Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole

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Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with Spinach and Feta

This one pot vegetarian dinner is delicious and easy to make. The Mediterranean tomato stew is bursting with flavor from the red onion, tomatoes, and herbs. Then it’s combined with protein-rich chickpeas; and topped with feta cheese that gets crispy in the oven. This cozy chickpea casserole hits the spot when you’re craving comfort food, but also want to eat healthy!

You can serve this tomato chickpea casserole with a side of bread, pita, or naan for dipping. Or, spoon it over cooked rice for an even heartier meal. This recipe makes for delicious leftovers too—it reheats nicely in the oven or microwave

Why you’ll love this recipe

One pot: Easy clean-up. Everything gets cooked and served from one pot!

Healthy: This vegetarian (vegan-friendly) and gluten-free dinner is loaded with protein-rich chickpeas and healthy veggies.

Delicious: While this recipe is certainly healthy, it’s also loaded with flavor. It’s healthy comfort food.

Versatile: You can serve this Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with bread, pita, or rice. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, and can be easily reheated for lunch or dinner the next day.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS For Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole

⭐3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

⭐2 medium red onions, diced (about 3 cups)

⭐3 cloves garlic, minced

⭐½ teaspoon fine sea salt

⭐1 (24 oz/680 ml) jar passata (strained tomatoes) (see note 1)

⭐1 cup vegetable broth

⭐2 dried bay leaves

⭐1 teaspoon dried oregano

⭐¼ teaspoon ground cloves

⭐¼ teaspoon allspice

⭐¼ teaspoon cayenne

⭐3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 cans: 15 oz/14 fl oz/398 ml each)

⭐3 packed cups baby spinach

⭐1 tablespoon cane sugar (or coconut sugar, see note 2)

⭐Juice from 1 lemon

⭐Black pepper (to taste)

⭐⅔ cup crumbled feta cheese (vegan if desired or omit)

⭐Chopped flat leaf parsley (for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS For Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole

Saute: Heat olive oil in a large broiler-safe saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat (see note 3). Add onion, sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and salt, cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Combine and cover: Stir in passata, vegetable broth, bay leaves, oregano, cloves, allspice, and cayenne. Cover the pot with a lid. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes for the flavors to develop.

Simmer uncovered: Stir in the chickpeas. Cook uncovered until the liquid has reduced by one-third, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Reduce heat if the mixture starts to splatter, but keep mixture actively simmering).

Turn on broiler: Position a oven rack so that the top of the pot will be 4-inches away from the broiler. Turn oven to broil.

Finish cooking: Remove bay leaves. Stir in spinach. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Broil: Crumble feta overtop. Broil until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes (but watch carefully, broil times vary!). Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

NOTES:

Passata (“strained tomatoes”): Passata is made from strained uncooked tomatoes. It is usually packaged in tall glass jars. If you need to substitute, use crushed tomatoes (not tomato paste or tomato sauce).

Sugar: The sugar helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes. Feel free to omit if you prefer.

Pan: Saute pans have straight sides; so they typically hold more volume and come with a lid. Use a sauté pan if you have. Otherwise, if using a skillet without a lid, you can position a baking sheet over top as the “lid” when the instructions say to cover. If you don’t have a broiler safe pan, you can transfer to a broiler-safe casserole dish for the final step.

Serving suggestion: This dish is delicious served with bread or soft pita for dipping. It can also be spooned over cooked rice for a heartier meal.

Reheating instructions: Can be reheated in the oven (uncovered) at 275°F (140°C), in the microwave, or on the stove (covered) over medium-low heat until warmed through. Avoid putting cold cast iron cookware in a hot oven—to avoid thermal shock, let the pot come to room temperature while the oven pre-heats.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: