Spiced Chickpea Tacos

Make spicy roasted chickpeas, sautéed peppers and onions, and a homemade chipotle crema for perfect Spiced Chickpea Tacos.

Roast chickpeas in a blend of savory spices

For a while I was on a kick of trying a new type of taco every Tuesday. After I had made it through lots of different meat options, I had to get creative with a plant based taco.

These flavorful chickpea tacos are perfect for vegans and meat eaters alike. Spicy chickpeas are the start of show. Roast them in a blend of spices until they are crispy and delicious.
Then, build the tacos with the spicy roasted chickpeas, sautéed peppers and onions and a homemade chipotle crema. I also like to garnish them with some fresh lime juice and cilantro!

Kitchen Tools

• Measuring spoons and measuring cups
• Cutting board and sharp knife
• Sheet pan and parchment paper
• Saute pan
• Blender or food processor

serving Suggestions

I like to serve these on freshly toasted small corn tortillas. If you have a gas stove, turn it on to medium heat and directly toast the tortilla.

Layer the chickpea tacos up with the roasted chickpeas, sauteed peppers and onions and lots of that homemade chipotle crema.

You can also serve these as a taco salad! Finely chop some romaine lettuce and top it the spicy roasted chickpeas, veggies, fresh salsa, and tortilla chips. Use the chipotle crema as a sauce.

Taco Ingredients

• Can of chickpeas – save the liquid from the can for whipped aquafaba
• Bell pepper and red onion
• Olive oil or avocado oil
• Salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper
• Corn tortillas
• Cilantro

Chipotle Crema Ingredients

• Chipotle peppers in adobo
• Lime juice
• Yogurt
• Honey

Why use the aquafaba?

Aquafaba is just the liquid leftover from the chickpea can. You can whip that liquid up in a blender so it is thick and foamy.

Then, if you use it to coat the chickpeas, the seasonings will stick to the chickpeas better and help them cook up extra crispy.

Ingredient substitutions

This chickpea taco recipe is already vegetarian, but you can easily make it vegan by using plant based yogurt for the chipotle crema

How to make Spiced Chickpea Tacos

Step 1: Season chickpeas and roast

To begin, remove liquid from chickpeas and whip until fluffy. Toss chickpeas in aquafaba and seasonings.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 425F. Roast the chickpeas until golden brown and crispy.

Step 2: Saute peppers and onions

Then, slice the peppers and onions into thin strips. Heat oil in a saute pan and add the veggies.

Saute the peppers and onions over medium until they are cooked through.

Step 3: prepare Chipotle crema

While the other things are cooking, prepare a simple chipotle crema. Take one chipotle pepper out of the adobo can and carefully scrape out all of the seeds.

Place it in a blender of food processor with some of the adobo sauce from the can, plain yogurt, lime juice and honey. Process until a smooth mixture remains.

Step 4: Assemble the tacos

Warm corn or flour tortillas on the stove. Assemble the chickpea tacos with some of the crema, roasted chickpeas, peppers and onions, and fresh cilantro.

Storage and reheating

Store the spicy roasted chickpeas separate from the chipotle crema in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat the chickpeas, peppers and onions on the stove top or in the microwave.

Serve leftovers on warm tortillas with fresh toppings.

Check out these other taco night recipes!

• Ground Beef Baked Tacos
• Hidden Veggie Turkey Tacos
• Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!

Recipe

Spiced Chickpea Tacos

Make spicy chickpea tacos with a delicious chipotle crema

Recipe By: Madeline

Prep: 15 minutesCook: 35 minutesTotal: 50 minutes

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Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

Taco ingredients

• 1 can of chickpeas

• 1 red onion

• 1 bell pepper

• 1 tbsp neutral tasting oil – I use avocado

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp chili powder

• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp cumin

• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

• 6 corn tortillas

• Cilantro for garnish

Chipotle Crema ingredients

• 1 chipotle in adobo (buy this in a can and remove seeds)

• 1 tsp of adobo sauce from the can

• Juice from 1 lime

• 1 cup yogurt (can use dairy free yogurt)

• 2 tsp honey

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Slice peppers and onions into strips and set aside.
2. Drain the chickpeas, but keep the chickpea liquid in a separate bowl. Rinse the chickpeas until the water runs clear. Combine the spices in a bowl
3. Add the chickpea liquid to a blender or food processor and blend on low until a thick foam remains. This may take a few minutes.
4. Add ⅓ cup of the foam to the bowl with the chickpeas and toss to combine. Pour the spices into the bowl and toss again.
5. Pour spiced chickpeas onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake in the oven at 425F for 15 minutes, tossing once halfway.
6. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. When the oil is warm, add the peppers and onions to the pan. Saute for 20 minutes tossing occasionally. 
7. After the chickpeas have cooked for 15 minutes, increase the heat to broil and leave in the oven for another 2 minutes and then remove.
8. While the chickpeas roast, make the chipotle crema. Remove one chipotle pepper from jar. Scrape ALL of the seeds out of the center. (any seeds left behind will make the sauce very spicy) Add pepper to a blender or food processor. Add all other ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
9. Heat corn tortillas on the stove top and assemble tacos with crema on the bottom, then chickpeas, then sauteed veggies and more crema! Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

Notes

• Seeds will make the crema very spicy, leave some in if you like a lot of heat
• Use flour tortillas if you prefer
• Use leftover crema on salads or as a dip

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.