Can we talk about how beautiful those rainbow carrots are?! You are looking good today, carrots. This stunning roasted carrot dish features warm whole grains, protein-rich chickpeas, spiced…
Can we talk about how beautiful those rainbow carrots are?! You are looking good today, carrots. This stunning roasted carrot dish features warm whole grains, protein-rich chickpeas, spiced pepitas and a light herbed crème fraîche sauce.
Don’t be intimidated by its gourmet looks—this recipe is simple to make once you get going. It has several different components, but none are complicated, and they come together beautifully.
This recipe is an absolutely lovely vegetarian option for your holiday table. Call it a main dish for the vegetarians and a side dish for everyone else. It’s also a well-balanced weeknight or special occasion dinner.
If this recipe looks familiar, it’s because it’s one of my all-time favorites. It even made it into my cookbook with a tahini sauce variation. Today, I’m sharing it again with updated photos and a video so you can watch how it all comes together.
This simple but elegant chickpea spread combines sweet caramelized onions with a creamy, savory puréed chickpea spread, the perfect appetizer for any occasion!
Party season is just around the corner so it’s time to start bookmarking all the good appetizer recipes to bring to holiday gatherings! When I saw this simple but elegant (and budget-friendly!) Chickpea Spread with Caramelized Onions in Michal Korkosz’s new book, Polish’d: Modern Vegetarian Cooking from Global Poland, I knew I had to try it because I l-o-v-e turning a humble can of beans into something special. And guess what? This dip was every bit as delicious as it looked. So big thanks to Michal and his publisher for letting us share this amazing recipe with you today, just in time for the holidays!
What’s in This Chickpea Spread?
The base of the chickpea spread is simply chickpeas brightened up with a little lemon juice and puréed until smooth with cold water. To give the spread a boost of flavor, caramelized onions and fresh parsley are added to the mix. The caramelized onions give the chickpeas a subtly sweet and savory flavor, while the parsley adds a breath of freshness. The combination of flavors is absolutely divine and it will definitely have you coming back for dip after dip!
How to Serve the Chickpea Spread
This appetizer is best served with a variety of crackers or bread for dipping, but I think it would also make an amazing spread to add to sandwiches or even just a slice of toast. Michal notes in his book to serve with bread and dill pickles. Yum!
Storing Leftovers
The chickpea spread will stay good in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days, but the presentation is definitely best on the day it’s made when the caramelized onions are at their most beautiful. Caramelized onions do tend to get a little cloudy when refrigerated as they absorb moisture.
This simple but elegant chickpea spread combines sweet caramelized onions with a creamy, savory puréed chickpea spread, the perfect appetizer for any occasion!
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, bay leaves, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
Place the chickpeas in a food processor with the cold water and remaining ½ tsp salt. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the caramelized onions (save some for the garnish) and the lemon juice and parsley. Pulse once or twice to combine. Season with pepper.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Top with the remaining caramelized onions and season with more pepper. Serve with your favorite bread and dill pickles.
How to Make Chickpea Spread with Caramelized Onions
Start caramelizing the onions first, as they’ll take about a half hour to cook. Slice one pound of white onions and add them to a skillet with ¼ cup olive oil, 3 bay leaves, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp brown sugar.
Cook the onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they deep golden brown and caramelized. You can increase the heat to medium-low if they are taking too long, just make sure to stir often. Discard the bay leaves.
Drain one 15oz. can of chickpeas and add them to a food processor with ½ tsp salt and ⅓ cup cold water.
Purée the chickpeas until smooth. If the chickpeas seem dry, you can add a little extra water or olive oil until they blend smoothly.
Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, half of the caramelized onions, and about ¼ cup fresh parsley to the food processor.
Pulse the chickpeas to combine with the parsley and caramelize onions. Give it a taste, season with pepper, and adjust the salt, lemon, or other ingredients to your liking.
Serve the chickpea spread in a bowl, topped with the remaining caramelized onions, and some freshly cracked pepper. Enjoy!
Hummus is one of my all-time favorite appetizers and snacks. I could eat it every single day. Sure, you can buy hummus at the store, but homemade hummus is SO much better and SO easy to make. I am going to teach you my tips and tricks for making the BE…
Hummus is one of my all-time favorite appetizers and snacks. I could eat it every single day. Sure, you can buy hummus at the store, but homemade hummus is SO much better and SO easy to make. I am going to teach you my tips and tricks for making the BEST hummus ever. I love…
My Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos are one of my all-time favorite meals. My boys also love them and they are a blog favorite. Everyone that tries them becomes a fan, they are that good! I decided to turn my favorite tacos into enchiladas and I am glad I di…
My Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos are one of my all-time favorite meals. My boys also love them and they are a blog favorite. Everyone that tries them becomes a fan, they are that good! I decided to turn my favorite tacos into enchiladas and I am glad I did. I love enchiladas, especially twists on the…
This flavor-packed veggie shawarma puts a twist on the traditional Middle Eastern dish by replacing the meat with colorful vegetables for a 100% plant-based meal. Seasoned cauliflower, green beans, and chickpeas are the heart of this dish, with a delic…
This flavor-packed veggie shawarma puts a twist on the traditional Middle Eastern dish by replacing the meat with colorful vegetables for a 100% plant-based meal. Seasoned cauliflower, green beans, and chickpeas are the heart of this dish, with a delicious homemade garlic aioli sauce to top it off. I shared plenty of mouthwatering cauliflower recipes that will...
These chimichurri chickpeas are bold and zippy. This simple dish features hearty chickpeas, crumbled feta cheese, and homemade chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri verde hails from Argentina and is…
These chimichurri chickpeas are bold and zippy. This simple dish features hearty chickpeas, crumbled feta cheese, and homemade chimichurri sauce.
Chimichurri verde hails from Argentina and is typically served on steak, though I love it in many other preparations. It’s a bright herbed sauce made with fresh parsley, garlic, red onion, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.
You could call this recipe is a collision of leftovers or, better yet, a happy coincidence. This summer, we invited friends over to grill and I made my chimichurri sauce to go with our meal. I was thrilled when one of our friends took his first bite and demanded the recipe.
We had a bit of sauce leftover, so I stashed it in the refrigerator near some extra chickpeas. The combination proved fantastic once I added some creamy, tangy feta cheese.
While the sauce is Argentinean, this dish’s flavor profile is more recognizably Mediterranean. I love this lively side dish, and I hope you do, too.
This wholesome tomato pasta recipe makes a wonderful weeknight dinner! This feel-good recipe is warm, comforting, and lightly creamy, but not heavy. It’s bursting with Mediterranean flavors—roasted…
This wholesome tomato pasta recipe makes a wonderful weeknight dinner! This feel-good recipe is warm, comforting, and lightly creamy, but not heavy.
It’s bursting with Mediterranean flavors—roasted cherry tomatoes, hearty chickpeas, creamy goat cheese, pops of briny olives, and garlic. Each one benefits from the heat of the oven, and the end result is just fantastic.
I love how this recipe comes together and I think you will, too. Basically, we’ll cook the pasta on the stovetop and roast the remaining ingredients in one baking dish. Stir it all together, add fresh basil, and you’re ready to eat. You’ll have plenty of time in between steps to tidy the kitchen or chat.
Quick curries are my favorite kind of weeknight dinner because they’re incredibly flavorful, require very little effort, and the leftovers are even better the next day. Plus, that creamy curry sauce makes everything taste good, so you can pack them with all sorts of nutrient-dense goodies, like chickpeas and kale. So basically, what I’m trying to say is, you need to make these Coconut Curry Chickpeas ASAP!
What’s in Coconut Curry Chickpeas
You’ll only need a handful of ingredients to make this warm and hearty dish, most of which you can keep on hand for last-minute dinners. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make coconut curry chickpeas:
Aromatics: onion, garlic, and ginger create a powerful flavor base for this dish.
Spices: Curry powder and cumin. If you want a hot curry, you can always add a bit of cayenne pepper, too!
Tomato sauce: a little bit of tomato sauce adds just the right amount of acidity to the dish to balance the creamy coconut.
Coconut milk: full-fat coconut milk gives the curry sauce a ton of body and provides a creamy base to balance the potent flavors of the spices and aromatics.
Chickpeas: Inexpensive chickpeas fill out this dish, providing tons of belly-filling power and good-for-you fiber.
Kale: kale adds a little more variety in texture, color, and flavor to this dish. If you’re not into kale, you can substitute with fresh spinach.
What Kind of Curry Powder to Use
Curry powders can vary quite a bit in flavor from brand to brand, so make sure you experiment to find one that you enjoy. I’ve never met a curry powder that I didn’t like, so I don’t have one particular brand to suggest, but you definitely want to make sure it’s fresh! Old spices that have been sitting in your pantry a while begin to lose flavor and become dull and bland with time.
You also have the option to use either hot or mild curry powder. If you enjoy spicy foods you can use a hot curry powder, OR simply add some crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper to the dish when adding the curry powder and cumin.
How to Serve Coconut Curry Chickpeas
This warm and saucy dish is great over rice, or crusty bread or naan for dipping. You definitely want some sort of starchy goodness to soak up all of that sauce! You can also experiment with topping your chickpeas with fresh cilantro or even a squeeze of lime. Something light and refreshing, like Creamy Cucumber Salad, would also pair nicely with these curry chickpeas.
Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large deep skillet along with the olive oil. Sauté the aromatics over medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the curry powder and cumin to the skillet and continue to stir and cook for about one minute more to toast the spices.
Drain the chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with the tomato sauce and coconut milk. Stir everything to combine.
Turn the heat up to medium-high to bring the sauce up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat back down to medium-low and allow the curry to continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the kale and stir it into the sauce. Continue to cook and stir until the kale has wilted to your desired tenderness (I cook for about 5 minutes more). Finally, taste the curry and add salt to taste (about ½ tsp). Serve hot with rice or bread for dipping!
How to Make Coconut Curry Chickpeas – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, mince two cloves of garlic, and grate about one teaspoon of fresh ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a deep skillet along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the aromatics over medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add 1.5 Tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp cumin to the skillet. Continue to stir and cook for about one minute more to toast the spices.
Drain two cans of chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with 8 oz. tomato sauce and a 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk (full fat).
Stir until everything is evenly combined, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 4 oz. (about three cups) of fresh chopped kale to the skillet. I buy the pre-chopped bagged kale to make this easier.
Continue to cook and stir until the kale has wilted to your desired tenderness. I enjoy the kale with a bit more texture, so I only simmer for a few minutes more. Taste the curry and add salt to taste to help the flavors pop (about ½ tsp).
We’ve done veggie burgers and pesto separately, but together? Our only regret is not trying it sooner! Herby, savory chickpea burgers join with sliced tomato, arugula, and a creamy, bright balsamic aioli for a major dose of YUM!
Just 30 minutes require…
We’ve done veggie burgers and pesto separately, but together? Our only regret is not trying it sooner! Herby, savory chickpea burgers join with sliced tomato, arugula, and a creamy, bright balsamic aioli for a major dose of YUM!
Just 30 minutes required for this satisfying plant-based main perfect for summer BBQs or a quick weeknight meal! Let us show you how it’s done!
These pesto chickpea patties begin with mashing chickpeas until there are only a few large pieces remaining.
Weeknight ease with weekend flavor? These Mediterranean-inspired nourish bowl do it all! Waves of flavor come from roasted eggplant and chickpeas, Greek-inspired lemon rice, an herby tomato cucumber salad, and creamy tahini sauce. It’s the best of summ…
Weeknight ease with weekend flavor? These Mediterranean-inspired nourish bowl do it all! Waves of flavor come from roasted eggplant and chickpeas, Greek-inspired lemon rice, an herby tomato cucumber salad, and creamy tahini sauce. It’s the best of summer, all in one bowl!
It’s a fresh, flavorful, satisfying plant-based meal that’s easy to make and been on repeat in our kitchens lately. Let’s make it!
These nourish bowls begin with roasting eggplant and chickpeas until golden brown and caramelized.
Hummus is one of my all-time favorite appetizers and snacks. I could eat it every single day. Sure, you can buy hummus at the store, but homemade hummus is SO much better and SO easy to make. I am going to teach you my tips and tricks for making the BEST hummus ever. I love… 
My Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos are one of my all-time favorite meals. My boys also love them and they are a blog favorite. Everyone that tries them becomes a fan, they are that good! I decided to turn my favorite tacos into enchiladas and I am glad I did. I love enchiladas, especially twists on the… 
