This recipe for Chickpea & Vegetable Fried Rice uses pantry-friendly ingredients, is very versatile, and has a delicious, tangy, lime-maple sauce.
When you need to use up those veggies, or have leftover rice in the fridge, fried rice is the way to go. Balanced with plant-based protein, veggies, and whole grains, this nourishing vegan fried rice recipe has it all!
This recipe was inspired by my Panko Tofu 'Meat' Noodle Bowl, as well as my Sheet Pan Tofu & Broccoli Teriyaki on this site.
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🍛 Why This Recipe Is Fabulous
- You can use most veggies in this recipe, including frozen. Just stick to the cup measurements.
- Use leftover rice and this dish is ready in under 30 minutes.
- Wholesome brown rice gets a makeover in this recipe. It's hard to know you're eating brown rice!
- The ingredients are pantry-friendly.
📖 How to Make This Recipe
- Start by roasting the chickpeas until they are deliciously crispy.
- While they are roasting, make the sauce, and cook the vegetables.
- Add the cooked rice to the vegetables and heat until the rice is golden brown.
- Heat the sauce until thickened, and add the roasted chickpeas.
- Transfer the saucy chickpeas to the vegetables and rice. Mix to combine.
- Enjoy!
👩🏼🌾 Ingredients & Nutrition
Short-Grain Brown Rice
Freshly cooked rice typically makes for a mushy fried rice. No one wants that! However, short-grain rice holds its texture even when freshly cooked. This means you can make this recipe without planning ahead. If you do happen to have some leftover rice, any rice will work.
Vegetables
Most veggies will work in this recipe. Use carrots, peas, cabbage, or even small cauliflower florets. Frozen carrots, and peas work too.
Sauce
This sauce has a tang from the fresh lime juice, a subtle sweetness from the maple syrup, and a hint of spice from the sriracha. It brings the dish together perfectly.
Chickpeas
Honestly, I could eat chickpeas everyday!
Chickpeas are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Fiber feeds our good bacteria and helps us to feel full, so we don't overeat. Additionally, chickpeas are high in plant-based protein, making them an excellent addition to this balanced meal.
Use canned or cooked chickpeas. I like to cook my own, but canned chickpeas work just as well. If you are using your own cooked chickpeas, use 1 ½ cups for this recipe.
Mix the saucy chickpeas with the rice for serving. This makes the rice even more flavorful.
Broccoli is a superstar veggie. It's low in calories but packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Broccoli is in the cruciferous vegetable family along with kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
Cruciferous vegetables contain a range of antioxidants, which may help prevent the type of cell damage that leads to cancer.
One of these is sulforaphane, which is a sulfur-containing compound that gives cruciferous vegetables their bitter bite.
Bell peppers are low in calories and are loaded with good nutrients. All varieties are excellent sources of vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid, and fiber.
Red bell peppers pack the most nutrition, because they've been on the vine longest. Green peppers are harvested earlier, before they have a chance to turn yellow, orange, and then red. Compared to green bell peppers, the red ones have significantly more beta-carotene and vitamin C.
If you are a fan or fried rice, you will enjoy this gut-healthy Korean Kimchi Fried Rice recipe. Make sure to visit my Vegan Asian Recipes page for more Asian-inspired dinner ideas.
👩🏽🍳 Made This Recipe?
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I would love it if you would rate this recipe and leave a comment. Thank you in advance.
📖 Recipe
Chickpea & Vegetable Fried Rice
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Ingredients
- ¾ cups short grain brown rice or 2 ½ cups cooked rice
- 15 ounces chickpeas canned, drained and rinsed
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons water
- ⅓ cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- Juice of one-half lime plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
For the veggies:
- 1 tablespoon neutral flavored cooking oil
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup broccoli florets (1 medium head broccoli)
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (1 medium bell pepper)
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Cook the rice as per packet directions.
- Roast Chickpeas: Place the chickpeas onto a large, rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk the cornstarch, and water. Add the tamari, rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, sriracha, lime juice, garlic, and ginger. Adjust the maple syrup, and lime juice to taste. Set aside.
- For the veggies, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, broccoli, and bell pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
- Cook: Add the cooked rice to the veggies and stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the rice starts to turn golden brown, stirring occasionally and flattening out the rice so it cooks evenly. Add the tamari, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. Mix to incorporate. Set aside.
- Heat Sauce: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sauce for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Stir in the roasted chickpeas and mix to combine. Cook for about 1 minute more, or until the chickpeas are coated with the sauce and warmed through.
- Combine: Transfer the chickpeas and sauce to the sauté pan with the rice and veggies. Cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, or until warmed through.
Notes
- Most types of leftover, previously refrigerated rice can be substituted for the short grain brown rice in this recipe. Freshly cooked medium or long grain rice becomes mushy in fried rice. Short grain rice holds its shape, as does leftover refrigerated rice.
- For the broccoli, slice the small green florets from the top of the head of the broccoli using a sharp knife. Reserve the remaining broccoli for another use.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Madhuri says
it was amazing! The crunchy chickpeas really added a whole new level.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed their crunch! Thank you.
Hansa says
Loved this chickpea recipe! Great way to get protein into our meal and the sauce was delicious and so versatile.
Nisha Melvani says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the dish Hansa. Thank you so much for letting me know.
xxx
Estelle Fong says
Roasting chickpeas is brilliant and this meal comes together super fast. A hit with our whole family. Love Nisha’s sauce as usual and always try to make a little extra to use on another dish.
Nisha Melvani says
Your family are such adventurous eaters. I'm so happy they like my dishes.