Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Feta – all made in one pan in under 20 minutes! Sautéed red onion and garlic with Mediterranean spices stewed with crushed tomatoes, chickpeas and spinach. | Gluten Free + Vegetarian
Coming at ya with another Meatless Monday in the form of this Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Feta.
It’s
✔️An easy, one-pot dinner
✔️Ready in about 20 minutes
✔️Packed full of protein, fibre and healthy carbs
✔️Totally delicious!
I suppose ‘stew’ might not technically be the correct term here since this dish cooks up in such a small amount of time though the depth of flavour wouldn’t give it away.
At any rate, let’s get to it!
How to Make: Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Feta
Start out by sautéing the diced red onion in a little olive oil. Cook until soft, about five-ish minutes and then add the garlic and seasonings and the balsamic vinegar.
You don’t need too much to season here, just a little oregano, cayenne powder and ground cloves. Despite the addition of cayenne powder this dish isn’t spicy at all. It adds a very faint punch that’s not overly detectable. Feel free to kick up the spice a bit if you prefer things a little spicier or even omit it altogether if you’re extra sensitive to spice.
Cook that mixture for a minute or so and then add in the vegetable stock and the crushed tomatoes. Let that simmer and cook for about 5-10 minutes. In this time the tomato mixture will thicken and reduce down slightly. You can taste and season adding a little salt and pepper as needed.
Finally, just stir in the chickpeas, spinach and feta, cover and let cook another couple of minutes to heat the chickpeas through and wilt the spinach. Taste and season as needed one more time and that’s it!
This makes for a really quick and easy weeknight dinner that doesn’t require too many ingredients. It also makes for great leftovers that you can easily store and reheat as needed.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this with a side of some gluten free French Bread to soak up the tomato juices (egg free version here) and enjoy!
A few more ideas to enjoy:
- Vegan Mashed Potatoes or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
- Mashed Potato Biscuits
- Gluten Free Flatbread
- Gluten Free Focaccia
- Socca: A Chickpea Flatbread
- Easy Roasted Root Vegetables
Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Feta
Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Feta - all made in one pan in under 20 minutes! Sautéed red onion and garlic with Mediterranean spices stewed with chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and spinach. | Gluten Free + Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium red onions, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 (15oz/400 g) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock, aim for a low sodium stock
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 (15 oz/400 g) cans chickpeas, drained
- 3 cups spinach packed
- 1/2 cup (75 g) crumbled feta
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- red chili flakes, optional
- fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over a medium heat in a large skillet or sauce pot. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic, oregano, cayenne and cloves and cook another minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, stock and vinegar. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat down to a simmer. Let cook 7-10 minutes to thicken the sauce - stir every so often.
- Stir in the chickpeas, spinach and feta. Cover and cook another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt as needed and garnish with red chili flakes and parsley and serve.
Notes
Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Irene says
Made this easy and delicious dish yesterday. Omitted one can of chickpeas and the cayenne pepper and cloves. I do recommend using the purple onions.
Wonderful dish!!!
Thank you!!!
Sarah Nevins says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks so much, Irene 🙂
diana says
This was delicious! I needed to cut the cayenne back to 1/4 tsp for my personal taste, but my mouth was watering from the moment I smelled the spice mix. The broth never really thickened up, but the stew is quite hearty, especially if served over rice. This will definitely be on repeat!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Dina! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
If you do want to get a thicker stew, next time you can always try raising the temperature higher or letting it simmer for longer. Between the tomatoes and stock there is a lot of liquids that could eventually cook down. That being said, I do enjoy the sauce over a rice or with a piece of bread 🙂
Margaret Williamson says
Absolutely delicious! Easy to make, healthy, and filling. What more could you ask for?! I halved the recipe and have plenty left for tomorrow. I had a toasted wholemeal pitta with it, to mop up the sauce.
Sarah Nevins says
Thank you so much, Margaret! I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this so much! Thanks for taking the time to come back to let me know how it went 🙂
Tory says
This was really, really good. Happened to be out of cayenne pepper so used chili powder, but otherwise followed the recipe. We are not vegetarian, but will def make this again.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Tory! I’m so glad to hear that – thank you so much for coming back to let me know what you thought 🙂
Christine says
Have made this many times and it is weird, sometimes is is thick and sometimes it is thin. Either way it is delicous. Highly recommend.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Christine! Glad you’ve enjoyed it even with the varied results!
Renee says
It was delicious!!
Sarah Nevins says
Wonderful! Thanks Renee 🙂
Katherine Zapora says
Wow! This was my first experience making a Mediterranean dish like this. It has an interesting spice combination. It definitely has some heat to it followed by the clove flavor. It’s definitely different from anything I’ve made but has everything I love in it! Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks so much, Katherine – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you also for coming back to let me know what you thought of the dish 🙂
Brenda says
Thank you so much for this 5+ star easy gluten-free plant-based recipe Sarah! Everyone absolutely loved it, even my carnivore friends LOL!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Brenda! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought of it!
Tammy says
Thank you for this recipe. I loved how easy it was to prepare! I subbed goat cheese for the feta and various greens from my garden for the spinach. It still came out great – much creamier than your photo and I will definitely try it with feta next time. This was perfect with turmeric rice and a slow cooked Moroccan pork dish. Thanks again.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Tammy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this 🙂 Goats cheese sounds like a delicious addition – I quite like the sounds of making the sauce creamier!
Heather says
Delish! My boyfriend and I were looking for something to make with items we already had in the house. Stumbled upon this recipe and decided to give it a try. We will be making this often.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Heather! I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come back and leave such a kind comment 🙂
Bethany Chance says
I’ll probably get banished for this, but since i’m not veg-anything, I added chicken instead of feta. I was looking for a unique dish to make with all the breasts I buy on sale,cube and freeze. This was tasty beyond my wildest dreams.
Sarah Nevins says
No judgments here! That sounds quite tasty – to be honest, I think my husband might enjoy that addition – will have to try it the next time I make this! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂