The first time I had heard about fried chickpeas, I was reading over at Naturally Ella (an amazing vegetarian blog). I knew immediately that I would have to try the technique. A quick pan fry has the ability to add texture and depth of flavor that you wouldn’t normally find in a chickpea. These fried chickpea gyro bowls with tzatziki sauce are exploding with flavor, and come together quickly for an easy weeknight meal!
I wanted my fried chickpeas to have a gyro style flavor for this dish, so I marinated them in a sauce very similar to my tempeh gyros. The flavor gets cooked in when you fry the chickpeas in the skillet and it is amazing! I loved them so much I made a second batch to put on top of salads. Seriously, they are that good!
Variations to the Fried Chickpea Gyro Bowls with Tzatziki Sauce recipe:
- I loved the color that red cabbage added to these bowls. However, red cabbage is not a traditional gyro vegetable. Try adding what ever seasonal vegetables you love and have on hand.
- In the chickpea marinade, tomato paste could be used instead of ketchup, and white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice.
- Brown rice is a pantry staple for me and I use it all the time. This dish would also be great with quinoa or millet. You could also serve it over a bed of fresh greens like spinach or arugula.
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 can rinsed and drained
- 2 tsp lemon juice, tamari sauce, and ketchup each
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and rosemary each
- ¼ tsp salt and pepper each
- 1 TBS olive oil, for frying
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 large cucumber divided
- 1 large tomato, diced
- ¾ cup sliced red cabbage
- ⅓ cup grated packed cucumber (from the large cucumber for the bowl)
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 TBS red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- In a medium bowl, mix together chickpeas through salt and pepper. Let it rest while you prepare the tzatziki sauce and gyro bowl, about 15 minutes.
- Grated cucumber and gently press out extra moisture until you have ⅓ cup. Save the rest of the cucumber for the gyro bowl.
- Combine cucumber with yogurt, garlic, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and set aside.
- Dice remaining cucumber an mix it with the diced tomato.
- Slice the cabbage.
- Divide rice evenly among 3 bowls. Top with ⅓ the tomato mixture, ⅓ the red cabbage, and ⅓ of the tzatziki sauce, each.
- Heat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 TBS olive oil and swirl to coat. Poor in chickpeas and any remaining sauce. Fry stirring frequently until the sauce is absorbed and the chickpeas are starting to brown, 5-10 minutes.
- Serve over top of the gyro bowl.
This recipe was inspired by Naturally Ella, and adapted from my Tempeh Gyros with Cucumber Tzatziki Sauce. I shared this recipe at the Meatfree Link Up, Meatless Mondays with Confessions of a Mother Runner, Tasty Tuesday, and What’s Cookin Wednesday.
This recipe was featured by the Meat Free Link Up!
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