Teriyaki chickpeas are sweet, salty, saucy and the perfect simple lunch or dinner. Made with a homemade teriyaki sauce, these Asian chickpeas are easy to make, ready in under 15 minutes and packed with flavor! This meatless meal is perfect for busy weeknights and is vegan, gluten free and dairy free.
Why you will love this recipe
- So easy to make – making your own teriyaki sauce is so much easier than it sounds, just measure and heat on the stove. The sauce quickly thickens on the stove then the chickpeas are added and cooked until well coated with sauce. So simple!
- Simple ingredients – This simple teriyaki sauce recipe has just a few ingredients that you likely already have on hand. Serve this with rice, quinoa, noodles or even cauliflower rice for a super simple but filing meal.
- Budget friendly – meatless meals are a great way to help stretch your budget. A can of chickpeas is about $0.99 which is much less expensive than other protein sources and it’s just as filling.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas – canned chickpeas are a pantry staple ingredient that is budget friendly and works perfectly in this recipe. The chickpeas are hearty and filling and so easy to work with.
- Coconut aminos – coconut aminos are a substitute for soy sauce and provide a deep umami flavor for the dish. They are a gluten free and soy free alternative to soy sauce that are slightly sweeter and a little less salty than soy sauce.
- Rice wine vinegar – rice wine vinegar helps to balance out the sauce helping create the perfect balance between sweet and salty. If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can use lime juice.
- Maple syrup – maple syrup gives the teriyaki sauce that slightly sweet flavor that makes teriyaki sauce so amazing. You can also use honey or 2 pitted medjool dates (soaked in hot water with the pit removed).
- Spices: Salt, garlic powder, dried chives, fresh or freeze dried ginger (or ground ginger) – I really love to use freeze dried ginger instead of having to always peel and grate fresh ginger. Freeze dried ginger is easy to keep on hand. You can also use ground ginger (about 1 teaspoon) in place of the fresh or freeze dried ginger. The rest of the spices help to add a deep level of flavor to the sauce.
- Arrowroot powder (or tapioca or cornstarch) + water – this helps to thicken the sauce. Be sure to completely dissolve the arrowroot powder in water before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
Top tips
- Be sure to combine the arrowroot in cold or room temperature water and completely dissolve it before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. This process is called making a slurry and it helps ensure that the arrowroot doesn’t clump once heated through.
- This recipe makes super saucy teriyaki chickpeas, so the sauce coats the rice and veggies too. You can easily double the sauce mixture though if you are making a stir fry or adding something like chicken, shrimp or tofu to the dish.
- Great for meal prep! These Asian chickpeas reheat really well and would be great to make a double batch and enjoy all week for lunch with some rice and steamed veggies.
Other additions
- Sesame seeds
- Red pepper flakes
- Sriracha or spicy mayo
- Sliced green onion or cilantro
- Cashews or peanuts
How to serve
- With rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice or noodles
- With broccoli, green beans, peas or carrots
- Make into stir fryer with bell peppers, carrots, peas, sugar snap peas, zucchini or mushrooms
- Make into a buddha bowl with extra sauce or spicy sriracha sauce
- Serve alongside of creamy asian slaw
Common questions
Can you use store bought teriyaki sauce?
Yes! Simply pour the store bought teriyaki sauce over the chickpeas and heat through on the stove.
I would recommend about 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce per can of chickpeas. So 2 cans would need about 1 cup of store bought teriyaki.
Can you use dried chickpeas?
If you only have dried chickpeas on hand, you will want to cook them first then make the recipe. 2 cans of chickpeas is about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas.
You can cook chickpeas in the instant pot (no soaking required). Cook 1 pound with about 6 cups of water on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release and drain the liquid. Store excess cooked chickpeas in the fridge or freezer.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge – store leftover teriyaki chickpeas in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat in the microwave on high heat for 1:30-2 minutes.
- Reheat on the stove, covered on low to medium low heat until heated through.
- Freezer – I recommend storing these in the fridge instead of the freezer because the arrowroot powder doesn’t freeze well.
Substitutions
- Chickpeas – chickpeas have a great texture for this dish. You can also use diced chicken, cooked shrimp or tofu.
- Coconut aminos – these are a gluten free and soy free alternative to soy sauce. You can use tamari (gluten free soy sauce) or regular soy sauce if you can tolerate it.
- Rice wine vinegar – if you don’t have this on hand, you can use lime juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Maple syrup – you can also use honey, date syrup or 2 pitted dates, pitted and soaked in hot water.
- Spices – if you don’t have dried chives, you can add some chopped green onion in place of the chives or you can simply omit them. If you don’t have fresh ginger or freeze dried ginger, you can use 1 teaspoon ground ginger.
- Arrowroot powder – you can use arrowroot, tapioca powder or cornstarch in place of the arrowroot.
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In a bowl, combine coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup and spices.
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In a small bowl, combine arrowroot powder with water. Stir well with a fork until all the arrowroot has been dissolved. Pour this arrowroot slurry into the bowl with the teriyaki sauce ingredients. Stir well.
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Pour the teriyaki sauce into a skillet and heat over medium heat 5-8 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
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Rinse and drain the chickpeas then pour them into the skillet with the teriyaki sauce and cook 3-5 minutes until coated and heated through.
- Be sure to combine the arrowroot in cold or room temperature water and completely dissolve it before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. This process is called making a slurry and it helps ensure that the arrowroot doesn’t clump once heated through.
- This recipe makes super saucy teriyaki chickpeas, so the sauce coats the rice and veggies too. You can easily double the sauce mixture though if you are making a stir fry or adding something like chicken, shrimp or tofu to the dish.
- Great for meal prep! These Asian chickpeas reheat really well and would be great to make a double batch and enjoy all week for lunch with some rice and steamed veggies.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge – store leftover teriyaki chickpeas in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat in the microwave on high heat for 1:30-2 minutes.
- Reheat on the stove, covered on low to medium low heat until heated through.
- Freezer – I recommend storing these in the fridge instead of the freezer because the arrowroot powder doesn’t freeze well.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.