Can I make a meal with just chickpeas and spinach?

Yes, chickpeas and spinach work well together as the base for curries, warm salads, soups or pasta dishes. Adding pantry staples like onions, garlic, spices or stock will make them more substantial, but the two ingredients alone can form a satisfying dinner.

Do I need to cook tinned chickpeas before eating them?

Tinned chickpeas are already cooked, so you can eat them straight from the tin after draining and rinsing. However, warming them through or crisping them in a pan improves their texture and helps them absorb other flavours in your dish.

What goes well with chickpeas and spinach?

Chickpeas and spinach pair well with garlic, onions, lemon, tomatoes, curry spices, cumin, chilli, feta, halloumi, coconut milk and fresh herbs. They also work with most grains, pasta and flatbreads if you want to make the meal more filling.

How do I stop spinach going soggy in a chickpea dish?

Add spinach at the very end of cooking and only until it just wilts. Fresh spinach releases a lot of water, so if you want to avoid a watery dish, squeeze out excess moisture after wilting or use frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained well.

Ask the Kitchen

What can I make with chickpeas and spinach?

The takeaway menu is already open on your phone, but before you hit order, take a look in the cupboard. That tin of chickpeas and bag of spinach sitting there can become proper dinner in less time than it takes for a delivery to arrive, and without the guilt of spending money you didn't need to or eating food that never quite tastes as good as you hoped.

The problem with searching for recipes online is that they assume you have everything on their list, and only those things. Real kitchens don't work like that. You might have half a jar of curry paste, or some tomatoes that need using, or a lemon going soft in the fruit bowl. A recipe database can't see any of that, so you end up adapting anyway or making another trip to the shops.

Quick dinner ideas with chickpeas and spinach

Chickpea and spinach curry is the obvious choice, and for good reason. Fry off whatever aromatics you have (onion, garlic, ginger), add any curry spices or paste from the back of the fridge, tip in the drained chickpeas and let them warm through, then wilt in the spinach at the end. It works with coconut milk if you have it, or tinned tomatoes, or even just stock. Serve with rice, flatbreads or nothing at all.

A warm chickpea salad feels more substantial than it sounds. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then warm them gently in a pan with olive oil and whatever herbs or spices you like. Toss through fresh spinach so it wilts slightly, add a squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar, and you have something that sits somewhere between a salad and a side dish. If you have feta, halloumi, nuts or seeds, throw those in too.

Spinach and chickpea soup is another direction entirely. Soften an onion if you have one, add the chickpeas and enough stock or water to cover, simmer briefly, then blitz it all with the spinach until smooth. You can leave it chunky if you prefer. This is where any leftover veg, stale bread or cream hiding in the fridge can join the party and make it more filling.

Chickpea and spinach pasta comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta. Drain the chickpeas and crisp them up in a hot pan with oil and garlic, wilt the spinach in the same pan, then toss everything with the cooked pasta and a splash of the starchy cooking water. Parmesan, chilli flakes or a squeeze of lemon all add something if they're around.

Why the app sees your whole kitchen

Each of these ideas works because chickpeas and spinach are a good base, but the best version for you depends on what else is in your fridge, freezer and cupboard right now. A static recipe list has no idea you have that jar of harissa, those cherry tomatoes or that block of feta that needs eating. Ask the Kitchen does, because it starts with your actual ingredients and builds tonight's dinner around them, not around someone else's shopping trip.

So before you order in, check what you already have. The answer is probably better, cheaper and faster than you think.