's great for a weeknight dinner or meal prep for lunch!

Salty, sweet, tangy, umami...everyone loves that distinctive teriyaki flavor! A classic Japanese takeout dish, but this time we're swapping the chicken for chickpeas! Vegan teriyaki chicken perfected with the use of chickpeas and made with a flavor-packed sticky sauce without soy! Why sacrifice this delicious Asian dish when, with just a few swaps, you can make it healthier, allergy-free, and 100% plant-based?

What Exactly Is Teriyaki?

Teriyaki is the term used for a specific style of Japense cooking that includes grilling or broiling with a sweet and savory umami sauce made of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar (i.e. "Glossy Broil". Nowadays, you'll also find the technique used in other Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Indonesian, and Thai. The sauce is used to marinate the meat, typically chicken, duck, or fish, before it is cooked. In America, we've taken the essence of the sauce and used it at will, not always with the specific cooking technique.

Why You'll Love This Vegan Recipe

Obviously, this recipe is meatless and vegetarian, but we're not subbing in gross mock meat or soy, like tofu. We're using everyone's favorite meaty legume, the chickpea! Since this blog is allergy-free, meaning no soy, the teriyaki sauce is made without soy sauce and uses coconut amino instead. If you'd like to make a large batch of teriyaki sauce, you can follow my recipe for homemade soy-free teriyaki sauce here! This recipe for teriyaki chickpeas is:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free)
• Grain-Free
• Healthy & Budget-Friendly
• Packed with 100% Plant-Based Protein
• Quick & Easy Lunch or Dinner
• Great for Meal Prep & Leftovers

Ingredients For Vegan Teriyaki Chicken

• Chickpeas: A can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Chickpeas are the best hearty bean to stand up to this sticky teriyaki sauce without becoming mushy.
• Starch: You can coat the chickpeas with cornstarch or arrowroot starch, which is grain-free. This helps the sauce thicken and cling to the chickpeas.
• Black Pepper + Salt: Season the starch with a bit of black pepper and a pinch of salt. I prefer to use extra salt due to the saltiness of the coconut aminos.
• Coconut Aminos: Coconut aminos are the equivalent of a soy-free, gluten-free soy sauce! It has the distinct salty umami flavor you love without the allergens. It is slightly less salty than real soy sauce, so you can factor that in when choosing to season with extra salt.
• Pineapple Juice: I love the natural sweetness and tanginess of using pineapple juice when making teriyaki sauce. I love the fruity notes it adds and the natural sweet/sour stickiness.
• Rice Vinegar: For some acidity to break up the sweetness, a splash of rice vinegar is added to the sauce.
• Sugars: A small amount of brown sugar and granulated sugar is used in the sauce. I choose to use sugar-free brown sugar and sugar-free granulated sugar. These help bring the sweetness level up a notch since 100% pineapple isn't 100% sweet.
• Chili Paste + Garlic + Ginger: For some heat, we're using chili paste (or sriracha), minced garlic is a must for flavor, and ground ginger for warmth and spice.
• Broccoli + Scallions: You might as well throw in some veggies for good measure, and broccoli is ideal since it soaks up all the flavors of the sauce in the soft crown as it stir-fries. Scallions are used as a garnish at the end before serving since teriyaki doesn't contain onion directly.

Ingredient Substitutions And Add-Ins

• Add More Veggies: You can add more veggies or swap out the broccoli for options like bell peppers, snow peas, water chestnuts, cauliflower, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, etc.
• Other Sweeteners: You can swap the brown and granulated sugars for vegan honey, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup.
• Make-Ahead Teriyaki Sauce: If you already have homemade teriyaki sauce, you can use ½ cup and 2 tablespoons of the sauce instead of measuring out all the portioned ingredients here.
• Spiciness: If you want a spicier teriyaki, feel free to add more chili paste. Seasonings can all be adjusted to your flavor preferences!

How To Make Teriyaki Chickpeas

1. Toss your drained and rinsed chickpeas with the starch, black pepper, and pinch of salt.
2. Mix together the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl until everything is fully combined.

3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan before adding the coated chickpeas and broccoli (or other veggies you choose to include). Saute for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
4. Now, pour in the bowl of teriyaki sauce and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the mixture to thicken until it becomes sticky and easily clings to the chickpeas and veggies, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and serve the teriyaki chickpeas with chopped scallions, sesame seeds, and white rice, if desired.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• The sauce thickens even more as it cools. If you want a looser sauce, add an extra tablespoon of both coconut aminos and pineapple juice. If you feel the sauce isn't thick enough (99.5% chance this will not happen), continue to stir fry over low heat until the sauce becomes syrupy.
• If you choose to add more veggies, you may need to add an extra tablespoon of oil when you initially saute the veggies and chickpeas so nothing gets stuck and burns to the pan.
• Taste and adjust any seasonings to the sauce before adding it to the pan.
• You can easily make a larger batch of this recipe by doubling or tripling the ingredients and following the same directions.

What To Serve Teriyaki Chickpeas With

Keep it classic and simple with a side of white rice and garnished with fresh chopped scallions. A sprinkle of sesame seeds is delicious if you don't need the dish to be sesame-free! You can also serve these chickpeas with vegetable fried rice, pineapple fried rice, sriracha quinoa, low-carb cauliflower rice, steamed veggies, or a scoop of gluten-free scallion noodles!

How To Store Leftovers

Store leftovers or make-ahead meal prep by allowing the teriyaki chickpeas to cool to room temperature before transferring them to an airtight container and storing in the fridge for 5-7 days. You can freeze the chickpeas by adding them to a freezer-safe bag and laying the bag flat in the freezer until solid (this makes it easier to store and move around the freezer. Use within 5-6 months for best quality. When you're ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge.

How To Reheat

Toss leftover chickpeas into a pan on the stove over low heat to warm them back up! Add a tablespoon each of coconut aminos and pineapple juice, if needed, to loosen up the sauce. You can also heat individual servings in the microwave for a minute or two. We all know that takeout makes the best leftovers since the flavors have more time to develop!

More Vegan Takeout Recipes:

• Vegan Sweet and Sour Chickpeas
• Vegan Orange Chicken (Orange Chickpeas)
• Vegan Butter Chicken (Indian Butter Chickpeas)
• Vegan General Tso's Chickpeas
• Easy Vegan Pad Thai
• 10-Minute Vegetable Lo Mein
• Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

Print

Such a great quick and easy meatless recipe to make and eat on repeat! These teriyaki chickpeas will be a staple in your lunch and dinner rotation now!

So tell me:

+ Do you make your teriyaki sauce with pineapple juice?

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