Chickpeas are in so many of my recipes that I should probably devote an entire section to them in my recipe archives. I think it’s safe to say I have them almost every week, whether its in a curry dish, thrown onto a salad, or baking them for this roasted chickpea quinoa bowl. They’re an excellent source of protein for vegetarians and are incredibly versatile, so I always make sure I have some on hand. Plus, they’re pretty easy on the wallet!
If you’ve never made roasted chickpeas before, you’re in for a serious treat. These delicious little nuggets are hugely addicting and couldn’t be easier to make. I simply toss them in a little bit of olive oil, some cumin, paprika, cayenne and sea salt, and bake for 30 minutes. They come out crispy on the outside and wonderfully chewy on the inside. I love to nibble on them as a standalone snack, but my favorite way to serve them as part of a meal is in this quinoa bowl.
Ever since I started making this Catalan recipe, sauteeing spinach has been my go-to method for eating greens. I love watching an entire bag of spinach wilt in the pan in mere seconds, amounting to just a few nutrition-packed bites that I can add to my meal – and as ridiculous as this sounds, I always have a Popeye moment and feel quite pleased with myself for being so healthy. With a bit of fresh lemon juice, sauteed spinach becomes the perfect addition to this quinoa bowl. The brightness of the lemony spinach pairs beautifully with the spiced chickpeas, salty kalamata olives and slightly sweet pine nuts. A generous drizzle of creamy tahini ties everything together to create the perfect bowl meal: comforting, healthy, quick, and so flavorful. There’s a reason this is on my weekly dinner rotation!
- 1 14 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika or preferably smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of cayenne
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 bag of fresh spinach
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- About ⅛ cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- Tahini for drizzling
- Salt to taste
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the drained chickpeas to a baking dish or sheet and lightly toss them with the olive oil, spices and salt. Stir well to coat them in the spices. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
- While the chickpeas are roasting, cook the quinoa. Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper once the quinoa has cooked.
- When there's a couple minutes left on the chickpeas, start sauteeing the spinach over medium heat in a large pan with the olive oil. Stir often so that the spinach wilts evenly. Once the spinach has wilted, remove it from the heat immediately and add the fresh lemon juice.
- To assemble: add the cooked quinoa to two bowls. Split the chickpeas, spinach, olives and pine nuts between the two bowls, and drizzle each bowl generously with tahini. Season with additional salt to taste.
Sensational looking dish, Julia! Looks like you’ve hit on yet another wonderful combination of flavors. Roasted chickpeas sound delicious especially with the seasoning you chose. I liked your line about the Popeye moment, too. Maybe after all that nutritious spinach, you could pick Leo up with one arm and Pippa in the other.
I think you’d really like this, especially because I know you’re now a fan of tahini! I’d love it if I could pick up Pippa and Leo at the same time – but I think there would be a lot of squirming involved from Mr. Leo 😉
Great recipe, Julia. Until now, I had found chickpeas palatable only in hummus, otherwise somewhat blah! I tried your recipe today, and it is delicious. Thank you.
I do hope you are enjoying life in beautiful SF.
I’m so happy that you liked the recipe, Shamel! Thanks for letting me know. I love SF so far – I can’t believe it’s been almost a year here already. I hope you’re enjoying retirement!
I cannot wait to try your method for roasting chickpeas as I’ve only ever tried a stovetop version that didn’t work very well. The combination of the spiced chickpeas with tahini, quinoa, olives and lemony wilted spinach sounds so absolutely perfect for me, definitely a weeknight dinner type of bowl. I can’t wait to incorporate this one into my routine! Hope you’re well lady! xo
Oh yes, this method couldn’t be easier and never fails to deliver! I hope you enjoy it – it’s my go-to for weeknight dinner bowls too 🙂 Hope you’re doing well too, Christine! Xo
All hail the mighty chickpea! I also eat them weekly (daily?!), I’m so happy I caught this before I went grocery shopping, its on the menu!
Yay! Let me know what you think of it! Are chickpeas the best? I’m not sure what I’d do without them!