
Vegan kung pao chickpeas is a Chinese chickpeas recipe made with stir fry vegetables, chickpeas, and spicy sauces. It is delicious, easy to make at home with your favorite vegetables, and can be served for lunch or dinner.
It is a great way to incorporate veggies into meals and kids also enjoy this dish. It can be made in under 30 minutes on busy weekdays.
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Ingredients
To make a vegan kung pao recipe you will need a lot of fresh vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, baby corn, chestnuts, carrots, and green onions. You can easily replace/exclude any of the veggies based on your preference.
You will also need chickpeas. Canned chickpeas or dry ones can be used. I prefer to use dry chickpeas soaked in water for about 8 hours or overnight. You can pressure cook dry or soaked chickpeas in the Instant Pot in advance and store them. If using canned chickpeas, discard the excess liquid.
I like to make my own kung pao sauce using dark soy sauce, chili sauce, sriracha sauce, and vinegar for a perfect flavor. Kung pao chickpeas are made in toasted sesame oil.
Roasted peanuts and unsalted cashews are used in cooking and garnishing. However, you can skip it to make it nut-free.

Instructions
Making vegan kung pao is easy. It just involves the mixing of cooked chickpeas with sauteed vegetables and sauces and it is ready.
If you are using dry chickpeas and not canned ones then soaking the chickpeas in enough water for at least 8 hours is very helpful and reduces the overall pressure cooking time. If however, you have forgotten to soak the chickpeas, you will just have to pressure cook the chickpeas in the Instant Pot for a longer time.
In a heavy bottom pan or wok, heat the toasted sesame oil on medium-high heat and then add a dry whole red chili, raw cashews, peanuts, and garlic paste. You can also check how to make and store homemade garlic paste.

Add all the chopped veggies and some amount of dark soy sauce, chili sauce, sriracha sauce (optional), and rice vinegar. Add some salt and sugar for a little sweetness. Saute the veggies until they are cooked but still crunchy.
While the veggies are cooking, make a cornstarch slurry by adding some cornstarch and water and mixing it well such that there are no lumps. Adding cornstarch slurry gives a smooth consistency to the sauce but is optional.
Add a little water to the veggies and once it starts boiling, add the cornstarch slurry until you get the desired consistency. Mix in the boiled chickpeas and garnish with green onions.

Substitutions
Gluten-free - use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.
Spicy - add more dried red chilies while cookies and red pepper flakes while serving.
Variations
Tofu - to make vegan kung pao tofu, use extra firm tofu instead of chickpeas. You can stir-fry tofu in oil before adding it to the vegetables.
Serving suggestions
It is best to serve the kung pao hot. You can serve it in bowls with jasmine rice, fried rice, or noodles. You can also serve it with basmati rice or cilantro lime rice.
Equipment
Kung pao is made in a skillet or a wok. If you are using dry chickpeas, they can be pressure cooked in a 3 qt. Instant Pot or a larger one.
Storage
Vegan kung pao can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can reheat it in the microwave, stovetop, or Instant Pot.
It can also be frozen in freezer-safe airtight containers once it is completely cooled down. You can portion it and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat, you can defrost it and reheat it in the microwave.

Don't forget to check out these easy dinner recipes
- Vegan fried rice
- Black eyed peas salad
- Mixed vegetable casserole
- Mumbai pav bhaji
- Baked broccoli pasta
- Black chickpeas curry
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📖 Recipe

Vegan Kung Pao
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Chickpeas (soaked for about 8 hrs, or use 1 can canned chickpeas)
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt (to taste)
- 1 cup Water
- ½ tablespoon Organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
- ¼ cup Raw cashews
- 1 Whole Red Chili
Vegetables
Condiments
- 2 tablespoon Dark soy sauce (or tamari sauce for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon Chili sauce (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (optional)
Cornstarch slurry
- 1 tablespoon Corn starch
- 3 tablespoon Water
Instructions
Pressure-cook chickpeas (skip if using canned chickpeas)
- Add water and soaked chickpeas in the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 18 minutes on high-pressure mode.
- Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure.
Saute vegetables
- Heat a skillet or wok on medium-high heat.
- Add sesame oil, once heated add whole dry red chili, peanuts, cashews, and garlic paste and saute for a few seconds.
- Add bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, chestnuts, the white portion of scallions, and baby corn, and saute all vegetables until crunchy.
- Add salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon chili sauce, sriracha sauce (optional), and vinegar and mix well.
Make corn starch slurry
- Add water and corn starch and mix well.
Make kung pao chickpeas
- Add the cooked chickpeas and the liquid and let it simmer for a minute. (If using canned chickpeas, add ¼ cup water and the chickpeas)
- Add the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce.
- Give it a good mix, garnish with chopped scallions and roasted peanuts.
Notes
- If using dry chickpeas without soaking, it will take about 45-50 minutes of pressure cooking. Check out how to cook chickpeas in the instant pot.
You may also like these 20+ Indian instant pot kid-friendly vegetarian recipes.
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