orange sesame chickpea bowl

DAIRY FREE | vegetarian

sweet & tangy orange sesame chickpea bowl!

One of my absolute favorite things I used to order from my local Chinese restaurant when I was a kid was orange chicken over rice. The balance of sweet and tangy citrus with a little bit of a chili kick to it was absolutely mouth-watering!

Don’t get me wrong.. I still LOVE orange chicken, but those take-out places have a way of adding loads of extra oils, sodium or even MSG to their already heavily-fried recipes. For this meal, I wanted to incorporate all of the same flavors but simplify the ingredients in order to make it more of a whole-food meal option!

While I personally am not vegetarian, I do love vegetables and try to incorporate tons of them into my meals every week. This orange sesame chickpea bowl is loaded with flavor from fresh ingredients like crisp broccoli, freshly squeezed orange juice, toasted sesame and spicy chili. While I chose to pair this dish with jasmine rice that I seasoned with lime, salt & pepper; this orange chickpea and broccoli blend would be delicious over brown rice, cauliflower rice, rice noodles and more!

THE RECIPE

makes roughly 3 servings

prep time: 15 minutes // cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 30 Minutes

ingredients:

1 15.5 oz can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed⠀
1 tsp Sesame Oil ⠀
2 1/2 Cups Broccoli, chopped
3/4 Cup Yellow Onion, chopped ⠀
1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic ⠀
1/2 tsp Crushed Ginger ⠀
2.5 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ⠀
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (or alternative such as coconut aminos)
1/2 Cup Warm Water ⠀
1 Tbsp Honey⠀
1/4 tsp Salt⠀
1/4 tsp Pepper⠀
1 tsp White Sesame Seeds⠀
1 tsp Black Sesame Seeds⠀
1/4 tsp Chili Paste ⠀
⠀
For Extra Sauce:⠀
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce ⠀
1 Tbsp Orange juice⠀
1/4 tsp Crushed Ginger⠀
1 Tsp Honey⠀

method:

Over medium-high heat, add sesame oil to a large pan with chopped onion.
Let simmer until the onions are soft and translucent (roughly 5-7 minutes.)
Next, add the chopped broccoli, chickpeas, garlic, ginger, orange juice and water to the pan. Stir ingredients and then cover to simmer for 5 minutes to steam and soften the vegetables.
Uncover the pan and add in the soy sauce (or alternative,) honey, sesame seeds, chili paste, salt & pepper.
Continue to cook for roughly another 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has been evaporated and veggies are nice and tender.
Serve veggies over rice of choice!

recipe notes:

If you would prefer not to incorporate soy sauce, feel free to substitute for alternatives such as coconut aminos or tamari.
This veggie mix works great over any rice but I used jasmine rice for this recipe and seasoned it with salt, pepper and lime juice! This would also be delicious over rice noodles!
Want to make this recipe with chicken instead? Sub the chickpeas for 1 lb of cubed chicken breast! Fully cook the chicken on the stovetop first before adding it to the pan with the rest of the ingredients.