Inspired by a similar dish I had recently (and LOVED) from a home delivery meal service kit, these roasted chickpea bowls are fresh, fast, and so flavorful – destined to become a weeknight favorite recipe. Perfect for your meatless Monday (or any day), my take on simple Middle Eastern Chickpea Bowls (inspired directly by the Hello Fresh Chickpea Bowl which is totes delicious) requires no subscription, and can be made in less than 30 minutes, from start to finish (an MKL superstar recipe for sure).

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The Hello Fresh Chickpea Bowl, and How it Changed My Life

Okay, I’m only kind of kidding here. I made the Hello Fresh chickpea bowl (the Mediterranean style one) not so long ago during a free trial and was VERY excited about it. It was delicious! It was nutritious! And it gave me all sorts of recipe inspiration to boot. So, I’ve been making iterations of that/those Hello Fresh Chickpea bowls ever since, using different spice blends and different veggie combinations.

But honestly, any time I find a magical-mystery-ride-of-a-recipe that actually gets my family to eat their veggies with no complaints, I’m going to take that ride all the way to the station. Rinse, repeat. So, I am happy to tell you that my recipe here today needs no subscription to a meal delivery service, though I do want to give the Hello Fresh chickpea bowl the credit for my inspo for this one. Thanks, y’all!

What are Chickpea Bowls?

They’re really exactly what they sound like: bowls that are anchored by chickpeas (the star ingredient). The title really suggests that we’re dealing with a vegetarian dish, right? Otherwise we’d probably lean on the meat aspect of the recipe. No recipe for a chicken bowl or steak bowl would give the chickpeas top billing am I right? I don’t think so.

All this to say, Chickpea Bowls are meatless, vegetarian meals that, rather than being served say, on a plate, are arranged “bowl style” with a starch (in this case rice) that provides the base for the deliciousness that is piled up on top. The possibilities are truly only limited by your own imagination.

Serving suggestions for your chickpea bowls

You could swap out the basmati rice for some Moroccan style couscous. OR even Israeli couscous would be tremendous here. Those little silky smooth pearls of goodness would totally work with the roasted veggies and garlic yogurt.
A creamy cucumber salad would be perfect.
Add some roasted asparagus in the springtime, or try roasted squash in the fall/winter months.
If you can’t find Shawarma spice, you can use Ras al Hanout (North African), Madras curry powder or Garam Masala (Indian), Berbere Spice (Ethiopian) or – in a total American swerve – a BBQ spice blend.

What you’ll need

This recipe reflects the way I make it most often, as it tends to please my whole family. But as with just about any other recipe I share here, please go right ahead and make it yours. Use cauliflower! Add some dates to the roasted pan (OMG SO GOOD). Sprinkle on some fresh pomegranate seeds to garnish, along with the cilantro. All good! Just look at this recipe as your guide, and then feel free to wander and stray as you please.

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil, as directed

2 sweet onions

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 tablespoon shawarma spice blend, either homemade or or store-bought

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock, of you don’t care if it’s veggie)

Two, 14.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

½ pint cherry or grape tomatoes

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt is fine)

Chopped cilantro, for serving

How to make these Chickpea Bowls

This recipe is a cinch to throw together, and the flavors are really great. I am admittedly obsessed with recipes like this. I have made so many riffs on this core concept, since I tried that Hello Fresh chickpea bowl last fall, and now I make them ALL THE TIME. My favorite way to rock a meatless Monday, me thinks. The method is simple and goes a little something like this:

Prepare the (deeply flavorful) rice. Plain basmati rice is pretty damn good all on its own, right? Even so, the simple step of toasting the rice in some garlicky, oniony oil that has been intensely flavored with Shawarma spice only serves to bolster the flavor of your dish as a whole. Plain rice = good. Seasoned rice = great. Let’s not waste the opportunity to season EVERY layer of our dishes, okay? Think of it this way – you wouldn’t serve these roasted chickpeas, tomatoes, and onions on plain pasta would you? Do you ever serve anything on plain pasta? Probably not. So, let’s treat rice with the same love and attention, shall we? Even the simple addition of butter add * something * and here, we’re implementing the flavor boosting powers of alliums (onions and garlic) and the greatest spice blend ever (Hello, Shawarma!).
Make a garlic yogurt. It’s as simple as it sounds. Garlic + yogurt = bliss.
Roast a few key vegetables. Here, since chickpeas are getting top billing, we’ll do two cans of those. Next, we’ll add some sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes and an onion that we’ll slice into petals.
Garnish with freshness. Green, herbaceous toppings are always a part of my dishes, and cilantro is perfect here. But chives, scallions, mint, and parsley are also totally welcome to this party.

What to serve with these Roasted Chickpea Bowls

Okay, so really these chickpea bowls are a full meal in and of themselves. BUT I do think the addition of a great flatbread of some sort would be great. Like my restaurant style naan or Alison Roman’s sour cream flatbread. Or you could break from the more traditional breads and go straight-up cheesy garlic bread or garlic bubble up bread. Lastly, and veering away from bread-centric suggestions, you could make some amazing green harissa (a North African spiced, herby condiment) to drizzle as well, instead of or in addition to the garlicky yogurt). Now, the shawarma spice blend is decidedly Middle Eastern – not North African – but the fusion of flavors between the harissa and the chickpea bowls would be so great.

ROASTED CHICKPEA BOWL DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Place a sheet of parchment over a large baking sheet.

Cut one and ½ of the onions into large pieces or “petals.” Dice the remaining ½ onion.

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the diced onion, half of the garlic, and ½ of the shawarma spice. Stir to toast everything for about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook according to the package directions, replacing the water with stock.

Meanwhile, place the chickpeas, tomatoes, onion petals, and lemon slices on the prepare sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil (about 2 tablespoons-ish). Season generously with salt, pepper, and the remaining Shawarma seasoning. Roast until golden and browned; about 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile (again!), combine the yogurt and remaining minced garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to serve.

To build your roasted chickpea bowl: pile the cooked, seasoned rice onto plates and top with the roasted chickpeas and veggies, arranging roasted lemon slices over top. Shower with chopped cilantro and serve with big dollops of the garlicky yogurt (or you can serve this on the side).