Name: Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas with Rice
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 21 min
Ingredients: 1/2 red onion (sliced); 1/2-1 red bell pepper (roughly chopped); 4-5 cloves garlic; 4 cups cooked chickpeas; 7 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 3 tbsp maple syrup; 1 tsp chili flakes (or more); water (1/3 for the chickpeas, 1 cup for the rice, 1 tbsp for the cornstarch slurry); 1 cup uncooked basmati rice; 1 tbsp cornstarch

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A meatless twist on a take out classic, this Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas recipe is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and spicy! The rice is made pot in pot so everything cooks together. Video down below.

Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas Meal Prep

You asked – I answered! Hello my friends – recently I got an email in my inbox asking if I could do a meatless meal prep so here I am with a fun twist on a classic Chinese take-out recipe. It’s been pretty rainy and dreary in Toronto the last few days so cozying up to this yummy chickpea dish (instead of leaving the house for take out lol) is just about how I’d like to spend my evening. This recipe also makes for the perfect Instant Pot meal prep and time saver as I decided to use the Pot in Pot method on making this kung pao chickpeas recipe.

Note: Don’t forget – my inbox is always open to reader requests! If there’s something you want me to try to convert to the Instant Pot/lighten up/meal prep, let me know and I’ll try and make it possible :)

What is Pot-in-Pot Cooking

Instant Pot ‘Pot in Pot’ (PIP) is a cooking method that allows you to make multiple dishes at the same time. You are literally putting a pot inside the Instant Pot so that the multiple dishes you make do not mix together.

On Amazon, you can buy specific stackable inserts that allows you to make up to 3 different things at once or you can use a trivet to stack an over-safe bowl on top your ingredients in your liner.

Budget Friendly Kung Pao Chickpeas

I decided to use chickpeas for this recipe because chickpeas are quite budget friendly. To cut down on costs a little bit more, you can always purchase dry chickpeas and cook them yourselves.

In addition, traditional kung pao chicken uses szechuan peppercorns and Chinese black vinegar but I wanted to make sure that this recipe stayed true to its budget purpose and skipped them in favour for more accessible pantry staple items. I subbed in red chili flakes and balsamic vinegar for this kung pao chickpeas recipe.

What You’ll Need To Make Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas

red onion (or regular if you prefer)
red bell pepper
garlic
cooked chickpeas
soy sauce
balsamic vinegar
maple syrup
chili flakes
water
rice
cornstarch

If you have szechuan peppercorns on hand, you can always add half to one tbsp of it!

How To Make Meatless Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken

In your Instant Pot, you’re going to layer in your chopped onions then bell peppers then garlic and then chickpeas.
Next, pour in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, chili flakes, and water.
Then on top of your layer of ingredients, place in a trivet and place an oven safe bowl of rice mixed with water on top of it.
Seal the Instant Pot and let cook on high pressure for 4 minutes before letting it Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes.
Quick Release the rest of the steam and carefully remove the rice and trivet.
Mix together some cornstarch with water to make a slurry and add it to the chickpeas. Stir. You may have to use the sauté mode to get the sauce to cook down a little but the cornstarch slurry should thicken the sauce but the heat from the chickpeas and liquid should help mix in the slurry.
Serve once the sauce as thickened to your preference.

Notes and Tips on Making This Instant Pot Kung Pao Chickpeas

Add in some sesame oil at the end for an extra layer of flavour. Too much sesame oil doesn’t agree with me so I tend to skip it.
Top off with some roasted peanuts to add an extra crunch to the recipe.
Stay tuned for the chicken version of this if you prefer chicken to chickpeas! Or if you want to combine the two :)
To meal prep: store for up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. For the picture down below, I used the Rubbermaid Brilliance containers. They are a lighter alternative to glass if weight is a concern for you. You can also store the rice and chickpeas separately or get a container with a divider if you are concerned about your rice getting soggy from the sauce.
This recipe has only been testing in a 6 qt Instant Pot. Adjustments might have to be made with the mini or 8 qt.