This Korean quinoa bowl with chickpeas, carrots and potatoes is a vegan twist on a Korean dish that will leave you wanting more. Full of protein and flavor, this is one you won’t want to miss!
After a few weeks of creating and eating many Thanksgiving inspired dishes, I’m happy to post about a different type of meal. Super easy, really tasty and made in a crockpot so the house smells amazing!
I got inspired to recreate this one after seeing it on the amazing blog MJ and Hungryman. If you haven’t seen her blog, you need to. It’s awesome! She isn’t vegan, but has some great recipes that are and many that can be veganized. Plus, she’s just a super cool person and anyone that’s super cool is someone to follow in my book!
The original recipe that MJ made had chicken in it, but the sauce and general idea just sounded so good, that I had to find a way to recreate it for the vegan crowd. I love chickpeas, and just knew they would be great in this dish, so that’s what I went with.
When looking at her recipe, I didn’t have any of the Korean spices she used (the chili flakes and paste) and also wanted others to be able to make this if their kitchen was stocked like mine, so I did some research on what each thing was and made my own versions with what I had.
The Sauce Is Incredible!
It turned out SO good! I literally wanted to drink it like soup. But I refrained long enough to get it into my crockpot and let it do it’s magic. I also didn’t make my version very spicy.
I love spice more than anything, but I really wanted my kids to eat it since it’s packed with protein and some delicious veggies. My husband is a bit of a wuss when it comes to spice as well, so I held back. Although not spicy, the sauce is very flavorful and awesome! You can definitely double the sauce recipe and save some to pour on top of the meal as extra!
This Korean Quinoa Bowl Is Healthy, Easy And Delicious!
I served this with a side of quinoa instead of rice, we just prefer the quinoa plus I thought it was an extra fun twist. I also prepped everything the night before so all I had to do in the morning was throw it all into my crockpot.
Super easy! This is a great change from all this holiday eating. Clear the palate before we bring on Christmas and all the deliciousness it has to offer! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. But if you happen to be Korean and think I butchered it with all my changes, I apologize in advance!
I always love comments on the blog if you make it, so make sure to let me know! You can also tag me on Instagram at veggiesdontbite #veggiesdontbite so I don’t miss it!
A vegan twist on a Korean dish that will leave you wanting more. Full of protein and flavor, this is one you won't want to miss!
- 2 cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight in warm water and 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 red potatoes
- 7 carrots
- 1 sweet onion
- cooked quinoa amount depends on how many you are serving as I like to make my quinoa fresh and this recipe makes a lot
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon miso I used chickpea miso or you can use mellow white miso
- 5 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or Tamari or soy sauce for non gluten free option
- 4 tablespoons mirin
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 teaspoons crushed garlic
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil optional for taste or you can use toasted ground up sesame seeds in its place
- 3 green onions sliced
- sesame seeds
- Place chickpeas in a bowl and cover with a mixture of warm water and 1 teaspoon baking soda, making sure there is plenty of water in the bowl to allow the beans to expand. The baking soda helps them cook well and evenly in the crockpot. Soak overnight.
- The next day, rinse chickpeas well and add to a crockpot.
- Wash and cut the potatoes, carrots and onion into large bite sized pieces. I left the skins on the potatoes. Place potatoes and onion into the crockpot, saving the carrots aside.
- Make the sauce by combining everything in a small bowl. Pour over veggies and beans and combine until evenly coated. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, depending on how you like the consistency of your beans and potatoes.
- About 2 hours in add carrots, I like my carrots all dente so if you don’t mind them soft you can add them at the beginning with everything else. Once done, serve over cooked quinoa and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
- I used dried chickpeas because I loved the flavor and texture of cooking them myself in the crockpot, but you can also used canned and add them at the very end. The sesame oil is there for taste so toasting sesame seeds to bring out the flavor and grinding them in a food processor could also work.
Tips to prep ahead:
Make the sauce the night before. Also wash and chop all the veggies. You can cook the quinoa as well or put it in a rice cooker an hour before eating
- Recipe adapted to be vegan from MJ and Hungryman
Ana @ Ana's Rocket Ship says
Not spicy but flavorsome and awesome is the way to go! Or maybe a little bit spicy…
veggiesdontbite says
Oh I LOVE spice!! But I wanted to make this kid, and husband, friendly…lol! You can definitely spice it up!
Jasmin says
Well, you surely turned that Korean chicken and potato recipe in a whole new direction… 🙂 I love the idea of quinoa and chickpeas in one meal. I always use dried chickpeas and it never crossed my mind to put a baking soda in it, instead, I soak it for at least 20 hours, but I will definitely try adding it next time…
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you! Yes, the original dish looked so tasty that I had to make it vegan so we could eat it! Give the baking soda a try. I use it when soaking all beans to help with faster and more even cooking. Let me know if you try! Thanks for following!
conzadventure says
This looks great. Thank you!
veggiesdontbite says
Thanks so much!!
taylfeather says
Literally some of my favorite things…sounds and looks SO yummy.
P.S. I nominated you for the Liebster Award!
Check out my post http://tbirdchronicles.com/2014/12/02/nominated-for-the-liebster-award/ to see your nomination and spread the love to your favorite blogs!
🙂
-Taylor
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you Taylor! Let me know if you try it!
the vegan 8 says
Looks yummy! I use those spices in the sauce all the time because they are some of my favorite flavors. I love liquid aminos and rice vinegar and of course maple syrup, lol! I have no clue about Korean food, but I am familiar with the spices, lol! Carrots and potatoes are some of my favorite foods too.
veggiesdontbite says
Thanks so much Brandi! Loved this combo of spices. I knew they’d be similar to the Korean spices when I did research on what the Korean ones consisted of. I wanted to find more common ingredients to achieve the same general flavor and it worked great! Love how easy it is too!
Alissa says
This sounds awesome! I love Korean food and have been trying to find a sub for the chili paste as well. I heard that miso in combination with some spicy ingredients works and I’m glad to see you had success with it here. I’ll have to give this a try soon!
veggiesdontbite says
Awesome Alissa! I think you’ll like the spices here. You can always make it spicier too if you want. Let me know if you try it! Thanks for following!
MJ and Tim (@mjandhungryman) says
Aww Sophia..what can I say? I heart you ;). Thank you so much for such kind words! Only if we lived close…Like I said, I absolutely love all the adjustments you made (ingenious!). You continue to teach me soo much about vegan cooking! I love it 😉
veggiesdontbite says
Awe! Thanks you so much!! You’re too sweet. Thanks for inspiring me to create a vegan version of such an awesome recipe!! So glad to have connected!
AMJ says
This sounds delicious! Is it possible to use canned chickpeas rather than dry?
veggiesdontbite says
Yes! Absolutely. Just don’t add them until the end. Maybe about 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat?
Alicia says
Hi Sophia!
This is my first time cooking chic peas in a slow cooker (I’ve done pressure cooker). I just want to double check, after soaking the chic peas over night, when you add them to the slow cooker with the sauce and vegetables you don’t use any more fluid to cover them while cooking?
Thanks a bunch! Looking forward to making the!
Alicia
veggiesdontbite says
Nope! Just use the sauce! The moisture from the sauce and the veggies in there helps cook them. If you love your stuff really saucy, then you can actually double the sauce too. I have done this before because we love saucy, but either way works! Let me know what you think!
Danielle says
Just made this this morning (in the crock pot now) I doubled the sauce but it doesn’t seem like enough liquid is in there to actually cook everything. Is that normal? I don’t need to add anymore liquid??
Thanks! I tasted the sauce already and it is AMAZING!
veggiesdontbite says
Yes! Mine was not covered in liquid. As long as your crockpot is set right you’re good!
Maria says
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!!! I did modify it a bit for less sodium. I used three tbsp of low sodium soy sauce and omitted the sesame oil. I just used one tbsp of sesame seeds. Also, I like a bit more spice, so I used one tablespoon of chilli flakes instead of one teaspoon. It was easy and delicious!!!
veggiesdontbite says
That all sounds great Maria! I love more spice too, but my family doesn’t lol!
Narinder@naturals ice cream online order says
Hey Thanks Sophia to share us awesome korean chickpeas recipes its really so yummy and mouthwatering recipes.
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you!
Trish says
Ok, because I’m obviously an idiot I didn’t see that it’s a crockpot recipe (told you I’m an idiot). Got my chickpeas soaked overnight and now, 2:15pm, I’m re scanning the ingredients and directions when I read that I’m supposed to throw it into a crockpot for about 5 hours lol. So, the idiot wants to ask you a question: is it possible to cook this in a pot over the stove? Suggestions?
veggiesdontbite says
First of all, you are NOT an idiot! If you knew how many times I’ve done things like this you’d die. If it makes you feel better, just the other day I mixed up the tapioca flour and baking soda in a recipe. Umm yeah. It didn’t turn out ? So back to your question, yes. You totally can cook it on the stove. Put it on medium low and just keep checking it. It should be fine!
Lindsay says
You don’t need to add any water when you cook the beans?
veggiesdontbite says
Seems weird huh? Nope, the sauce and steam provides plenty of liquid. You also get some released from the veggies. You can double the sauce if you want, I always do because I LOVE sauce!
Emily Kemp says
This sounds SO delicious, my kind of comfort food!
Mina says
I was woken up by the delicious aroma of this recipe cooking in my crockpot. Although I love this recipe and the sauce is amazing the end result was dry. I expected it to render more liquid/sauce. It cooked on low for 8 hrs.
I realized I didn’t have mirin so I wanted to substitute with ingredients by adding little more rice vinegar and white wine and it was already sweet enough so I didn’t add more sweetness to it. Thankfully I doubled the sauce and added more to the pot with a half cup of water after the 8 hrs of cooking but I didn’t continue to cook longer because I didnt want the carrots to be overly soft… Next time I will add more sauce and a cup of water. Overall this is a delicious and easy recipe. I’m adding to my rotation meals.