These vegan curried chickpea bowls make meal prepping for the week a breeze. The chickpeas are paired with garlicky spinach and brown rice for an easy meal that’s absolutely delicious and filling.Â
Hooray, it’s Friday!! I’m not trying to rush the weekend away, but today I want to talk about meal prep. I’ve been doing it every Sunday for the past few months and it’s been a total game-changer. I use this meal planning printable to plan our meals for the week ahead, go to the grocery store and do a little meal prep. These few hours over the weekend make make it incredibly easy to whip up health meals throughout the week. I know many of you like to meal prep as well so I’ve teamed up with a few of my blogging girlfriends again this month to bring you six healthy and delicious meal prep recipes to add to your weekly rotation. Ready to see them all?
- Taylor’s Greek Chicken Bowls — These low carb Greek chicken bowls have roasted cauliflower and an olive tapenade.  They’re an easy, whole30 compliant, paleo meal that you can prep ahead, and they’re only 300 calories!
- Lindsay’s Honey BBQ Baked Salmon Bowls — These Honey BBQ Baked Salmon Bowls are the perfect meal prep recipe for a make ahead lunch or quick dinner. Protein Packed, Gluten Free, and Dairy Free. A healthy meal ready in 30 minutes!
- Lexi’s Thai Basil Turkey Bowls — These 30-Minute Thai Basil Turkey Bowls are a perfect meal prep recipe that comes together in no time! They are flavorful, delicious Whole30 approved, and packed with veggies to fuel you for your busy days ahead!
- Gina’s Shredded Mexican Beef Bowls — These shredded Mexican beef bowls are made in the slow cooker and perfect for weekly meal prep with rice, beans, plantains and peppers to round them out!
- Lee’s  Meal Prep Vegetarian Kung Pao Quinoa Bowl —  These Vegetarian Kung Pao Quinoa Bowls are the perfect meal prep recipe to make so you can enjoy a healthy lunch or dinner the entire week!
Last up we have my curried chickpea bowls with garlicky spinach.
These bowls are super efficient because you use the same pan to cook the spinach and the chickpeas, both of which can happen while your brown rice is cooking.
Plus, the flavor is on point!!
The chickpeas are cooked with onions and garlic and tossed in fragrant tomato based curry sauce that pairs wonderfully with the zesty lemon garlic spinach. Serving both of these over a generous portion of brown rice makes for a hearty and filling vegan gluten-free meal prep bowl that you can bring for lunch or have on hand for a quick dinner.
The recipe makes three servings so if you want a week’s worth of meals you’ll want to double it! You can easily reheat the curried chickpea bowls before serving or eat them cold. There’s no wrong way to eat meal prep bowls! 🙂
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These vegan curried chickpea bowls make meal prepping for the week a breeze. The chickpeas are paired with garlicky spinach and brown rice for an easy meal that’s absolutely delicious and filling.
Ingredients
Garlicky Spinach
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Curried Chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoons curry
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- fresh cilantro, chopped (for topping)
- green onion, chopped (for topping)
- 3 cups cooked brown or white rice
Instructions
- Cook rice, if it’s not cooked already.
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Add baby spinach to the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until spinach has started to wilt. Toss in sea salt and lemon juice. Toss to coat, remove from heat and place spinach on a small plate.
- In the small skillet you used to cook the spinach, add another 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook (stirring frequently) until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add spices (curry powder, cumin, cinnamon), chickpeas and tomato paste into the skillet. Toss to combine and quickly add water as the pan will start to dry out. Add sea salt and pepper, toss everything together and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and prepare bowls — each one with brown rice, chickpeas and spinach. Top with cilantro and green onion.
- For meal prep, allow all ingredients to cool and then grab 3 glass storage containers. Fill each with 1 cup rice, 1/3 of curried chickpeas and 1/3 of baby spinach. Top with cilantro and green onion. Place in fridge until ready to eat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 455
- Sugar: 6g
- Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 79g
- Fiber: 16g
- Protein: 15g
Karlie says
January 27, 2017 at 6:13 amThese look amazing !!!
Brittany Mullins says
January 27, 2017 at 11:22 amThank you so much, Karlie. I hope you get a chance to try them.
Donna says
January 30, 2017 at 1:27 pmDo you rinse and drain the chickpeas?
Brittany Mullins says
January 30, 2017 at 1:59 pmYes! I’ll add that to the instructions. 🙂
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
January 27, 2017 at 11:03 amYou win for easiest meal prep bowl of the bunch! I love how simple yet delicious these veg bowls are! Chickpeas are an awesome veg protein and love the spice on these!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
January 27, 2017 at 3:27 pmChickpea and curry is my fav combo! This recipe is definitely happening this week!
lindsay Cotter says
January 27, 2017 at 4:42 pmI have a total obsession with curried chickpeas! crunchy flavorful and protein packed. gonna make these bowls for days! Or I will try! haha
Becca says
January 27, 2017 at 6:41 pmExcited to give this a try this weekend, looks delicious! If I use olive oil instead of avocado oil, will there be a big taste difference? Is there a benefit to use avo oil? Thanks!
Brittany Mullins says
January 29, 2017 at 12:21 pmHi Becca. You can definitely use olive oil here. I like using avocado oil for high heat cooking, like roasting veggies, because it has a higher smoke point, but olive oil will definitely work for this recipe!
melissa king says
January 27, 2017 at 7:57 pmI love garlicky anything and everything! What an awesome lunch these would be!
Lexi says
January 28, 2017 at 3:35 pmThis looks SO amazing. Adding it to my menu!
Denisse | Le Petit Eats says
January 29, 2017 at 12:15 amGreat meal prep idea! Love the one-pan tip for the chickpeas and spinach because the fewer dishes the better, right?
Kristy says
January 30, 2017 at 5:16 pmLovely photos! Looking forward to making this. Any suggestions as to a substitution for the curry?
Brittany Mullins says
January 31, 2017 at 12:03 pmHi Kristy. Do you not like curry? If that’s the case, maybe try subbing 2 teaspoons of chili powder for the curry and make it more of a Mexican style dish!
Christine @ Run Plant Based says
February 1, 2017 at 9:19 amThis looks wonderful, great flavors and colors. I am a huge curry fan, thanks!
Elizabeth says
February 4, 2017 at 4:36 amHi Brittany,
I love chickpeas and this dish looks delicious & can’t wait to try it! Quick question about the meal prep – will the dish be ok in the fridge for 6 days or should I freeze half? Also do the containers have to glass?
Thank you ????
Brittany Mullins says
February 4, 2017 at 10:56 amI think 3-4 days is ideal, but I don’t think the bowls would be bad on day 6. And nope, plastic containers will work fine. Just don’t put your plastic containers in the microwave. 🙂
Susan Brabant says
February 19, 2017 at 2:39 pmWhich glass containers do you use? I like this size.
Brittany Mullins says
February 20, 2017 at 9:32 amI bought this package of glass containers from Target (http://bit.ly/2lyYAz8). The rectangular ones are 14oz.
Britney says
February 21, 2017 at 6:29 pmI absolutely LOVED this recipe! I added a little bit of fresh ginger…delicious!
Brittany Mullins says
February 22, 2017 at 8:15 amHooray!!! So glad you liked this recipe, Britney. Also, love your name. 🙂
Ella says
March 1, 2017 at 11:33 amThanks so much for this recipe, it was absolutely delicious! And tasted even better the next day too! 🙂
cori says
March 27, 2017 at 9:12 pmHi! Can you do this dish in a croc pot with dry garbanzo? or should I first cook the garbanzo in the croc pot and then prep this meal?
Thanks..
★★★★★
Brittany Mullins says
March 27, 2017 at 9:58 pmHi Cori! I would cook the beans in your crockpot first and then use them to prep the meal. Hope you love it!
Monique says
May 9, 2017 at 1:14 pmWhat kind of curry did you use? The red paste curry or the yellow powdered curry?
Can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
Brittany Mullins says
May 9, 2017 at 3:54 pmI used the yellow curry powder. Enjoy the recipe!! 🙂
Randi says
June 9, 2017 at 9:21 pmHi there. I was wondering if the calorie and carb info was accurate? It seems high. Thanks!
Michelle says
July 5, 2017 at 11:18 amIs that calorie content for the entire recipe? It seems high for one bowl.
Alyssa says
July 5, 2017 at 2:43 pmI was just thinking the same thing!
Brittany Mullins says
July 5, 2017 at 9:16 pmYes, something wonky was going on with the nutrition facts. Just updated them! Sorry about that.
Brittany Mullins says
July 5, 2017 at 9:15 pmThanks for noticing this, Michelle. The nutrition facts were wonky for this recipe. Just updated them. 🙂
Angela says
July 6, 2017 at 4:14 pmJust made a double recipe! Taste awesome!
Brittany Mullins says
July 6, 2017 at 5:07 pmWoo-hoo! So glad you like it, Angela.
Tina says
July 10, 2017 at 7:16 pmDo you think these are ok to freeze
Martine says
July 28, 2017 at 7:15 pmI used olive oil instead. I’m not a big fan of cooked spinach so I wasn’t sure about this recipe, but it was delicious aside from me accidentally putting a little more cinnamon in than I had intended. I would also definitely cut down on the rice a bit. Even for just one serving, a cup of rice is a ton! I also included garlic naan I bought from the store (I love garlic anything!) to dip in the bowl. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
Jess says
August 19, 2017 at 8:20 pmI just made this and I know it will be a regular in my meal plan rotation! I needed to make this stretch recipe for 2 dinners and 2 leftover lunches so I added a can of loosely drained diced tomatoes and it was a great addition to create more food with no work.
Brittany Mullins says
August 19, 2017 at 8:46 pmYay! So glad you tired and liked this recipe, Jess! And I love your tip about adding a can of diced tomatoes to stretch the recipe.
Alexandra Butler says
October 2, 2017 at 9:26 amI am new to meal prepping and asking for a few tips. A small far as nutrition facts go it say so 1 bowl is 455 calories. When mean prepping is there an exact portion of rice/chickpea to put in each container?
Zolie says
November 13, 2017 at 8:28 pmIs there a way to make this without oil? I would love to try this recipe!!
Abby says
December 11, 2017 at 1:49 amI added some turmeric and red pepper flakes and it was delicious. I would totally make this again!
Brittany Mullins says
December 11, 2017 at 2:51 pmYay! So glad that you liked it, Abby. 🙂
Hannah says
January 6, 2018 at 3:56 amCan i put this in the fridge and then eat it cold for lunch? Or do you recommend heating it back up?
Thank you 🙂
Caitlyn says
February 12, 2018 at 1:06 pmI made these bowls this past weekend to have on hand for the week. I wanted something to spice up my lunches. They are fantastic – thanks for sharing this recipe!
Chrissy says
May 22, 2018 at 1:15 amI loved this recipe! It was delicious and easy to make. I doubled the recipe to make it for the week and I’m disappointed how much the spinach cooked down – enough for 2 or 3 servings tops. I’ll just have to add more, and maybe use frozen to save money! Overall awesome 🙂
★★★★★
Kim says
June 18, 2018 at 5:17 pmThis is my first time making a vegan dish, and I LOVE IT!! I swapped the spinach for kale, and added some cayenne pepper (because I’m a spiceoholic) alcoholic. I am trying to do more vegan dishes that are high in protein, and this one knocked it out the park. I am in heaven with how deliciously easy the recipe is. You have a new fan, and I look forward to trying out more of your recipes. Thanks!!
★★★★★
Brittany Mullins says
June 18, 2018 at 9:09 pmYay!! I am so happy your first vegan dish was a success and that you enjoyed these bowls. Can’t wait to hear which EBF recipe you try next. 🙂
Bill Smith says
August 26, 2018 at 1:43 pmBrittany,
I was super excited about the curried chickpea bowls only to realize that the half-a**ed recipe does no good to a starter like me. Not blaming you but a little more clarity / steps in your instructions will help us out. I’d rather see more of the prep-instructions than your end product!
Thanks for getting me excited,
BS
Brittany Mullins says
August 26, 2018 at 2:03 pmBill – did you try the recipe? Which instructions were confusing?
Caitlyn says
October 29, 2018 at 8:57 pmI just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy these bowls. I usually double the recipe and then I have an entire week of prepped meals. What could be better than that?! I made a few tweaks that make the recipe equally delicious. In place of the tomato paste I add a can of diced tomatoes. I also like adding lentils and potatoes in addition to the chickpeas.
Thanks again for sharing a healthy, tasty, easy meal prep recipe!
Amy says
November 12, 2018 at 8:05 pmThese chickpeas are to die for. I looooove them. I added broccolini in with the spinach because I love veggies. My husband and I loved every bite
★★★★★
Brittany Mullins says
November 13, 2018 at 8:03 pmYay!!!! This makes me so happy, Amy. And thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating after trying the recipe. Your feedback is so helpful.
Megan says
January 24, 2019 at 12:09 pmOo going to try and make these things weekend!
Megan
http://www.todayisthedaylifestyle.com/blog
Hannah C says
February 19, 2019 at 2:21 pmThis was really delicious! I think the amount of spinach that comes in a 5 oz package is not quite enough for 3 bowls, at least for me, so I think next time I’ll either get more spinach or try it with a more voluminous leafy green like chard or kale so I can really fill up the bowl with veggies. The spices on the chickpeas are amazing though, and the touch of lemon juice really brought the whole thing together. Thanks!
Syd says
February 26, 2019 at 5:16 pmJust made it for lunch tomorrow, had to have a bite or FEW before. Great recipe!
★★★★
Tiece says
May 1, 2019 at 1:26 pmThis is one of my favorite meals to make! It’s quick, easy and tasty.
★★★★★