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!
📖 Recipe
Spanish Spinach with Chickpeas
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 head of garlic, 12 cloves
- 3 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 6 cups spinach
- ½ cup water
- 3 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 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.
Rich says
Is it really 3 table spoons of paprika?..
I made it today and it wasn’t very nice..
Sorry
Duey Krische-Duenas says
Surely it's meant to be 3 tsps - not tbsps!
Iosune says
Hi! It's 3 tbsp 🙂
Iosune says
Hi! Yes, it's 3 tbsp and our readers like it this way as it's a super popular recipe. Maybe your paprika has a stronger flavor than mine... Sorry for the inconvenience!
Iasia says
I made it and it taste really good in a sandwich!
Iosune says
Hi Iasia! Thank you so much 🙂 I've never eaten it in a sandwich, but sounds great!
Lacey Abercrombie says
Sounds tasty! Just double checking that 12 cloves of garlic is not a typo ☺️ You do say that the whole thing yields 4 servings so ok then! Looking forward to it! But just confirm the garlic amount please. Thanks!
Iosune says
Hi Lacey! Yes, it's okay, this recipe is made with lots of garlic, but feel free to use just 3-4 cloves if you want 🙂
Blanca Lighthiser says
Quite tasty! I added more water to make it brothy & some red pepper flakes. I served it over brown rice. This was a nourishing, quick & simple meal. It fed my Puerto Rican soul:)
Thank you!
Iosune says
Hi Blanca! Sounds so good 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Melissa Gyldstrand says
Really good
Iosune says
Hi Melissa! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Chris I says
Cumin, definitely, and I add strips of charred red pepper from a jar too. Yummy !
Iosune says
Hi Chris! Sounds great 😉
Jeffrey says
This recipe came over as being rather tasteless. I’ve had this dish frequently in Spain where it has had a much more memorable taste. Certainly needs modification. More garlic? Additional spices needed (cumin might be an idea)?
Iosune says
Hi Jeffrey! I'm so sorry the recipe didn't work for you, but it's so popular on the blog and also in our Spanish blog. However, feel free to add more spices if you want 🙂
Pattie Crawford says
We loved it! My husband requested that it be made everyday!!
Iosune says
Hi Pattie! I'm so glad you guys loved it 🙂
Chen says
didn't have paprika so made this with sumac and it came out amazing!
Iosune says
Hi Chen! So glad it worked 🙂
Fiona says
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!
Iosune says
Hi Fiona! You're so welcome 🙂
Nan says
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!
Iosune says
Hi Nan! Sounds so good 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Deborah says
Really good!
Iosune says
Hi Deborah! Thanks a lot 🙂
Daniel says
Good explanation.
Pitty of the ads
Iosune says
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!
Shirley says
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
Iosune says
Hi Shirley! You're so welcome 🙂 We're travelling to Madrid tomorrow, it's a wonderful city. So glad you guys liked it!
Lydia says
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!
Iosune says
Hi Lydia! I'm so happy to hear that 🙂 You're so welcome!
Alyson says
Hi I made this it was fab ,do you know the nutritional values??
Iosune says
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
Linda Clark says
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"
Iosune says
Hi Linda! I'm so glad you like our recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!