Published: · Modified: by Stephanie McKercher, RDN · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments
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This Spicy Peanut Chickpea Bowls post is sponsored by USA Pulses & Pulse Canada. As a proud pulse partner, I’ll be sharing a series of 8 healthy and simple recipes featuring chickpeas, dry peas, lentils, and beans this year.
I never know exactly how, when, or why my Thai food cravings will strike, only that they’ll undoubtedly be back. This is true even after so many failed attempts at takeout. Scouring online menus, waiting the full hour (why is it always an hour?), finally getting home with my peanut-sauced prizes, and finally (finally) having a taste. A taste of pure, unadulterated...underwhelm.
Where are the flavors? The spices? Why is my meal lukewarm? I mean sure, I’ve had someamazing Thai food in my day but especially after moving from the big city of Chicago to small-town Colorado, I’ve found that tossing together my own quick and easy spicy peanut sauce leads to much more consistent results.
Recently, I found myself without rice noodles or tofu when my inevitable pad thai cravings returned but mostly due to the experiences outlined above, I still thought twice about dialing the number for takeout. I didn’t need sub-par takeout. I already had an incredibly versatile and nutritious ingredient in my pantry, just waiting to be tossed in spicy peanut sauce and roasted to crispy perfection: pulses.
Pulses are the delicious, protein-packed, sustainable foods we know more commonly as dry peas, chickpeas, lentils, and beans. Pulses (especially chickpeas) are one of my greatest pantry weapons because they can be cooked in so many different ways. As soon as I saw chickpeas in my pantry, I knew I had found my solution. Even though my dish would be decidedly nontraditional, I could easily use chickpeas to cash in on all those delicious spicy peanut flavors I was after.
This simple buddha bowl recipe incorporates crispy roasted chickpeas, seasonal spring collard greens, and a simple homemade spicy peanut sauce that can be whipped together faster than you can say, “I’d like to place an order for takeout.” Thai-inspired flavors with a quick and easy weeknight twist that will leave you happy, satisfied, and anything but underwhelmed.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Peanut Chickpea Bowls with Sesame Greens
Chickpea bowls served with spicy peanut sauce and seasonal sesame oil greens for the delicious flavors of Thai take-out from home. Easy plant-based recipe!
4.50 from 2 votes
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Course: dinner, entree, lunch
Cuisine: dairy-free, gluten-free, plant-based, vegan, vegetarian
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Author: Stephanie McKercher, RDN
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas prepare dry chickpeas in advance or drain and rinse canned chickpeas to save time
- ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter or substitute with another nut or seed butter if desired
- 1 lime zest and juice
- 3 teaspoons soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, divided
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper depending on level of spiciness desired
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 6-10 tablespoons water divided (or as needed to thin to sauce consistency)
- 2 cups chopped collard greens or substitute with another seasonal green
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- For serving optional: cooked brown rice or grain of choice (prepare in advance or reheat from frozen to save time), chopped peanuts, chopped green onions, torn basil leaves, sliced avocado
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400º F and prepare a baking sheet. If needed, dry chickpeas by rolling them between two paper towels. Spread chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and set aside.
Combine peanut butter, lime, 2 teaspoons soy sauce/tamari, crushed red pepper, and ginger in a small mixing bowl. Whisk with a fork, gradually adding one tablespoon of water at a time until sauce is thick and creamy yet pourable. (Sauce tends to thicken over time, so you may need to add additional water if you prepare it in advance.) Pour about 2 tablespoons of the sauce on top of the chickpeas and roll/mix until each is well-coated with sauce. Place baking sheet on center rack of the oven and roast chickpeas until crispy, about 22-26 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the collard greens. Combine chopped greens, sesame oil, and remaining 1 teaspoon of soy sauce in a small hot skillet and sauté until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Assemble the bowls. Spoon cooked brown rice (or another grain if using; prepare in advance or reheat from frozen to save time) between two bowls. Remove chickpeas from the oven and divide them between each of the bowls. Add greens and top each bowl with peanuts, green onions, basil leaves, and avocado as desired. Drizzle remaining peanut sauce over top and enjoy!
Tried this recipe? Tag me on Instagram!Mention @GratefulGrazer or tag #gratefulgrazer.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Head over to Pulses.org/NAP for more healthy and delicious recipes featuring dry peas, chickpeas, lentils, and beans!
[clickToTweet tweet="Try Spicy Peanut Chickpea Bowls for a new take on Thai-inspired flavors right from home!" quote="Try Spicy Peanut Chickpea Bowls for a new take on Thai-inspired flavors right from home!"]
How do you add an unexpected twistto your favorite takeout meals whenyou recreate themat home?
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Reader Interactions
Comments
bitten says
I used Tahini instead of Peanut Butter and also I do not have an oven so I flash fried my chickpeas like I always do, however, after cooking the paste seemed to go a bit thick or something.. it clumped up into tiny balls and was quite dry. I thought I added enough water as it was very runny and I could easily pour in onto the chickpeas. I often make this exact dinner all the time apart from I just often use soy sauce by itself but I wanted to branch off and make my own sauces like this.. but what was I doing wrong? :pMany thanks.
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
Hmm interesting. I haven't tried flash frying but I have made similar roasted chickpeas in the oven with tahini before and it worked well! Roasting does dehydrate them a bit (part of what gives them that delicious crunchy texture) but they can be a little more on the dry side (kind of like a peanut butter cracker) so I like to serve with extra sauce and veggies. I wonder how flash frying would work with a little more oil/water or a tahini paste that's a little more on the runny side? If nothing else, I'd just serve the sauce over your regular soy sauce chickpeas! Hope this helps, happy experimenting! ????
Reply
EA The Spicy RD says
These bowls look absolutely amazing Stephanie!!! Just pnnned-can't wait to enjoy this for lunch one day soon. The spicier the better 🙂
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
Thanks so much, EA! Please enjoy and let me know how you like it! 🙂
Reply
Liz says
This looks so great Steph! I have to admit, I am LOVING the peanut butter flavor lately in savory dishes, so this is right up my ally!
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
Thanks Liz! Me too, peanut butter is for so much more than just sweet dishes! 🙂
Reply
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
This looks so delicious! I love Thai food, but am always disappointed with it when I order in also. It can be hard to get the flavors just right at home though. Can't wait to try this!
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
I love making Thai-inspired dishes at home because you can mess with the flavors until you get them just right for your tastes. Thanks Jessica! 🙂
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Kelli says
I love peanut sauce on anything, so these bowls look delicious! I'm getting ready to move from Boston (awesome thai food) back to Denver where I grew up and have been worried about where I'll get my thai-fix - guess I'll just have to make it at home 😉
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
That's so exciting! I'm no expert on eating out here so I bet we could find a great Thai spot somewhere around here if we looked hard enough! 🙂
Reply
Rebecca says
this looks amazing! I LOVE Thai food & peanut sauce! There's actually a really good Thai restaurant in SLC. Just found it & it's changed my life
Reply
Stephanie McKercher, RDN says
Ohhh I'm going to have to travel there to try it sometime! We're still trying to find our Colorado spot but there's apparently a decent one nearby. I'm going to need to be adventurous!:)
Reply
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