These Kung Pao Chickpeas are cooked in a flavorful sauce that rivals your favorite take-out restaurant, and they couldn’t be much easier to prepare. Just throw the ingredients in your slow cooker in the morning and it will be ready for you by dinnertime! I love using chickpeas as a substitute for chicken in vegetarian recipes because they’re loaded with filling fiber and plant-based protein. Chickpeas have about 15 grams of protein per cup! Like other pulses, chickpeas are also a source of complex carbohydrates, which are thought to help balance your blood sugar levels and give you sustained energy. Cooking this dish in a slow cooker allows the chickpeas to marinate in this flavorful Kung Pao sauce, for maximum flavor with minimum effort. While developing this recipe, I noticed that other recipes for Kung Pao Chicken call for a prepared hoisin sauce and one or more types of chiles. I’ll be honest– those ingredients sound a little too complicated for me, so my goal was to make this version as easy as possible. I hope you’ll enjoy this less-authentic (but still totally delicious) recipe that you can make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. You can can add a handful of peanuts at the end for some added crunch, but I decided to make my recipe nut-free and more allergy friendly. Either way, it’s a total crowd-pleaser! If you try this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below! I’d also love to hear from you if you make any substitutions. We can all benefit from your experience! SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave
