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    Home » Mains » Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with Spinach and Feta

    Published: Feb 6, 2016

    Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with Spinach and Feta

    This comforting vegetarian dinner is made with chickpeas simmered in a Mediterranean-spiced tomato sauce. It's topped with feta and broiled until golden brown. Or, skip the feta to keep it vegan. Serve with bread or pita to soak up every last drop of sauce.
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    Close up of Mediterranean chickpea casserole topped with parsley, feta and lemon
    Close up of Mediterranean chickpea casserole topped with parsley, feta and lemon

    This one pot vegetarian dinner is delicious, satisfying, and easy to make. It's bursting with flavor too—thanks to the red onion, tomatoes, herbs, feta, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Lately, this meal has been our favorite way to eat protein-rich chickpeas. The bright flavors of this cozy casserole hits the spot when we're craving comfort food but also want to eat healthy!

    You can serve this chickpea tomato casserole with a side of bread or bread for dipping; spoon it over cooked rice or other grains; or eat it just on its own! This recipe makes for yummy leftovers too— it reheats nicely in the oven or microwave.

    Jump to:
    • Key ingredients
    • How to make
    • How to store / reheat
    • 📖 Recipe

    Key ingredients

    • Chickpeas: Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are not only great sources of protein, but they're also extremely versatile and inexpensive. For this recipe, you'll need cooked chickpeas—you can either use canned chickpeas or home cooked. See here for some of the health benefits of chickpeas.
    • Red onions: This dish has a lot of big flavors going on, so red onions work best here. You could substitute with yellow onions in a pinch.
    • Passata (strained tomatoes): Passata is typically sold in tall glass jars with a screw top lid. It's made from strained uncooked tomatoes. If you can't find any, you can use crushed tomatoes in a can instead. Don't use tomato paste or tomato sauce, since both of these are already cooked and won't have the same flavor or consistency.
    • Spinach: We usually toss in few handfuls of boxed baby spinach at the end, for some greens. You could substitute the baby spinach with thinly sliced kale instead.
    • Feta cheese: The crumbled feta adds a creamy, salty tang. The whole dish gets quickly broiled so that the feta gets golden brown. If you want to keep this dish vegan, you can leave out the feta or use vegan feta instead.
    Close up of rinsed chickpeas in a bowl
    Spinach after being washed

    How to make

    This dish comes together in a single pot, first on the stove and then finished in the oven. Here's how to make it:

    1. Saute the aromatics: Cook olive oil, onion, and garlic together in a Dutch oven or skillet until fragrant and golden brown.
    2. Combine and simmer: Add passata, vegetable broth, and dried herbs. Simmer for the flavors to develop.
    3. Add chickpeas: Stir in the chickpeas and cook until the mixture is reduced by one-third, so that the sauce is very flavorful and the chickpeas have absorbed some flavor.
    4. Finish seasoning: Stir in the spinach, sugar (optional, but helps to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes), fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.
    5. Broil: Sprinkle with feta and broil until the sauce is bubbling and feta is golden brown. Dig in and enjoy!

    How to store / reheat

    Storage instructions

    You can refrigerate extra chickpea casserole directly in the pot (covered with a lid) or transfer to an airtight container.

    Reheating instructions

    Oven: Reheat the food, with the lid off, at 275°F (140°C) until warmed through.

    • If you stored the food and are reheating it directly in the pot: Let the pot come to room temperature while the oven preheats. Putting a fridge-cold cast iron pot directly into a hot oven creates a risk of thermal shock, due to the extreme temperature changes. Thermal shock could result in warping or cracking, which would damage the pot. Read this post for more details on caring for cast iron.

    Microwave: Reheat the mixture in a microwave-safe container until warmed through.

    Stove: Reheat the food, with the lid on, over medium-low heat until warmed through.

    Chickpea casserole being served out of a cast iron pan
    Digging into individual services of Mediterranean chickpea casserole with spinach and feta

    📖 Recipe

    Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with Spinach and Feta

    This comforting vegetarian dinner is made with chickpeas simmered in a Mediterranean-spiced tomato sauce. It's topped with feta and broiled until golden brown. Or, skip the feta to keep it vegan. Serve with bread or pita to soak up every last drop of sauce.
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 45 minutes
    Servings 4
    Close up of Mediterranean chickpea casserole topped with parsley, feta and lemon
    Print

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
    • 2 medium red onions, diced (about 3 cups)
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced minced
    • ½ fine sea salt
    • 1 (24 oz/680 ml) jar passata (strained tomatoes) (see note 1)
    • 1 cup vegetable broth
    • 2 dried bay leaves
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon allspice
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
    • 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 cans: 15 oz/14 fl oz/398 ml each)
    • 3 packed cups baby spinach
    • 1 tablespoon cane sugar (or coconut sugar, see note 2)
    • Juice from 1 lemon
    • Black pepper (to taste)
    • 2 oz feta cheese (omit or substitute if vegan)
    • Chopped flat leaf parsley (for garnish)

    Instructions

    • Sauté: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large broiler-safe sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat (see note 3). Add onion, sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and salt, cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
    • Combine and cover: Stir in passata, vegetable broth, bay leaves, oregano, cloves, allspice, and cayenne. Cover the pot with a lid. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes for the flavors to develop.
    • Simmer uncovered: Stir in the chickpeas. Cook uncovered until the liquid has reduced by one-third, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Reduce heat if the mixture starts to splatter, but keep mixture actively simmering).
    • Turn on broiler: Position a oven rack so that the top of the pot will be 4-inches away from the broiler. Turn oven to broil.
    • Finish cooking: Remove bay leaves. Stir in spinach. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
    • Broil: Crumble feta overtop. Broil until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes (but watch carefully, broil times vary!). Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

    Notes

    1. Passata ("strained tomatoes"): Passata is made from strained uncooked tomatoes. It is usually packaged in tall glass jars. If you need to substitute, use crushed tomatoes (not tomato paste or tomato sauce). 
    2. Sugar: The sugar helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes. Feel free to omit if you prefer.
    3. Pan: Sauté pans have straight sides; so they typically hold more volume and come with a lid. Use a sauté pan if you have. Otherwise, if using a skillet without a lid, you can position a baking sheet over top as the "lid" when the instructions say to cover. If you don't have a broiler safe pan, you can transfer to a broiler-safe casserole dish for the final step.
    4. Serving suggestion: This dish is delicious served with bread or soft pita for dipping. It can also be spooned over cooked rice for a heartier meal. 
    5. Reheating instructions: Can be reheated in the oven (uncovered) at 275°F (140°C), in the microwave, or on the stove (covered) over medium-low heat until warmed through. Avoid putting fridge-cold cast iron cookware in a hot oven—to avoid thermal shock, let the pot come to room temperature before putting it in the oven.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 627mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 215IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg
    Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a rating below and tag us @evergreenkitchen on instagram!

    Check out these other healthy comfort food recipes:

    • Brothy Oven Baked Beans
    • Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks
    • Curried Pumpkin and Lentil Soup (Vegan)
    • Mushroom Stroganoff
    • Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
    « Rose and Honey Almond Milk
    Thai Hot and Sour Soup »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. vivian says

      February 18, 2019 at 12:28 pm

      This is delicious, and so comforting on yet another cold and snowy night. It's only February, but I'm done with winter. Not much hope of it getting warmer for a while in Ontario, though, so I'll be making warming recipes like this for weeks and weeks. Thanks for a good recipe!

      Reply
      • Bri says

        February 21, 2019 at 4:44 pm

        We're totally with you on wishing for warmer days! That said, happy to hear you're cozying up with warming recipes like this one. And we're thrilled you enjoy this one:) Thanks for stopping by! Hope to hear from you again soon!

        Reply
    2. lauren says

      February 07, 2019 at 6:36 am

      I love this so much, the flavours are amazing and served on some french bread just tops it off

      Reply
      • Bri says

        February 07, 2019 at 11:53 pm

        Yay that's so great to hear Lauren! So glad you enjoyed this dish. Great call on the french bread - we agree, some good bread almost always tops it off:)

        Reply
    3. Samantha says

      January 29, 2019 at 7:48 am

      I absolutely love this recipe and it is a staple in my home!! Any tips for making it ahead of time and freezing it??

      Reply
      • Bri says

        February 08, 2019 at 12:04 am

        Hey Samantha! So happy to hear this is a staple in your home. We've never frozen this dish before, but imagine you could simply put the tomato & chickpea mixture in a freezer safe container or bag. When you want to eat it, you could reheat it on the stove or in the oven (covered). I'd probably add the spinach just before eating (+ cheese, if you're using). If you try freezing a batch, do let us know how it goes!

        Reply
    4. Anna says

      January 14, 2019 at 7:18 pm

      One of my all time favorites! Thanks for this great recipe!!

      Reply
      • Bri says

        January 14, 2019 at 9:25 pm

        Hi Anna,

        Yesss we love that this is one of your all time favorite recipes! It's a keeper, that's for sure:)

        Have a great rest of your day!
        Bri

        Reply

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