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!
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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.
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!
Nato says
Thanks for the recipe. Delicious. Made it a few times now.
Iosune says
Hi Nato! You're so welcome 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Kaye Elle says
Simple and tasty! I added turmeric (try to add it to any dish I can for health benefits). Will be saving this recipe
Iosune says
Hi Kaye! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it
Robin Pettis says
I rate this recipe 5 stars. Extremely delicious savory flavor absolutely loved it!
Iosune says
Hi Robin! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!