Spiced Chickpeas and Rice

Chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, are jam packed with nutrients. They’re a great source of plant-based protein, fiber and carbohydrates. They are also rich in antioxidants that help boost your immune system and help prevent diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol to name just a few. Chickpeas are also a great source minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, folate and phosphorous. The nutty tasting legume has a number of essential vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, A, B6, B12, and vitamin K too.

We love them because they’re so versatile and can be used in almost any dish. You really can’t go wrong with falling in love with chickpeas. This recipe was made with the ingredients we had on hand and only took about 10 minutes. It’s not complete without some sort of complex carbohydrate though so make sure you have rice or quinoa cooking in that Instant Pot before you start with this recipe.

You can use dried chickpeas but be sure to soak them overnight for about 8 hours first. We used canned garbanzo beans because we were short on time and hungry. We rinsed them well before adding them to the pan.

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2-3 T water

1/2 medium onion, diced or chopped

3-5 cloves garlic, minced

2 c sliced mushrooms (any kind will do)

1 1/2 t paprika

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t garlic powder (use only if you didn’t use fresh cloves)

1/2 t fresh ground black pepper

1:2 t sea salt

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t thyme

Heat a 2-3 T of water in a pan. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Stir until brown and onions translucent. You may need to add a little more water every once in a while to prevent burning.

Add spices and stir. Add in the chickpeas and allow to cook about 5 more minutes until heated through and slightly browned.

Serve over rice of choice. We used brown basmati rice that we cooked in our Instant Pot.