Easy Chickpea Bowl with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Feta

Easy, delicious, nutritious, plant-based, veggie-loaded! What more could you want? This easy chickpea bowl comes together quickly, especially if you have leftover brown rice, farro or other whole grain.

This easy chickpea bowl recipe comes together very quickly.

I love a recipe with a good story.

Cooking for my daughters is usually a treat because they’re so appreciative. Whenever they’re home, I try to prepare something they love, something they don’t make on their own or something new I’ve created. This dish is one I threw together on the fly when Erin was home for less than a day. It was lunch time, and it was just the two of us. I was trying to decide what to cook when I spotted the very skinny asparagus in my fridge. Very skinny asparagus cooks up so well in a skillet with a little olive oil. So my chickpea bowl recipe idea was born.

Here’s something else I made for her. I created curried chickpea and chicken stew when she needed some freezer meals for grad school.

So many delicious flavors in this easy chickpea bowl!

While I was dicing an onion and trimming the asparagus, Erin opened up my copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. and flipped to the asparagus section. She read off the recommended combinations to me until I knew exactly what would be in my dish. When we sat down to eat, we both immediately smiled. Not only was it fun, fast and easy, it was a mighty delicious chickpea bowl.

If you love chickpeas and other legumes or pulses the way I do, you’ll want to take a look at 12 Delicious Ways to Eat More Beans.

Easy Chickpea Bowl with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Feta

If you don't have very thin asparagus, cut the thicker ones into smaller pieces.

4.75 from 12 votes

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Course: Entree bowl

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 29 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 cups

Calories: 224kcal

Author: Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, FAND

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped (~ 1 1/2 cups)
• 10 ounces cremini or other favorite mushrooms sliced (~ 3 cups)
• 1 bunch thin asparagus, trimmed of the the woody parts and cut into 3 to 4-inch pieces (~ 9 ounces trimmed)
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 ounces feta cheese crumbles

Instructions

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Cook the diced onions for 5 to 6 minutes or until they are golden and slightly browned on the edges. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the asparagus, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Stir and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas, stir and cook until heated.
• Divide the chickpeas and vegetables into 4 bowls. Serve with brown rice, quinoa, farro or any favorite whole grain.
• Sprinkle 1/2-ounce feta cheese over each dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 11/4 cups | Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 550mg | Fiber: 8g

I’ve since made this dish several times, and I’ve never deviated from the recipe. I’ve changed up the grains a bunch, but the recipe has stay unchanged since my first experiment. For super fast whole grains, check out these favorites.

Cheers to fast, delicious, plant-based meals!