Lately I’ve been trying to simplify my lunches by making large dinners at the beginning of the week and then reheating the leftovers. This chickpea and spinach stew is something I adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe, and it’s perfect for simple, hearty summer eating. You could easily add zucchini, mushrooms or any number of other veggies! I like to eat it with a nice, thick slice of crusty sourdough bread and some Cholula hot sauce drizzled on top. You could also spoon it over brown rice or quinoa—it’s a very flexible dish.
Chickpea and Spinach Stew
This vegan stew is perfect for simple, hearty summer eating. You could easily add zucchini, mushrooms or any number of other veggies! I like to eat it with a nice, thick slice of crusty sourdough bread and some Cholula hot sauce drizzled on top. You could also spoon it over brown rice or quinoa—it's a very flexible dish.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes WITH liquid
- 45 oz chickpeas (3 cans), rinsed and drained
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and salt. Stir and let simmer until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, ginger and cayenne. Stir to combine and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes (with their juice!), chickpeas and broth. Stir and let cook for another 5 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, potato masher or even a large fork, blend the chickpeas about halfway to mush. You want to have a combination of mashed and whole chickpeas—don’t go too crazy. Just do enough to get the broth to thicken up.
- Gradually add the spinach to the pot, folding the leaves in as you go. If you need to add a little bit of water to loosen things up, that’s fine—try adding it a few tablespoons at a time. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add lime juice and cilantro and stir well. Done!
14 Comments
Sounds delicious! I am a sucker for anything with ginger. Or chickpeas.
You are on a roll!
I’m making this! I just joined WW last week, actually, so this recipe is timely.
Ahhhhhh, and I’m back to WW! My safe place. 😉
I am definitely going to make this. With one vegetarian and one vegan daughter, this will be perfect!
This looks just fantastic 🙂 I love chickpeas but often run out of things to do with them and fast 🙁 Thank you for sharing.
Alice
Anna, I cooked this for dinner last night (froze a few portions), had it for lunch today, and have decided to make ANOTHER batch swapping out two cans of chickpeas for a cauliflower (I like really love cauliflower and think it’d be a great thickener). Yes, I want to eat that tonight. Can you tell I love this recipe? 😉 THANK YOU.
Oh wow, cauliflower sounds great! Did you cook/steam it separately before adding it to the pot?
Thank you!! I made this last night and it was delicious. Everyone loved it.
I’ll try adding some cauliflower next time-thanks for the suggestion MOMO.
So glad to hear that, Ann! I’m making it again tomorrow. 🙂
This was a great recipe! I didn’t read the directions closely enough and only used one can of chickpeas, but it still turned out delicious. I accidentally ate the whole batch, so I guess it’s a good thing that I left two cans out. Thanks for the recipe!
Yet another winning recipe from your blog that is destined to become a staple for me, so good!
Hi Anna; reading this I thought you might appreciate this: http://www.ikea.com/nl/nl/catalog/products/60326878/ I am practicing using it and the things I have tried are fantastic. Basicly you soak it in water (for about 20 minutes) chop everything you put in pretty chunky, add fluids, salt and herbs and put it in the oven for 70 minutes and just when you’ve forgotten about it, it’s done. No washing up necessary, just a good rinse. I made it with vegetables, rice and chickpea’s yesterday (vegan cooking made easy) and it was delicious.
I am trying potatoes with onions, herbs, carrots and butter today. I bought it because I wanted to make oven roasted vegetables without having to use all the tinfoil involved with that. I am getting the bigger one as well (I bought the small one) because I think it is a really easy way to make food in large quantities for parties etc.
I NEVER comment on blogs, but just wanted to thank you for sharing this really delicious recipe. I made it for lunch today, and loved it! I’m excited to share with my hubbie later for dinner. (My culinary skills are not the highlight of our marriage… hahhaha)
I am about to make this for the second time to bring to work this week for lunches (I usually sub out a can of chickpeas for cauliflower). It’s delicious and, importantly, filling. Thanks for sharing!