Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stir Fry with Chickpeas (30-Minute)

This sweet and sour vegetable stir fry with chickpeas is the weeknight dinner I make when I want something that feels like takeout but takes 30 minutes and uses whatever's in the fridge. Fresh peppers, carrots, green beans, and chickpeas in a tangy homemade sauce - and I've included two sauce options so you can make it however suits you.

🌱 Vegan/Vegetarian | ⬇️ Low-Calorie | 💪 High-Fiber

💗Why This Recipe Works

• Perfect for busy nights - ready in 30 minutes, one pan, minimal cleanup.
• The homemade sweet and sour sauce uses simple pantry ingredients - ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Kids love it.
• This sweet and sour chickpea stir fry is great for meal prepping - make ahead, store, and reheat in minutes.

🥘Ingredients

*See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Here's everything you need for this vegetarian sweet and sour stir fry:

• For the vegetables, use onion, red and orange bell peppers, carrots, green beans, and garlic. Add cooked chickpeas for protein, and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Use sunflower oil for cooking. If you want a quick meat protein instead, try our Korean keema recipe.
• Chinese Sweet & Sour Sauce
  • From concentrate: Mix with hot water as directed on the package.
  • Make it from scratch using these ingredients: garlic, ginger, tomato ketchup, malt vinegar, brown sugar and tinned pineapple in juice. Recipe below.

♻️ Substitutions

• Onion: Shallots or leeks can be used.
• Red and Orange Bell Peppers: Yellow or green bell peppers, or even other vegetables like zucchini or eggplant, can be substituted.
• Carrots: Other root vegetables like parsnips or turnips can be used, or you can try thinly sliced sweet potatoes for a sweeter twist.
• Protein Substitutions (Vegan/Vegetarian): Instead of chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans, or lentils can be used. Add a protein component to your meal by including tofu or tempeh in the stir-fry. You can marinate and stir-fry them along with the vegetables or serve them on the side.
• Green Beans: Snow peas or snap peas can provide a similar crisp texture.

💭 Expert Tips

• Prep everything before you turn on the heat. Stir fry moves fast - once the wok is hot, there's no time to chop. Have your vegetables cut, sauce mixed, and chickpeas drained before you start. For another fast dinner, see our quick turkey mince noodle stir fry.
• Use high heat and don't crowd the pan. High heat keeps the vegetables bright and gives them a slight char at the edges. If you add too much at once the temperature drops and they steam instead of fry - cook in batches if needed.
• Taste the sauce before it goes in. The balance of sweet and sour is personal. Add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter, more vinegar or lemon juice if you want more tang. Get it right in the bowl before it hits the pan.
• Finish with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, or fresh cilantro right before serving.

🥗 Serving suggestions

This vegetarian sweet and sour stir fry works as a main or a side. Here's how I serve it:

• Side dishes: Serve alongside steamed bok choy, broccoli, or snap peas - or next to our smashed broccoli for a fully vegetarian spread.
• Noodles: Rice noodles, udon, or chow mein all work well - or try it with our 15-minute udon noodles for a full meal.
• Rice: Serve over steamed white or brown rice, or try it with vermicelli rice for something different.
• Lighter option: Swap rice for cooked quinoa to keep it lower carb.
• Lettuce Wraps: Serve the sweet and sour vegetables in lettuce cups. Simply spoon the stir-fry into large lettuce leaves, such as iceberg or butter lettuce, and roll them up like wraps.

However you serve it, this sweet and sour chickpea stir fry is one of those meals that earns a permanent spot in the weekly rotation.

❓Sweet & Sour Stir Fry FAQs

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📖 Recipe

Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stir Fry with Chickpeas (30-Minute)

Claudia Ciorteanu

A 30-minute sweet and sour vegetable stir fry with chickpeas, fresh peppers, and a homemade tangy sauce. Vegetarian, vegan-friendly, and better than concentrate straight from the jar.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course / Entrée

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4

Calories 277 kcal

Video

Equipment

• ▢
  1 wok

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower) approx ¼ cup
• ▢ 1 white large onion chopped
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 orange or yellow bell pepper roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 carrots thinly sliced
• ▢ 250 g cooked chickpeas approx 1 ¼ cups
• ▢ 100 g green beans sliced into 2 cm (approx 1 cup)
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ ½ teaspoon mild chilli
• ▢ 3 tablespoon Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with 350 ml hot water approx 1 ½ cups) or your homemade sauce (see recipe in post)
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
  4 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
• Add the chopped onion to the skillet and sauté for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes translucent.
  1 white large onion
• Add the chopped red and orange bell peppers to the skillet and stir-fry for another 2 minutes until they start to soften.
  1 red bell pepper, 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
• Next, add the thinly sliced carrots and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes until the carrots begin to soften slightly.
  2 carrots
• Add the cooked chickpeas and green beans to the skillet and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes to heat them through.
  250 g cooked chickpeas, 100 g green beans
• Stir in the chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and chilli, and cook for about 1 minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.
  2 garlic cloves, Salt and pepper to taste, ½ teaspoon mild chilli
• Reduce the heat to medium and pour in the Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with hot water. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.
  3 tablespoon Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with 350 ml hot water
• Allow the mixture to simmer for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked to your desired tenderness and the sauce thickens slightly.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, adding more salt, pepper, or paprika according to your preference.
• Once the vegetables are cooked and the sauce has thickened, remove the skillet from the heat.
• Serve the sweet and sour vegetable stir fry hot as a side dish or over steamed rice as a main course.

Notes

Make the sweet and sour sauce from scratch:

In a small bowl, combine the following ingredients to make the sweet and sour sauce:

¼ cup of rice vinegar

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of ketchup

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of cornstarch (to thicken the sauce)

½ cup of water

Mix these ingredients until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved.

Add the sauce as instructed in the recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 7gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 31mgPotassium: 515mgFiber: 8gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 7395IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 3mg

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