Craving comfort without the meat? These three hearty meals with chickpeas are packed with flavour, texture, and all the cozy vibes you need this autumn. Who knew you could even make a yummy sweet treat with chickpeas? 

Grilled breakfast naan with spinach pesto and chickpeas 

Serves 6 // Cooking time 35 minutes 

 

Ingredients  

For the roasted chickpeas 

2 tins (410g each) chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp dried origanum
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp sesame seeds  

For the spinach pesto 

1½ cups spinach, stems removed
½ cup basil
3 Tbsp parsley
3 Tbsp almonds, chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 Tbsp grated hard cheese
2 Tbsp lemon juice  

For the grilled breakfast naan 

1 cup sour cream
6 naan breads, toasted
6 poached eggs
½ red onion, sliced
2 wheels feta, crumbled 

Method 

For the roasted chickpeas 

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray.
2. Spread the chickpeas on the prepared tray and drizzle with olive oil. Toss through the spices and sesame seeds.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the chickpeas are crisp.

For the spinach pesto 

1. Blanch the spinach and squeeze out any excess liquid.
2. Add this, along with the remaining ingredients to a food processor and blend.

For the grilled breakfast naan 

1. Spread sour cream and spinach pesto on each naan. Top with an egg and onion, feta and chickpeas.

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Samantha Pinto // HMimages.co.za 

Chickpea and spinach stew with toasted almonds 

Serves 4 // Cooking time 20 minutes 

 

Ingredients 

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Olive oil
2 × 400g tins cream of tomato soup
410g tinned chickpeas, drained
2 cups baby spinach
3 Tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
Salt and milled pepper 

Method 

1. Fry garlic in olive oil until golden. Add the soup and cook over high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the spinach.
3. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with flaked almonds.

 

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za 

 

Choc-chip chickpea brownies 

Serves 9 // Cooking time 1 hour 

 

Ingredients 

2 × 410g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
½ cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp almond milk
4 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup chocolate chips, plus to decorate
Sea salt, to decorate
Dark chocolate, to decorate 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 20 cm baking tin.
2. Place all ingredients, except the chocolate chips and sea salt, in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
3. Pour the batter into the tin and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and sea salt.
4. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the edges just pull away from the tin, and the top is set and slightly golden brown.
5. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, then drizzle with melted dark chocolate and raw caramel. Slice into 9 brownies.

Recipes & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen 

Also read: 4 delicious ways with mushrooms