These honey sesame chickpea lettuce wraps are perfect if you’re in the mood for a quick and flavorful vegetarian meal. Crispy chickpeas tossed with a sweet and sticky sauce and served over rice and fresh lettuce for a deliciously healthy dinner or lunch in less than 20 minutes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chickpeas: I always use canned chickpeas for recipes like these. You can make your own from dry, but canned is much quicker. Make sure you drain the chickpeas and rinse them thoroughly before continuing with the recipe.
Cornstarch: I like to use just a little bit of cornstarch to help the chickpeas get super crispy in the pan and also give the sauce something to stick to.
Honey: Honey makes the sauce super thick, sticky and sweet without any added thickeners. Unfortunately, since honey is an animal product, these honey sesame chickpeas are not vegan. However, there are some brands out there that carry vegan honey made from plants!
Soy Sauce: Adds a little saltiness and umami to the chickpeas which helps cut some of the sweetness from the honey.
Garlic: Just one clove, I like to push mine through a garlic press so I don’t end up with any big chunks in the sauce.
Lime juice: The acid from the lime juice really helps bring out the flavor from all the other ingredients.
Sesame oil: I love adding sesame oil to any asian inspired sauce as it adds such an interesting flavor for such a tiny amount. Toasted sesame oil works best, however anything you have on hand will also work.
Lettuce: You’ll want pretty big leafs of lettuce to hold the chickpeas. I like to buy a big head of bib lettuce and take the individual leaves off. Butter lettuce can also work too.
(Full ingredient list and instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page)
How to Make Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
Step 1: Dry the chickpeas: In order for the chickpeas to crisp up in the pan, its important that they are very dry when they hit the oil. To ensure this, lay your drained and rinsed chickpeas out on several sheets of paper towel. Use another few two gently roll them back and forth and pat them dry. Careful not to press too hard or the outer layer might come off.
Step 2: Toss with cornstarch and fry: Transfer your chickpeas to a bowl and toss with cornstarch to coat. Get a large skillet pretty hot before adding in a few tablespoons of oil. When shimmering, dump in the chickpeas. Cook for about 10-15, stirring once in a while until the chickpeas are golden brown and crispy. It’s important to use a big skillet so the chickpeas can all have direct contact with the heat. If not, they might get soggy.
Step 3: Make the sauce: while the chickpeas are cooking, make the sauce. Just whisk together the honey, pressed garlic, soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside until he chickpeas are done.
Step 4: Serve: When the chickpeas are crispy, pour in the sauce and cook until heated through and thickened slightly. About 2 minutes. Serve the chickpeas immediately over sticky rice (optional) and big leaves of lettuce. I also like to top mine with a. good sprinkle of sesame seeds for extra crunch. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
I love serving these chickpea lettuce wraps with short grain white sticky rice. It’s super easy and quick to make, just 1 cup of rice + 2 cups of water in a pot plus a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes covered. You can also make this delicious coconut lime sticky rice from my Sticky Date Glazed Chicken Recipe.
If you’re looking to add another vegetable, I would recommend some roasted broccoli or steamed green beans.
More Easy Recipes to Try:
- Crunchy brown rice bowls with salmon and herbed tahini
- Toasted lemon pepper orzo with crispy chickpeas
- Superfood citrus salad
Made these chickpea lettuce wraps? Tag@wandering_chickpeaon Instagram to be featured in my stories and follow along onPinterestfor more delicious recipes!
Yield: 4 servings
Honey Sesame Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
Sweet and sticky honey sesame chickpeas made with just a few simple pantry ingredients and ready in less than 20 minutes!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp heat-tolerant oil
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Bib lettuce, cooked sushi rice and toasted sesame seeds for serving
Instructions
- Start by laying the rinsed chickpeas out on a few sheets of paper towel and gently patting them dry. This will help them crisp up in the pan.
- Transfer the chickpeas to a bowl and toss with the cornstarch to coat.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add chickpeas. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally or until golden brown and crispy.
- While the chickpeas cook, make the sauce. To a small bowl, add honey, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, tomato paste and sesame oil.
- Add the sauce to the crispy chickpeas and cook for another 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bibb lettuce, sushi rice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 304Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 561mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 7gSugar: 13gProtein: 9g
All nutritional info is an estimation
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Tags
asian chickpeas honey lettuce low carb sesame soy sauce vegetarian
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