This is a classic Chinese takeout recipe with a twist! These Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas are a bit sweet, a little spicy and super savory with the perfect amount of umami. Think buttery soft chickpeas with crunchy celery and peanuts covered in the most delicious sauce!
Out of all Chinese take-out dishes, kung pao has been my favorite for as long as I can remember. I thought I’d make a vegan version of my favorite dish so here it is y’all… kung pao chickPEAS!
Now THIS is what I call fakeout takeout. It tastes like takeout but it’s obviously much healthier – a dish you can feel really good about eating and feeding your family. It’s so tasty that you’ll probably forget it’s healthy.
It’s hard to find a restaurant that will make this dish gluten-free and I’m also pretty sure I’ve never seen a vegan version on any menu as well. This dish is both! We’re killing two birds with one stone here — not actual birds of course… this is a vegetarian dish after all. 🤓
I love chickpeas and I love using them as a meat substitute. They’re perfect for a satisfying meatless meal. Plus they’re fun to eat and toddler friendly too. I know you guys really loved my take on butter chicken with my butter chickpeas recipe and I’m sure you’ll love these kung pao chickpeas just as much.
a dump and cook recipe!
This recipe for Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas is full of flavor and texture. It’s a breeze to make too – basically a pour and cook type of recipe with a bit of stir-frying at the very end.
To make this dish, you literally just dump a bunch of ingredients into the instant pot and cook! While the dish cooks, you can prepare some ingredients to add into the pot later. Once the chickpeas are done cooking, you just add the remaining ingredients (water chestnuts, peanuts, celery and bell pepper) for a quick stir-fry, add some garnish and you’re done! You can add a thickener if you want – it won’t affect the flavor but will make the sauce a bit thicker. I like to do this but totally up to you!
talk about texture heaven!
You guys, this dish is texture GOALS. I know that’s not actually a thing but here on the blog texture is EVERYTHING hence the phrase texture goals. I’m talking buttery soft chickpeas paired with crunchy ingredients like peanuts, celery and water chestnuts! I know kung pao normally doesn’t call for water chestnuts but I’m a crunch nut and loooove water chestnuts in Asian recipes. Please add them, you will thank me.
I prefer to use dried chickpeas:
I love using dried chickpeas – I keep them in my pantry. I buy a big bag of organic dried chickpeas from my local Indian grocery store and they are extremely affordable. I want to say 1 cup of dried chickpeas = around 3 cans. You can use canned of course – if you do, there’s really no need for a pressure cooker as canned beans are already cooked. I personally prefer the flavor of cooking dried beans over canned and I also feel like they absorb flavor better.
I normally soak chickpeas overnight – it makes them nice and plump! If you forget to soak them overnight, you can easily do a quick soak by covering the dried chickpeas with an inch of water and pressure cooking them for 10 minutes with a natural release. Then dump out the water, rinse the chickpeas well and follow the directions from there.
I hope you love this recipe for kung pao chickpeas! Tell me what you think if you make it!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight (or see directions on how to quick soak)*
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to taste
Add later:
- 1 8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained, optional
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper i like using red and green
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- ½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts
Garnish:
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Handful of chopped scallions
Optional:
- Slurry made by mixing 1 teaspoon arrowroot in 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Soak chickpeas in cold water overnight. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Add all of the ingredients except for the ones listed under “add later” to the Instant Pot and mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 35 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Press the saute button, then add all of the ingredients listed under “add later” and the optional slurry if you prefer a thicker sauce. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the bell peppers are slightly tender.
- Stir in the sesame seed oil then sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions and serve.
Austin says
This recipe is delicious! I subbed chopped carrots for the water chestnuts and a tsp of sriracha for the red chili flakes. It tastes so good and is so easy to make.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Austin, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked this 🙂
Anne Frances Pugh says
I love this recipe so tasty and easy to make!
Yummmmm
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Anne, so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like it 🙂
Cat says
I’m a little confused. Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas 35 minutes? My Instant Pot manual says max 15 mins for soaked chickpeas; 32-35 for dried chickpeas. Can you please confirm this recipe should be 35 mins for soaked chickpeas?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Cat, it depends on how cooked you prefer your chickpeas. I prefer the texture at 35 minutes as I like my chickpeas to be very soft. I’ve tried using shorter cook times but haven’t liked the texture – feel free to adjust to your preference though.
Eric says
Made this for lunch, prepped the Ninja Foodi in the morning and popped up to turn it on after some meetings. Wonderful flavors, stir fried the veggies with the sesame oil before putting in the pot. Any suggestions for replacing monkfruit for sugar and xanthan gum for the arrowroot?
My Heart Beets says
Eric, glad you liked the flavors! I haven’t tried those substitutes so I’m not sure but if you do try, please let us know how it goes – or hopefully if another reader sees this and has tried they can help!
Kerry says
I did the quick soak, then followed the recipe. These absolutely do not need 35 minutes for processed chick peas… I ended up with a slop.
Kamila says
So yummy, easy to make and inexpensive; I already had most of the ingredients on hand. I plan to make this over and over again, it’s that good! I did use canned chickpeas (3 cans) and made it as a stir fry and it came out perfect. I didn’t have onion powder on hand so I finely diced 1/2 a red onion and added that to the stir fry which worked great. Served over rice this made lunches for myself and my husband for three days. Thank you for another wonderful vegetarian recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Kamila, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked this recipe 🙂
sarah says
Seriously delicious. It really was texture heaven! This will definitely be added into my regular rotation.
My Heart Beets says
Sarah, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
Karishma says
How long would it need to be pressure cooked if I use canned chickpeas? I don’t have dried chickpeas on hand.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Karishma, canned chickpeas are already cooked so you can actually just make this a stir-fry and leave out the water in the recipe 🙂 I will say though that I think dried chickpeas absorb flavor better, but I’m sure it’ll still be good!
Elyse says
Wowza Ashley, this one was a hit with a crowd. Homemade chickpeas have such flavor. I did 1.5 x the recipe, wish I had made more. Not sure if I needed to double the sauce. This recipe is fool proof. I was in a hurry, so I reduced pressure time to 30 and released after 5. Although I had soaked the chickpeas for a long time. I forgot the sesame oil!!!! I didn’t do the slurry. More peanuts would be ok.
My Heart Beets says
Elyse, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know how the kung pao chickpeas turned out for you!! 🙂 And yes, add as many peanuts as you want lol – I LOVE them!
Sana says
Just tried this. Realized my sesame oil was not toasted but good all the same!! I like the bold flavors and it was nice to have a dump recipe! Super easy!! Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Sana, so glad you liked it!
Sarah says
I made this last night (paired it with your onion masala shakshuka and rice) and it has been declared “the best side dish” :). Thank for another lovely recipe- I love your creativity!!
My Heart Beets says
Sarah, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
James says
How many hrs do you soak the chickpeas for and could I leave out the sugar or substitute honey? Plan on making this evening
My Heart Beets says
Hi James, I soak them overnight but sometimes I’ll also do a “quick soak” – you can read my notes in the recipe card on how to do that 🙂 Let me know what you think of this recipe!
Claudine says
Any idea if you could use this recipe with other beans? Like Navy or Fava? Love your recipes!
My Heart Beets says
I don’t see why not! Let me know what you think if you try!
Maneesha says
This is on the menu for tonight! So excited!
My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it Maneesha!
Maneesha says
WOW!! Loved it, absolutely LOVED this recipe! No more ordering Kung Pao in restaurants for me! This kung pao chickpea recipe was INCREDIBLE! The spice blend was perfect! I added some sriracha for extra heat, and it turned out beautifully! Thank you, Ashley!
My Heart Beets says
I’m so so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out Maneesha!!