Cheesy Vegetarian
10 Minute Lemon and Black Pepper Chickpeas
These lemon and black pepper chickpeas are the perfect lunch – they’re incredibly tasty, full of goodness, and take just minutes to make!
This is just the kind of lunch I love to make. You can whip up these lemon and black pepper chickpeas in less than 10 minutes, and use them in all sorts of ways. Packed with tangy, peppery flavours, they make an ideal lunch!
Quick and easy lunch
I sometimes get in a bit of a rut with lunches – it can be boring to eat the same sandwiches over and over again. These lemon and black pepper chickpeas are such a great way to break the monotony!
They take just minutes to prepare, so even if you’re not very well organised (who, me?), you can whip them up at a moment’s notice.
Why make these lemon pepper chickpeas?
These tasty chickpeas are:
- super healthy – full of fibre and protein, and low in fat
- really versatile, and can be served in all sorts of ways
- easy to adapt with whatever you have in the fridge
- quick and easy to make at a moment’s notice
They pretty much have it all.
How to make lemon and black pepper chickpeas
Step 1: Cook the chickpeas with aromatics
There are really only two steps to this recipe. First, cook the chickpeas in a frying pan with some garlic and spring onions.
The chickpeas become perfectly coated in the lovely flavours – they’d be tasty to eat even just like this, to be honest. But it’s worth continuing…
Step 2: Add additional flavours
Just a few more ingredients really make the flavour of these chickpeas pop:
- lemon juice
- black pepper
- salt
- fresh parsley
If you can use freshly ground black pepper, that’s ideal – it tends to be a little coarser than the pre-ground stuff, and gives a more intense peppery flavour.
And that’s it! Literally just a few ingredients bring these little chickpeas to life.
How to serve lemon pepper chickpeas
I’ve mentioned how versatile these chickpeas are – they’re great eaten hot or cold, so the world’s your oyster.
Here are a few ideas of ways you could serve them.
- in a lunchbox as a fun alternative to a sandwich
- as a protein-rich snack (e.g. instead of nuts or crisps)
- scattered on a salad, crouton-style
- stuffed inside a pitta bread with salad leaves and hummus
- as part of a vegetarian picnic
- in a vegetarian mezze-style buffet
We had ours for lunch with some soft pitta, salad, and cherry tomatoes. It tasted so fresh and healthy, but super satisfying at the same time.
How to adapt the recipe
I love recipes like this because of how easy they are to adapt. Don’t have one of the ingredients? No problem! Just swap it out for something else.
- The spring onions could easily be swapped for chopped red onion or shallots.
- Butter beans or any other neutral-tasting pulse would be great if you don’t have chickpeas.
- Add some grated parmesan-style cheese or a knob of butter to make the recipe taste richer and creamier.
- Throw in a handful of chopped spinach, some cherry tomatoes, or some sliced mushrooms if you’d like to get in some extra veg.
Whatever you do, these lemon and black pepper chickpeas will be quick, tasty, and full of goodness!
Lemon and Black Pepper Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic puree)
- 400 g tin chickpeas, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (preferably freshly ground)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
-
Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan, and add the spring onions, garlic, and drained chickpeas. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, until hot and fragrant. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper, and cook for 2 more minutes. Finally, stir through the fresh parsley, and remove from the heat. Serve hot or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Calories from Fat 53
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1 portion (1/2 of the recipe).
Love healthy lunch ideas with bags of flavour? This roasted vegetable fattoush is ideal:
The post 10 Minute Lemon and Black Pepper Chickpeas appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.
Cheesy Vegetarian
Creamy Three Bean Stew
This creamy three bean stew is the ideal healthy comfort food – with fresh veg and three types of beans, in a luxurious creamy tomato sauce!
This creamy three bean stew is basically my perfect dinner. It feels like a luxurious, comforting meal, but is packed with fresh vegetables and protein-rich beans (three kinds, in case you couldn’t have guessed) – all coated in a creamy, silky sauce with heaps of flavour (swoooon).
It ticks all the boxes!
Healthy comfort food
Veggie-packed comfort food has got to be my all-time favourite food category, and it doesn’t get much better than this creamy three bean stew. It’s absolutely full of goodness, but is about as far from rabbit food as you can get (I’ve never been much of a salad person).
After eating a meal like this, you feel totally satisfied, and your body thanks you too.
What’s in this creamy three bean stew?
There are 3 main elements to this hearty vegetarian stew:
- the vegetables – I chose carrots, courgette (zucchini) and mushrooms
- the beans – three different types! I used black beans, kidney beans and cannellini beans
- the sauce – made with tomatoes, creamy tomato soup, and an extra dollop of cream for good measure
As long as you make sure your bean stew contains these three elements, it will be a success – even if you decide to switch things up a bit (see below for some ideas for how to adapt the recipe!).
How to make creamy three bean stew
Step 1: Fry off the vegetables
Start by dicing your veggies, and adding them to a large saucepan. Cook them for a few minutes until they’re just starting to soften.
Step 2: Add most of the remaining ingredients
We’re already at the ‘add everything else’ stage – this recipe really couldn’t get much simpler.
Add the beans and sauce ingredients to the pan, and leave everything to simmer for a little while, until the sauce has thickened nicely and the vegetables and beans are totally soft.
Step 3: Make it extra creamy
As a little finishing touch, I like to add one more little dollop of something to make it extra creamy. To be honest, there are lots of ingredients you could use for this purpose, which would all have pretty much the same effect:
- cream
- sour cream
- Greek yogurt
- cream cheese
Just be careful if you’re using the low fat version of any of these ingredients, as low fat dairy products can sometimes split and curdle in this kind of situation.
It’s best to stick to the full fat version if you can, or if you really want to use low fat, temper the ingredient first. To do this, mix a spoonful of your hot stew into the yogurt (or whatever you’re using) first, then add it all back into the pot. This helps to minimise the temperature shock, and reduces the risk of curdling.
The difference that one good dollop of sour cream had on my three bean stew was really pretty amazing:
It makes the whole thing so much more luxurious, and transforms a simple bean stew into something seriously tempting.
How to serve three bean stew
This stew already contains all the most important food groups, so there’s no need to serve anything alongside it if you don’t want to. Just a nice big bowl and a spoon are all you need.
Personally though, I think a bit of garlic bread or some crusty bread and butter are absolutely perfect for mopping up the bowl and adding a nice bit of crunch…
How to adapt the recipe
One of the best things about this recipe is that it’s endlessly adaptable – it’s such a good fridge clearer. I would be willing to bet that almost all of you could make this three bean stew entirely from ingredients you already have in the house.
Who doesn’t already have a cupboard full of random tins of beans? And a fridge full of veggies that could do with being used up?
Just chuck ’em all in – the more the merrier.
You could choose different vegetables, different beans, or adjust the sauce ingredients, and you’ll almost certainly still end up with a really tasty meal. In fact, it’s pretty fun if it ends up slightly different each time you make it.
Creamy Three Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, sliced or diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium courgette (zucchini), diced
- ~ 5 medium mushrooms, diced
- 400 g tin cannellini beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- 400 g tin black beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- 400 g tin kidney beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- 400 g (~ 1⅓ cups) tinned tomatoes
- 400 g (~ 1 1/3 cups) tin cream of tomato soup
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
- 2 tbsp cream, cream cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt (full fat versions)
- Small bunch fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
-
Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan, and add the diced onion and carrot. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion has softened slightly. Add the garlic, courgette and mushrooms, and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
-
Add the three drained tins of beans, tin of tomatoes, and tin of tomato soup. Also add the oregano and black pepper, along with a crumbled stock cube (or just some salt, if you prefer).
-
Bring to a simmer, and cook for around 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to produce a thick sauce.
-
Add the cream, mix to combine, and serve warm, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
It’s best to use full fat dairy products for cooking, as low fat varieties tend to split and curdle when added to heat. If you really need to use a low fat dairy ingredient, temper it before adding it to the stew. To do this, mix one spoonful of the hot stew into the low fat yogurt (or whatever it is), and stir it together. Then add it back into the stew. This reduces the temperature shock to the yogurt, and minimises the risk of curdling.
Nutrition
Calories from Fat 67
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/4 of the recipe.
Love healthy comfort food? My veggie-packed slow cooker black bean soup is perfect:
The post Creamy Three Bean Stew appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.
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