These Chickpea Tacos are loaded with Mexican-style chickpeas, creamy avocado, crunchy lettuce, and an addictive cilantro sauce, making an easy 30-minute vegetarian dinner recipe. Seriously satisfying!
Why You’ll Love These Chickpea Tacos
These chickpea tacos are perfect for those busy weeknights when you want something quick yet full of flavor. All it takes is a couple of cans of chickpeas to make a meal that’s filling, satisfying, and packed with plant-based protein. The recipe is easy to customize—make it low carb with lettuce cups or turn it into a chickpea burrito bowl with rice or quinoa to bump up the protein. Once you try these, they’re sure to become part of your regular dinner rotation.
- maria doss
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Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce
Ingredients
For the chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup chopped onion one small
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 cans (15.5 ounces) chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons each of chili powder, paprika, and coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and salt
- ½ teaspoon each of cayenne powder and sugar
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
For the sauce
- 1 ½ cups cilantro lightly packed
- 1 small to medium jalapeño remove seeds if you like less spicy
- 1 clove garlic
- ¾ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- ¼ + 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime or lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
To assemble tacos
- 8 corn tortillas warmed
- sliced avocado as needed
- chopped lettuce as needed
Instructions
Cook Chickpeas
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2–3 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the drained and rinsed chickpeas, followed by the chili powder, paprika, coriander, cumin, cayenne, sugar, and salt.
- Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes, until the spices are evenly distributed and lightly toasted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
Make the Sauce
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble tacos
- Fill each warmed tortilla with shredded lettuce, a generous spoonful of the cooked chickpeas, and a slice of avocado. Drizzle with the sauce, then finish with chopped cilantro and extra-sliced jalapeño for a little heat.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Tips for Success
- Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream if preferred.
- White or yellow corn tortillas both work well.
- Adjust the jalapeño to your taste in the cilantro lime sauce—add more if you like extra heat.
- Skip the tortillas and use lettuce cups, as we did to make the chickpea lettuce wraps.
- You can use 3 cups of cooked chickpeas instead of canned (see our Instant Pot chickpeas recipe).
- Don't skip the sugar! Just a dash of sugar balances the spiciness and also enhances the flavor of the taco chickpeas.
- The chickpea taco filling can be frozen for up to a month.
How to make chickpea tacos
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
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👉 Looking for more recipes to make with chickpeas? Try the chickpea tomato soup or the air fryer chickpeas seasoned with chili and lime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chickpeas for tacos are seasoned by sautéing them in oil with onion, garlic, and bold Mexican-inspired spices. Chili powder, paprika, and a dash of cayenne add heat, smokiness, color, and flavor, while cumin and coriander bring earthy depth. The chickpeas are finished with fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro for brightness and freshness. If you prefer a shortcut, you can also skip the individual spices and use a packet of store-bought taco seasoning instead.
Absolutely. Simply use vegan sour cream or yogurt and vegan mayo when making the cilantro lime sauce. The rest of the recipe is naturally vegan as written.
Yes! The cooked chickpeas can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days—I like to warm them before assembling the tacos. The cilantro lime sauce keeps for up to 2 days in the fridge.
One tip from experience: the sauce tends to get a bit spicier after sitting, so consider reducing the jalapeños if you’re not planning to use it right away.
Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
