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!
Korean Chickpeas, Carrots & Potatoes Over Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas , soaked overnight in warm water and 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 red potatoes
- 6 large carrots
- 1 sweet onion
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
Sauce:
- 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
Garnish:
- 3 green onions sliced
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- 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 if preferred.
Notes
- UPDATE: A reader made this in the pressure cooker for just over 3 minutes.
- If you want this saucy, double the sauce portion.
- 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. Use about 3 cups cooked chickpeas.
- 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.
- 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
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Patricia says
Hi
Would putting the quinoa in the pot with the veg and sauce work , maybe just add more sauce?
Sophia DeSantis says
You can definitely try it but the texture may not come out right. I think it could get mushy if you don’t watch it closely. I think you’d also need some water as quinoa needs a more liquidy like substance to cook. Let me know if you try it!
Chen says
So delicious 😋 My kids don’t like chic peas so we used jackfruit which worked really well!!!!!
Sophia DeSantis says
That’s a great idea Chen! Will have to try that next time!
Martha says
Delicious! Thank you for a yummy, fast and easy recipe! I had to make a few substitutions as I didn’t have all the ingredients. I used sweet potatoes instead of potatoes and rice vinegar with coconut sugar for the mirin. This recipe is a keeper!!
Sophia DeSantis says
So happy you liked it Martha! And glad the sweet potatoes worked out!
Mona says
This was excellent! As a vegetarian I was craving the flavor of spicy pork. This hit the spot. I did not make it in the crock pot due to time restraints. I boiled the carrots and potatoes, sautéed the onions and garlic added drained canned garbanzos added all the ingredients for the sauce, which I doubled. Added the potatoes and carrots. Simmer for 5 minutes and served over quinoa. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
veggiesdontbite says
Thanks Mona!! I am so happy you like it! Thanks for sharing how you made it on the stove!!
Sylvia says
Hi Sophia this looks yummy but I do not have a crock pot. Any idea how long stove top? Canned chickpea at end. Thank you!!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Sylvia! I have never tried it on the stove, but you’ll need to make sure it’s long enough to cook the potatoes. If you’re using canned chickpeas you are basically cooking the veggies then adding the chickpeas in towards the end and allowing them to get hot. I’m going to guess maybe 15-20 minutes? Again, I really am not sure as I have not made it that way. But let me know!
Karina says
Hi there, I look for recipes like this since I switched over to vegetarianism almost a year ago. I followed this recipe to the t and it lacked some flavor. The sauce smelled great, but it could have been thicker with some corn starch but it didn’t call for it. I usually try out the recipe exactly as it is and then I modify it to my liking in the future. I like all the ingredients in it but I will double the sauce In the future and add a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken it up and use regular garbanzos instead of the dried ones. To each their own, thanks for sharing the recipe though.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Karina! I actually say in the post that you can double the sauce portion if you want it saucy. I added it to the notes now as well. This wasn’t meant to be a thick sauce, which is why I didn’t add any flour or cornstarch but you most certainly can if you prefer it thicker.
All Together Travels says
This is very yummy! We came back from a long hike today so grateful to have something yummy in the crockpot! I do understand about the carrots though. Since we were gone the entire cooking time I had to put them in at the beginning. They were a bit over cooked. The meal was still tasty but if I make it again I’ll wait and put the carrots in after 2hours. I also did not have Morin so I looked up a replacement and used rice vinegar and 2tsp sugar. I’d be interested to see the difference and may order some. Thank your for the wonderful meal!
veggiesdontbite says
I am so happy you liked it! Thank you so much for the great review!
Leila says
I followed the directions. No subscriptions But after 6 hours on high there was so little sauce and the chickpeas were not fully cooked. As the directions stated I used two cups of dried chickpeas and soaked them overnight. I think it might have meant one cup soaked overnight because then it’s about two cups on volume. Two cups of dried chickpeas is 13 servings!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Leila! I recently changed over my recipe card and it had some glitches when transferring some of the recipes. I did go in and fix this one! Thanks for catching it. 1 cup dried chickpeas actually makes about 3 cups cooked! It’s all fixed now, sorry about that but such is life with technology!
Sue says
Hi Sophia. This is way out of our usual flavor profiles. And it was delicious!!!!!!
I made it in the pressure cooker; it cooked for just over 3 minutes. Thanks for encouraging us to eat outside the box.😁
veggiesdontbite says
Ah! I am so so happy you liked it! And thanks for the info on the pressure cooker! So if someone used their instapot how would they do it? I’d love to add this to my recipe!