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This vegan chickpea piccata is going to be your new favorite, easy chickpea recipe. The vegan piccata sauce is bright, zippy, and perfect with pasta or rice.
I absolutely love a beautiful piccata sauce. It’s glossy, salty, briny, and so good with anything. Pair it with pasta, rice, or roasted vegetables for an easy dinner that tastes as if it took way longer to make!
If you’re looking for an easy vegan chickpea recipe, this chickpea piccata sauce is one you need to make immediately. You need just 5 ingredients for the sauce and you can serve it on just about anything.
Here are the 5 ingredients you need for the sauce:
- Chickpeas
- Minced onion or shallot
- Capers
- Plant-based butter
- Lemon juice
You can serve it with freshly minced parsley to add a nice herby brightness at the end, too!
Need ideas for what to serve with it? Here are my suggestions:
- With pasta! Throw in about ½ cup pasta cooking water with the chickpeas and piccata sauce. Let it simmer in the sauce until thickened, and then toss with linguine, fettuccine, or spaghetti!
- Rice or risotto! Make a pot of rice or vegan risotto and pile the vegan chickpea piccata sauce on top!
- Roasted veggies! This chickpea piccata is an amazing accompaniment to most roasted veggies. It would pair perfectly with roasted cauliflower steaks, potatoes, roasted broccoli, or eggplant.
- Mashed potatoes! Make a big bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes and spoon this gorgeous bright sauce on top.
- Grits! Corn grits are so easy to make and would be delicious with this sauce.
How to make this vegan chickpea piccata sauce:
The beauty of this sauce is its simplicity and how quickly it comes together.
Step 1: Start by roasting the chickpeas in your favorite cooking oil. Roast them for about 20–25 minutes at 425ºF or until they’re crispy and golden brown.
Step 2: Start the sauce! Sauté a finely minced onion in oil until softened. Add the capers and cook until they begin to crisp just a bit. I add a few shakes of crushed red pepper, but that’s optional.
Step 3: Finish the sauce! Melt the butter into the onion and capers. Add water or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half and thickens.
Step 4: Throw in the lemon juice and roasted chickpeas and toss to coat!
That’s it! From there, the sauce is ready for any use you can imagine.
Looking for more chickpea recipes? Check my archives!
Vegan Chickpea Piccata
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Wide pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 15- ounce cans chickpeas, drained
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and finely minced
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
- 4 tablespoons plant-based butter
- ¾ cup water or vegetable stock
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving, optional:
- Cooked pasta or rice
- Freshly minced parsley
Instructions
Roast the chickpeas:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange the chickpeas on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Season all over with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to the oven for 20–30 minutes, flipping the chickpeas once midway through cooking.
Prepare the sauce:
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the capers to the onion and cook for 1–2 minutes until they just begin to crisp and turn golden brown. Season with crushed red pepper if you like.
- Melt the butter into the onions and capers. Once melted and frothy add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until reduced by half. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Finish the sauce:
- Stir the lemon juice into the sauce and add the roasted chickpeas. Toss to coat and cook for 3–4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preferences.
To serve:
- Serve the sauce with pasta, rice, or roasted vegetables. Garnish with freshly minced parsley if you like. Enjoy!
Made this recipe as the pasta version for the main entree of a pre-fast meal and it is not only tasty but filling and nutritious! I didn’t have capers but I added a little nutritional yeast which complemented the sauce. Chickpeas are a huge staple in my home and definitely adding this to our meal rotation
So happy you enjoyed it!! Thank you for the comment!