Sometimes can be hard to eat out as a vegan here in Spain, but it’s not impossible and in recent years, the number of vegan or vegetarian restaurants has increased.
In Sevilla is easy to find Spanish spinach with chickpeas (espinacas con garbanzos in Spanish) in many traditional restaurants. Everybody loves it, even those who hate veggies, especially if you use finely chopped fresh spinach.
It’s common to use a lot of oil to make this delicious dish, but I prefer this lighter version, it’s healthier and tastes amazing too. You only need 6 ingredients to make spinach with chickpeas: extra virgin olive oil, garlic, sweet paprika, spinach, chickpeas and salt (optional).
You can use canned chickpeas, but they have preservatives and additives. I prefer to cook them in boiling water for one or two hours or until they’re soft. You should soak the chickpeas overnight, the longer you let it soak before cooking, the quicker they will cook.
Canned and frozen spinach is fine too, but fresh spinach is the best choice. You can use olive oil to cook the spinach instead of water, but I prefer my recipe. The result is a lower in calorie dish with a lot of flavor, so you won’t miss the extra oil.
Use a high quality paprika, it will make the difference. I love “Pimentón de la Vera” (smoked Spanish sweet paprika), but you can also use hot paprika or any kind you like.
Many people add more spinach, so feel free to add more. Besides, it’s not necessary to chop the spinach, but I think the dish looks and tastes better.
The recipe is ready in only 15 or 20 minutes (if you use cooked chickpeas, of course) and is super easy to make. I make it almost every week, it’s one of my all time favorite chickpea recipes.
If you make this Spanish spinach with chickpeas recipe, please leave a comment or tag a picture #simpleveganblog on Instagram or any other social network. We love to see your pictures and comments, it makes us very happy!
Spanish Spinach with Chickpeas
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, Spanish
Spinach with chickpeas is a traditional Spanish recipe. Everybody loves it, even those who hate veggies, especially if you use finely chopped fresh spinach.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 head of garlic (12 cloves)
- 3 tbsp sweet paprika
- 6 cups spinach (250 g)
- ½ cup water (125 ml)
- 3 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (650 g)
- Sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the garlic (diced) in a saucepan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until golden brown.
- Add the paprika, stir and add the spinach (finely chopped). Add the water and salt to taste (optional) and cook for about 5 minutes. You can use oil instead of water to cook the spinach.
- Add the cooked chickpeas, stir, add more oil if you want (you can add more paprika and salt too) and cook for 5 minutes more.
didn’t have paprika so made this with sumac and it came out amazing!
I love this recipe, it has become one of my standard, go-to dishes. The first time I made it I followed the recipe and found it was way too much garlic and water for my taste. I now make it with about half as much garlic as the recipe says, and just a splash of water. Thanks so much for the excellent recipe!
★★★★
Hi Fiona! You’re so welcome 🙂
I just made it. It was delicious but I added a couple of my own “likes”. I thought some spiciness would be nice so I added a small chipotle pepper ( from a can) with some of the adobo sauce it was in and then for a bit of freshness I added juice from a quarter of a lime. Wonderful recipe. Thanks for creating it and making it available!
Hi Nan! Sounds so good 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Really good!
★★★★★
Hi Deborah! Thanks a lot 🙂
Good explanation.
Pitty of the ads
★★★★★
Hi Daniel! This is our job, so we need to monetize the blog. In addition, our content is free, so I think it’s pretty fair. Have a nice day!
My sister has just made me this dish, and we all loved it! I’m handing it on to my daughter who is vegan, and my son and daughter-in-law currently living in Madrid. Thank you Iosune
Hi Shirley! You’re so welcome 🙂 We’re travelling to Madrid tomorrow, it’s a wonderful city. So glad you guys liked it!
This dish was SO EASY and FAST! I made it for the first time yesterday for dinner when my Father-in-law and sister-in-law came over and it was a big hit. It is so healthy and looks so fancy you would never guess how easy it was to make! Thank you so much for sharing this!
★★★★★
Hi Lydia! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 You’re so welcome!
Hi I made this it was fab ,do you know the nutritional values??
Hi Alyson! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 You can use this web to calculate the nutritional info: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This has become a weekly special for me. It’s just me and this cooks quickly with many things I usually have in stock, so easy too ! I hate to cook and this is a recipe I love to “cook”
★★★★★
Hi Linda! I’m so glad you like our recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Thanks for the recipe. Delicious. Made it a few times now.
Hi Nato! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Simple and tasty! I added turmeric (try to add it to any dish I can for health benefits). Will be saving this recipe
★★★★
Hi Kaye! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it
I rate this recipe 5 stars. Extremely delicious savory flavor absolutely loved it!
Hi Robin! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I like spinach and garbanzos, but was disappointed with this recipe. I added sea salt and other spices to jazz it up.
★★
Hi Elee! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you, but it’s really flavorful and our readers love it as you can read in the comment 🙂 Did you use the same ingredients?
substitute the paprika for a peperoncino and one small spoon of hot curry powder for a winter warmer – perfect 😉
Hi R! Sounds great 🙂
Love it. I’ve just made it to eat later on but i’ve stolen a small bowlful and because my daughter had the feta cheese out I sprinkled some on top. DELICIOUS! ❤️❤️
★★★★★
Hi May! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a beautiful day!
One of my dad’s favorite recipes was spinach and cannellini beans. I grew up eating this. It is a similar recipe. I made Spanish spinach with chickpeas tonight. Amazing what the addition of paprika does to the flavor. Thanks for sharing this!!!
Hi Dominique! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for this recipe, it was really good and hearty (especially with some brown rice) 😋 Question though, I feel like I had to quite a bit of salt, would using stock or broth (chicken or vegetable), instead of water, be a way to get around that?
★★★★
Hi Josie! You’re so welcome 🙂 I think it should work, but I’ve never tried it.
I think I might have burned the paprika, as the dish turned out very bitter. I would like to give it another go, as I like all the ingredients, but In wondering if anyone has accidentally overcooked paprika, and if so, did it turn your dish bitter? I used good quality sweet Spanish paprika and baby spinach, so my ingredients should not have been the culprits.
★★★
Hi Deanna! Try to add the paprika in the last minute, that way you don’t overcook it. Hope it helps!
I loved this!! Quick, easy, healthy and yummy! How many calories is a serving though?
★★★★★
Hi Katie! Thanks a lot 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it. You can use this web to calculate the nutritional info: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Made this the lazy girl way and used garlic powder and canned chickpeas and its dang delicious. 🙌 my new go to.
★★★★★
Hi Jessica! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I made the recipe as is except I used avocado oil to cook the spinach because it is healthier (very high smoke point)….anyway, I found it a little blah. I’m a real garlic head, so I made sure to use the whole head. I like blah food sometimes anyway, but I wonder if sweet paprika is different than regular paprika? I used a little smoked paprika too. Thanks! I may try again if I can find something labeled ‘sweet paprika’.
Hi Sarah! It’s different, and this recipe is usually made with pimentón de la Vera, a sweet, smoked paprika we have in Spain 🙂
I used frozen spinach and canned chickpeas and doubled the recipe for a pot luck… It was a hit!
★★★★★
Hi! So glad you guys enjoyed it 🙂
I’m planning on making this too. Sounds delicious. Do you think black olives would be a good addition, or would it overpower the flavour?
Hi Helen! I wouldn’t add black olives, but you could try… Hope you enjoy it!
Going to try it accompanied with roasted cauliflower
Hi Joao! Hope you like them 🙂
Soaking chickpeas right now to make this dish tomorrow.
Hi! Hope you like it 🙂
In Cordoba they make something similar to this and serve it as tapas. I kept ordering more! But as I recall, that dish was more like a puree than a hot salad. Do you happen to have a recipe for Cordoba-style chickpeas and spinach?
Hi Barbara! I’m so sorry, but I don’t have other recipe for this. This is not a hot salad, is more like a stew 🙂
lovel dish just made it for lunch we live in Spain also been here 14.5 years
Hi Patricia! So glad you liked it 🙂 Hope you enjoy our country!
The amount of garlic and paprika sounded too much, but I gave it a go and it was perfect! I added some diced sweet potato as I had one that needed using up and I used smoked paprika. Delicious and very simple and quick, thank you.
Hi Jayneyw! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 We use tons of garlic here in Spain, we love it!
So tasty! I’m an Israeli so I know about hummus, but never had it this way! Gracias!
Hi Roni! So glad you liked it 🙂
I know this was meant to be vegan but I went a little light on the garlic and this is an awesome side dish with salmon and broccoli florets.
Hi Rayman! We usually eat it as a main dish here in Spain, even non-vegans 🙂 Hope you liked it!