These honey sesame chickpea lettuce wraps are perfect if you’re in the mood for a quick and flavorful vegetarian meal. Crispy chickpeas tossed with a sweet and sticky sauce and served over rice and fresh lettuce for a deliciously healthy dinner or lunch in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Chickpeas: I always use canned chickpeas for recipes like these. You can make your own from dry, but canned is much quicker. Make sure you drain the chickpeas and rinse them thoroughly before continuing with the recipe.

Cornstarch: I like to use just a little bit of cornstarch to help the chickpeas get super crispy in the pan and also give the sauce something to stick to.

Honey: Honey makes the sauce super thick, sticky and sweet without any added thickeners. Unfortunately, since honey is an animal product, these honey sesame chickpeas are not vegan. However, there are some brands out there that carry vegan honey made from plants!

Soy Sauce: Adds a little saltiness and umami to the chickpeas which helps cut some of the sweetness from the honey.

Garlic: Just one clove, I like to push mine through a garlic press so I don’t end up with any big chunks in the sauce.

Lime juice: The acid from the lime juice really helps bring out the flavor from all the other ingredients.

Sesame oil: I love adding sesame oil to any asian inspired sauce as it adds such an interesting flavor for such a tiny amount. Toasted sesame oil works best, however anything you have on hand will also work.

Lettuce: You’ll want pretty big leafs of lettuce to hold the chickpeas. I like to buy a big head of bib lettuce and take the individual leaves off. Butter lettuce can also work too.

(Full ingredient list and instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page)

How to Make Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

Step 1: Dry the chickpeas: In order for the chickpeas to crisp up in the pan, its important that they are very dry when they hit the oil. To ensure this, lay your drained and rinsed chickpeas out on several sheets of paper towel. Use another few two gently roll them back and forth and pat them dry. Careful not to press too hard or the outer layer might come off.

Step 2: Toss with cornstarch and fry: Transfer your chickpeas to a bowl and toss with cornstarch to coat. Get a large skillet pretty hot before adding in a few tablespoons of oil. When shimmering, dump in the chickpeas. Cook for about 10-15, stirring once in a while until the chickpeas are golden brown and crispy. It’s important to use a big skillet so the chickpeas can all have direct contact with the heat. If not, they might get soggy.

Step 3: Make the sauce: while the chickpeas are cooking, make the sauce. Just whisk together the honey, pressed garlic, soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside until he chickpeas are done.

Step 4: Serve: When the chickpeas are crispy, pour in the sauce and cook until heated through and thickened slightly. About 2 minutes. Serve the chickpeas immediately over sticky rice (optional) and big leaves of lettuce. I also like to top mine with a. good sprinkle of sesame seeds for extra crunch. Enjoy!

What to Serve with Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

I love serving these chickpea lettuce wraps with short grain white sticky rice. It’s super easy and quick to make, just 1 cup of rice + 2 cups of water in a pot plus a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes covered. You can also make this delicious coconut lime sticky rice from my Sticky Date Glazed Chicken Recipe.

If you’re looking to add another vegetable, I would recommend some roasted broccoli or steamed green beans.

More Easy Recipes to Try:

• Crunchy brown rice bowls with salmon and herbed tahini
• Toasted lemon pepper orzo with crispy chickpeas
• Superfood citrus salad

Made these chickpea lettuce wraps? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram to be featured in my stories and follow along on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!