These BBQ chickpea lettuce wraps with vegan ranch dressing are bursting with sweet and smokey bbq flavour and are great for light and easy vegan lunches.
With the holiday season over, I know a lot of people will be trading in cookies and other desserts for salads and smoothies. Normally, I try to stay clear of new year ‘detoxes’ or diets but I think I need both after all the indulging I did over the holidays.
Luckily, I’ve got these bbq chickpea lettuce wraps with vegan ranch dressing to help me get back on track.
If you’ve ever taken a look at my recipe index, you’d know that I love my bread and baked desserts. Flour was my first love and it will always have the number one spot in my heart.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve never made or eaten lettuce wraps before. Just the idea of switching out tortillas for lettuce seemed borderline blasphemous. I mean, I don’t even really like salads. Why would I want to eat glorified salads masquerading as chickpea lettuce wraps?
But I currently have about 10 pounds of black cake, tea rings and cocktails taking up residence in my hips. So I think it’s time to get over my distaste for lettuce and try my hand at making vegan lettuce wraps.
The recipe for these is fairly simple and only takes about 30 minutes. I caramelized some onions and pineapple for the bbq chickpea filling but that’s totally optional. Skipping that step should cut the cooking time in half, which is always nice.
I also went with an easy cashew-based vegan ranch dressing but plain vegan mayo or sour cream could work in a pinch.
Turns out these bbq chickpea lettuce wraps are ridiculously flavourful and surprisingly filling. I actually didn’t miss the tortillas all that much which is crazy given my aforementioned love of bread.
I’ve got a tonne of lettuce leftover and I’m actually looking forward to making more wraps. However, the filling is only enough for about 6 of these bbq chickpea lettuce wraps so I’m thinking kale pesto tofu lettuce wraps may be in my near future. Or maybe pumpkin falafel lettuce wraps? Or even wild rice burrito wraps?
So man possibilites 😍
If you make these bbq chickpea lettuce wraps, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and rate the recipe or take a pic and tag it @ExSloth on Instagram!
More chickpea recipes:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ a yellow onion, thinly sliced
- a pinch of salt
- ½ a sweet pepper, thinly sliced
- ½ cup pineapple chunks (optional)
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup bbq sauce
- cilantro, to taste (optional)
- 6 - 8 lettuce leaves, butter and romain lettuce work well
- cherry tomatoes
- avocado
- vegan ranch
- ¼ - ⅓ cup almond milk + ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup cashews, soaked overnight (about ⅔ cup soaked cashews)
- 2 - 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives or green onion
- ½ tsp each dried parsley and dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside
- Add remaining ingredients, except the herbs to a food processor or high powered blender and process until smooth
- Add ½ the milk and vinegar mixture and continue to process until desired consistency is reached
- Whisk in the fresh and dried herbs, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary
- Refrigerate until ready to use
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat then add the onions and salt and saute 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to caramelize. Add a splash of water and saute for another 2 - 3 minutes
- Stir in the sweet pepper and pineapple and continue to saute for another 3 - 4 minutes
- Add the chickpeas, bbq sauce and cilantro and stir until everything is evenly coated then allow to cook for 5 - 10 minutes until the chickpeas are tender and the sauce thickens. Add water, stock or more bbq sauce as necessary
- Fill each lettuce wrap with about ¼ - ⅓ cup chickpea filling
- Top with tomatoes, avocado and vegan ranch
- Serve immediately
Don’t want to skip the bread? Try this open-faced chickpea salad sandwich:
Always looking for new lunch ideas and this looks AMAZING! I love BBQ and have been on the search for a good dairy-free/vegan ranch!
Christine | thyme and toast recently posted…Herby Romaine Salad with Fava Beans and Radishes
Thanks Christine 🙂 This is actually my first time making vegan ranch and I haven’t had it since going diary-free almost 3 years ago. Don’t know why I waited this long LOL. Let me know what you think if you try it!
Lettuce wraps are so good, and I love that you filled them with chickpeas!
Emily recently posted…Chocolate Pinole Power Oatmeal Bowl (WIAW)
I’m definitely a lettuce wrap lover after trying this!
These look sooooo good!! Definitely my kind of meal <3 I will happily find a way to wrap anything in lettuce ahaha! Instant finger food!
Leah | love me, feed me recently posted…2016 reflections
haha I’m a new convert but I’m def loving the lettuce wraps now 😀
It’s been too long since I’ve had a lettuce wrap. I love how these are full of protein, but won’t weigh you down.
P.S. I didn’t get a chance to comment on your previous post, but I could not agree more. I get annoyed when gym rats complain about the people who are there for self-improvement.
annie recently posted…Easy Plantain Veggie Tart
It’s so strange how these manage to be lightweight but filling at the same time!
And YES! I’ve met a few people at the gym who are so ‘elitist’ when it comes to newcomers. Crazy when you consider that we all had to start somewhere 👀
I love my carbs too, but I can be persuaded by a good lettuce wrap. Looove the BBQ and ranch flavours in these!!
Chelsea’s Healthy Kitchen recently posted…2016 in Review
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the layout of
your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got
to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content
so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or
two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
Power testro recently posted…Power testro
Oh goodness! I can’t wait to make these! love it Hashmanis
Thanks you, Your blog is great and this recipe very usefull with me. I will try it weekend.