These Honey Chipotle Chickpea Elote Bowls are a spicy, protein-packed spin on the traditional lime juice, chili powder, and cotija cheese cream sauce slathered Mexican street corn. These bowls pair buttery, tender cilantro lime couscous with spicy honey chipotle chickpea elote salad and a lightened up elote cream sauce. It’s deliciously indulgent without the guilt and is the perfect dish for summer.
Chipotle Chickpea Elote Bowl Ingredients
- Chickpeas – We opted for chickpeas as the plant-based main source of protein. These chickpeas are deliciously pan-crisped before being tossed with the honey chipotle sauce. Add grilled chicken or steak to this dish for an extra boost of protein.
- Chipotles in Adobo – for a little heat.
- Poblano pepper – a mild pepper that lends a little extra southwestern flair and crunchiness to this bowl.
- Corn – Elote is Mexican street corn after all, so we wanted to keep the spirit of traditional elote by bringing in some fresh corn kernels to mix in with the crispy chickpeas.
- Red Onion – for a little crunch.
- Couscous – the perfect buttery, soft, and slightly chewy grain that serves as the foundation for this bowl. It’s a nice change-up from brown rice. Sub in our cilantro lime brown rice, if desired.
- Greek yogurt & mayo – act as the base for the lightened up elote sauce. We used equal parts Greek yogurt and light mayo to mimic the flavors of the traditional creamy elote sauce, but without the extra calories or heaviness. Sub in plant-based/vegan varieties to keep this recipe vegan.
- Lime juice – a drizzle of lime juice goes a long way to brightening up the elote sauce and cilantro lime couscous.
- Cilantro – the perfect topping to this bowl and mix-in for the cilantro lime couscous.
- Honey or agave- for a touch of sweetness to temper the heat from the chipotles. Sub agave syrup to keep this recipe vegan.
- Seasonings – simple seasonings, like chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper pack a ton of flavor.
How to Make Chipotle Chickpea Elote Bowls
Prepare the elote sauce first. Combine the mayo, yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the bowls are ready.
Combine 2 cups of uncooked couscous and 3 cups of water in a medium sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Remove from heat. Mix in the lime juice, cilantro, sea salt, and black pepper. Cover and set aside.
While the couscous cooks, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the drained chickpeas and poblano pepper. Leave the pepper-chickpea mixture in an even layer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the chickpeas begin to form light brown crispy spots. Stir the chickpea mixture and let sit another 2 to 3 minutes to crisp in more spots. Repeat until the majority of the chickpeas are lightly browned and the peppers form dark spots (this will take about 10 minutes total).
While the chickpeas brown, finely dice the chipotle peppers. Add the chipotle peppers to a small bowl, along with adobo sauce, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
Add the red onion and corn to the frying pan with crispy chickpeas. Add the honey chipotle sauce and stir to coat the chickpea-pepper mixture. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from heat.
Divide the couscous evenly among the four bowls. Top with a generous portion of chickpea-corn mixture. Dollop elote sauce on top of bowls and sprinkle with cotija cheese, if desired. Serve and enjoy.
Let us know what you think about this recipe for Honey Chipotle Chickpea Elote Bowls by dropping a comment and/or rating below! Also, please share this recipe on social media or Pinterest if you enjoyed it (we greatly appreciate it!).💕
Check out some of our other popular bowl recipes:
- Honey Garlic Shrimp Bowls
- Chipotle Shrimp and Cauliflower Rice Bowls
- Mango Chicken Bowls
- Greek Turkey Meatball Bowls
- Coconut Shrimp Bowls
Honey Chipotle Chickpea Elote Bowls
Ingredients
Honey Chipotle Chickpea Elote
- 1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, pat-dried
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- 2 c sweet corn (fresh or frozen)
- 2 chipotles in adobo
- 2 Tbsp adobo sauce (from can)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- â…› tsp cracked black pepper
- ¼ c cotija cheese (if desired)
Cilantro Lime Couscous
- 2 c couscous, dry
- 3 c water
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¼ c cilantro, chopped
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- â…› tsp cracked black pepper
Elote Sauce
- 2 Tbsp light or reduced-fat mayo (Hellmann's Light)
- 2 Tbsp plain yogurt (regular or Greek)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp honey
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- pinch sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the elote sauce first. Combine mayo, yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the bowls are ready.
- Combine 2 cups of uncooked couscous and 3 cups of water in a medium sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Remove from heat. Mix in the lime juice, cilantro, sea salt, and black pepper. Cover and set aside.
- While the couscous cooks, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the drained chickpeas and poblano pepper. Leave the pepper-chickpea mixture in an even layer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the chickpeas begin to form light brown crispy spots. Mix the chickpea mixture and let sit another 2 to 3 minutes to crisp in more spots. Repeat until the majority of the chickpeas are lightly browned and the peppers form dark spots (this will take about 10 minutes total).
- While the chickpeas brown, finely dice the chipotle peppers. Add the chipotle peppers to a small bowl, along with adobo sauce, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add the red onion and corn to the frying pan. Add the honey chipotle sauce and stir to coat the chickpea-pepper mixture. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Divide the couscous evenly among the four bowls. Top with a generous portion of chickpea-corn mixture. Dollop elote sauce on top of bowls and sprinkle with cotija cheese, if desired. Serve and enjoy.
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