This one pot vegetarian dinner is delicious and easy to make. The Mediterranean tomato stew is bursting with flavor from the red onion, tomatoes, and herbs. Then it's combined with protein-rich chickpeas; and topped with feta cheese that gets crispy in the oven. This cozy chickpea casserole hits the spot when you're craving comfort food, but also want to eat healthy!
You can serve this tomato chickpea casserole with a side of bread, pita, or naan for dipping. Or, spoon it over cooked rice for an even heartier meal. This recipe makes for delicious leftovers too—it reheats nicely in the oven or microwave.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- One pot: Easy clean-up. Everything gets cooked and served from one pot!
- Healthy: This vegetarian (vegan-friendly) and gluten-free dinner is loaded with protein-rich chickpeas and healthy veggies.
- Delicious: While this recipe is certainly healthy, it's also loaded with flavor. It's healthy comfort food.
- Versatile: You can serve this Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with bread, pita, or rice. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, and can be easily reheated for lunch or dinner the next day.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans): Chickpeas are versatile, inexpensive, and great sources of protein and fiber (among other health benefits).
- 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: 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, use crushed tomatoes from a can instead (or blend canned whole peeled tomatoes until smooth).
- 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. For a vegan option, use vegan feta or skip it. (Have extra feta? Make One Pot Lemon Spinach Orzo or Black Lentil Salad with Feta)
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Looking for more chickpea recipes? Check out these reader favorites: Vegan Golden Chickpea Noodle Soup, Lemon & Dill Chickpea Sandwiches, Halloumi Couscous Salad with Lemon, and Harissa Spiced Cauiflower Steaks.
How to make
This Mediterranean chickpea casserole comes together in one pot. It starts on the stove, then is quickly finished in the oven. Here's how to make this recipe:
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Recipe video
Storage and reheating tips
Storage instructions
You can refrigerate leftovers directly in the pot (covered with a lid or plastic wrap); or transfer to an airtight container.
Reheating instructions
Oven: Reheat the food, with the lid off, at 275°F (140°C) until warmed through.
Pro tip: If you stored the food in a cast iron pan, let it come to room temperature while the oven preheats. Cast-iron has a lot of benefits, but one downside is that cast iron can be subject to thermal shock, from extreme temperature changes. Putting a really cold cast iron pot into a hot oven could result in warping or cracking. While unlikely, just play it safe! More tips on how to care for cast iron here.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Passata is strained pureed fresh tomatoes. It is typically sold in jars and sometimes labelled "strained tomatoes" or "tomato puree".
Tomato passata is not the same as tomato paste or tomato sauce, as both of these have been cooked.
Use crushed tomatoes from a can. Or, take canned whole peeled tomatoes and blend them, in a high-speed blender, until smooth. Then, measure out an equal amount and replace 1:1.
Pro-tip: 1 jar (23 fl oz/680 ml) of passata is equivalent to 2¾ cup+2 tablespoons (or just under 3 cups).
The chickpeas must be cooked before starting this recipe, but you can certainly substitute home-cooked chickpeas instead of canned!
1 cup of dried chickpeas should yield about 3 cups cooked chickpeas. Soak and cook them according to your preferred method.
Other healthy comfort food recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Chickpea Casserole with Spinach and Feta
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium red onions, diced (about 3 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon 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)
- ⅔ cup crumbled feta cheese (vegan if desired or omit)
- Chopped flat leaf parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Sauté: Heat 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 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
- 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).
- Sugar: The sugar helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes. Feel free to omit if you prefer.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 cold cast iron cookware in a hot oven—to avoid thermal shock, let the pot come to room temperature while the oven pre-heats.
Laura says
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
bri says
I think that should work! But in that case, I would hold on sprinkling the feta cheese until the dish is reheated. Hope this helps!
Kelsey says
Wow this was amazing!! So tasty
bri says
So glad you liked this recipe Kelsey! Thanks for taking the time to write in!
Teresa says
Can I use kale instead of spinach
bri says
Hi Teresa - Yes, you could definitely use kale instead of spinach! Let us know how it goes!