Chickpeas again! I apologize to any chickpea haters for following one chickpea recipe with another, but in my opinion, there are few foods in the vegan diet as versatile as the chickpea.
Think about it: You can smash them, roast them, stew them, and make endless varieties of salad with them; they’re used in cuisines all around the globe, ranging from India to Italy to North Africa to the Middle East, their mild flavor accommodating just about any seasoning you can throw at them; and the chickpea’s firm texture holds its own when other legumes would break down or become mushy. Freshly cooked from dried, they are delicious even unseasoned, but of all canned beans, canned chickpeas are probably the best-tasting, making them perfect for those days when you don’t have a lot of time to get dinner on the table.
Over the weekend, I had one of those days. I’d spent too long outside enjoying the Spring weather, and my family was away so I was cooking for one. I had a cup of cooked quinoa in the fridge and a craving for something curry-flavored. I wasn’t cooking to impress anybody, didn’t need an “authentic” recipe (whatever that means)–all I needed was to satisfy my own taste, fast.
So I threw together this curried chickpeas sandwich filling from 8 pantry and refrigerator staples (plus the aforementioned quinoa). What it lacks in imagination, it more than makes up in flavor, thanks to my favorite curry powder, Maharajah (available at spice stores such as The Spice House and Penzey’s). And like the chickpea itself, this recipe is versatile. I prefer it piping hot, wrapped in naan or pita bread, but it’s also tasty cold, cradled in romaine or Boston lettuce leaves or just served atop a crisp, green salad.
If you like meals that come together in a flash, be sure to check out all of my Ridiculously Easy recipes.
Ridiculously Easy Curried Chickpeas and Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas , rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons good curry powder (or adjust to taste)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne or other ground red pepper (or to taste)
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted preferred)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium-sized, non-stick sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring, until onions soften. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
- Add the chickpeas, curry powder, and red pepper, and stir briefly. Add the tomatoes and cooked quinoa, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add salt to taste.
- Serve in wraps, pita bread, or lettuce leaves or with naan or other flatbread.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
More Chickpea Goodness from Around the Blogs:
- Zucchini and Chickpea Pancakes From Just Hungry
- Chickpeas Sundal Recipe from Chef In You
- Chickpea Hot Pot from 101 Cookbooks
- Vegan Chickpea Tacos from Happy Herbivore
- Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew with Israeli Couscous from Pinch My Salt
Please pin and share!
Myriah
This was my very first quinoa recipe and WOW, ridiculously tasty!
Romi
Perfect! Saw this at midday today, made it tonight to take to work for lunch for the next couple of days. It’s so tasty I had to stop myself from making it my second dinner tonight, too. I didn’t have any cayenne pepper so I used a cajun mix I’m fond of, worked a charm.
Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog)
This salad sounds fabulous! It looks mouthwatering in the pita. YUM! 😀
Jenn
BlessedMama
Oh, I could never get sick of the wonderful chick pea! This recipe looks tantalizingly good.
Tom Salamone
My daughter said the Curried Chickpeas & Quinoa I made for her last night was the best meal i have prepared for her. It was fast and easy to prepare and made a pleasant looking plate. I served it with a lentil and sweet potate soup. I enjoy your site. Thank you.
Soma
We love our chickpeas and quinoa. This is one scrumptious recipe.
raja
so i made this and as always it was delish. i added some squash just because i didn’t want it to go bad in the fridge and some Quorn brand chk’N just to stretch it out. my lettuce didn’t want to get cute but it got ate, i also had some vegan sour cream on the side and used it when i wrapped in in the naan with the shredded lettuce and tomatoes 🙂 and also when i did the lettuce wrap. thank you susan for yet another chickpea recipe
Heather
I made this last night–soooo delicious and easy. This is going to become a staple in my house! My husband also was crazy about it, and wants me to make it again today! 🙂 Thank you!!
Jessica
Yumm !! Chickpeas are my favourite. 😀
Chef Danielle Jangmi
I am pretty sure Muir Glenn Organic Tomatoes use BPA-free cans. Also Eden Organics uses BPA-free non-leaching cans for all of their canned products.
cheers!
SusanV
I’m afraid that as of now, Muir Glen is still using cans with BPA. But the good news is that they’ll be switching as of the next harvest:
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/04/19/general-mills-pull-bpa-organic-tomato-cans.
Unfortunately, only Eden’s bean products are in BPA-free cans. The tomatoes are still packed in cans using BPA: http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=178
Kerri
So I’m a newbie to the vegetarian world (since Thursday lol), but I made this recipe tonight and it was really, really good! I was surprised at how filling and easy it was to make. I’m the worst cook, so thanks for having some easy and tasty recipes to share. 🙂
BD
I’ve never commented here before, but I am now because this is so delicious! I made some modifications. I added oil while sauteing (I’m not concerned about fat), and I omitted the ginger because I don’t like it in anything that isn’t sweet. I used 2 tsp. of curry powder, but mine was really mild and I felt it needed a bit more of something so I added about 1/2. tsp of chili powder. I omitted the cayenne because of the kids and I salted to taste. It was SO good. I ate it in a burrito, and the kids ate it plain in a bowl! Thanks so much for all the great recipes. 🙂
Sabine
Not only was this dish ridiculously easy to make, it was ridiculously and wonderfully delicious! Thanks for the great recipe – I’ll be making it again – soon!
Laurel
Hi Susan,
Just made this for lunch for my fiance and it was superb! I recently found your site as I am trying adopt a more vegan lifestyle and I can’t wait to make more of your recipes. Has anyone offered you a cookbook deal? If not, they should! 🙂
One thing I added to the recipe was lemon juice…not mixed in to the concoction, but a squeeze of lemon wedge to taste once I spooned it into the lettuce leaves. SO yum!
Keep up the great work!
Vegan Traveler
Thanks – I was looking for another way to use quinoa and chickpeas! LOL Acutally, I just bought some new curry and will be trying this dish. I love your blog and can always trust what you say about every dish you make. You make life easier for me.
Bernadette
Hi Susan, I just found this blog and I’m so glad I did! Everything looks great! Can’t wait to try this one out
Anna
Made this tonight for my family. They LOVED it. Everyone in my family is vegetarian, so I am used to having to cook several different courses to satisfy their cravings [even for vegans, eating salad every day gets rather boring ; ] Instead of using canned tomatoes I used really ripe hot-house tomatoes and blended them in the food processor-much healthier and very tasty.
Loved it, already got requests to make it again 🙂
Stephanie
This is a really delicious recipe. And it’s so filling, too! We stuffed it into pitas and topped it with some homemade raita and tons of fresh cilantro. We will definitely be making it again. We love your blog!
Patti Bruni
Thanks for another great recipe, quick, easy and delish……
Ana Goncalves
Looks great! And I can imagine it would taste it too.
I was originally attracted to this recipe for the Quinoa. Reason is, that I’ve never made anything with it as of yet, and i’m tempted to have a go at this as it looks simple and straight forward. I dont have a standard kitchen at the moment, as it is been renovated, so the bbq cooker will have to do it for now.
Thanks so much for the inspiring recipes!
Food for the soul from the heart, always conquers me. 🙂
Filiz Sinmaz
Instead of canned tomatoes, I use frozen tomatoes. When there are some ripe tomatoes that I won’t be able to use, I throw them in the freezer here and there (they fill the voids) and when the time comes to cook I rinse them under water, the skin comes off easily and put them in the pot directly either with the rest of the ingredients of the recipe or alone to make a paste without adding any water on slow heat.
Tracy
YUM-O!
I made these for dinner with the lettuce wraps- My husband was impressed! 🙂
Thanks-
Rachel
I like chickpeas, but their not my husband’s favorite. I made this recipe, but substitued tofu for the chickpeas so we still got some filling protein in there and it was great. So, for any chickpea haters out there, tofu ‘s an alternative 🙂
I love your blog- so many wonderful recipes that make even the worst cooks l (like me) come out with great meals!
Bala
To the person that was concerned about the sodium, you can wash the canned garbanzo beans to cut down on the sodium. I never use the juices from the beans or canned vegetables.
Connie F
I didn’t realize and just found out that beans are cooked in the cans, so contain all the saponin that we would get rid of if we cooked them ourselves, so we are best to drain the canned beans and rinse them……….
Also re: the freezing of tomatos vs canning…..I’ll never can another tomato. I just cut up my freshly picked and washed tomatos, plop them in a freezer bag, suck out the air, and toss them in the freezer. In Jan. and Feb. it gets mighty chilly here in Vermont, and boy did my garden tomatos taste lovely in a soup….tasted like I just picked ’em.
Joy
I love chickpeas! Keep the recipes coming!
chantelle
Omgosh Susan I just made this. I found it last night. I am trying to find ways to use quinoa as it is new to me . I must say I am not fond of it but it is too nutritional to give up.,
This is great I had it on a whole wheat tortilla as I dont have any flat bread but I must get some I think this would be great on naan with a dallop of soy yoguert . This is spicy !!! for sure but soo goood Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Theresa
I love your web site and I tried making this, but mine turned out very runny. 🙁 Maybe I should have drained the tomatoes instead of just dumping them in or use less water when cooking the Quinoa? Although that was the first time I’ve ever made it. Also, just an ironic aside – I cut my hand making the “ridiculously easy” meal. lol. Apparently, I need some serious hand holding when it comes to cooking!
Thank you for the fabulous web site. 🙂
SusanV
Ouch! Sorry about your hand! And sorry it came out runny. When cooked, the quinoa should be pretty dry and fluffy, so if it was wet, I would agree that using less water is probably the answer.
Theresa
Ohhh. It definitely was wet. That’s ok. I’ve never used it before. But it wasn’t as runny as it was before after it sat for a few minutes.
Theresa
I was wrong! The quinoa sucked up all the left over juices after I put it into a Tupperware container. Awesome. And it tastes great. 🙂
Denise
Made this tonight for dinner, and I loved it! My 21 month old son (who has been a vegan since birth) ended up having 3 helpings. I served with a dollop of hummus on top, and I have found it a great sour cream or plain yoghurt substitute in recipes like this. They don’t sell fire roasted canned tomatoes in New Zealand, so just had to use plain ol’ canned tomatoes, but it still tasted fantastic.
Mareile
Thanks for sharing this. One of the few vegan dishes my husband will enjoy (liking his spicy foods). He watches all my cooking with suspicion and has meat products ready to make up for any ‘deficiencies’ in my recipes. But there are so many things on your site that he will like that he’ll never notice just how much I am veganising him. 😀
We’re lucky here and can get chopped tomatoes in lined cartons – no tins. 😀
As english is not my first language: please tell me what that pretty stick is called in the picture. I usually use wooden cocktail sticks but I’d love to have some permanent ‘whateverthey’recalleds’. Thanks so much for sharing all your experiments (and keep those chickpea recipes coming! ). xo
SusanV
Hi Mareile, they’re called Hors d’Oeuvre Picks or simply picks. I found mine at this site, though the ones with the flowers are no longer available: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/search.aspx?query=picks
I’m so glad to hear my recipes are helping to secretly veganise your husband! 🙂