Spanish Spinach with Chickpeas

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

★★★★★ 4.6 from 30 reviews

• Author: Simple Vegan Blog
• 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.

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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

1. Cook the garlic (diced) in a saucepan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until golden brown.
2. 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.
3. 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.