Everyone needs a simple, flavor-packed recipe that’s both affordable and quick to make. This marinated chickpea recipe is just that. Olive oil, vinegar, garlic, green onions, and plenty of fresh parsley come together with chickpeas in a recipe that takes less than 15 minutes.
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What is it?
Marinated chickpeas is a dish made by letting cooked chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) soak in a tangy marinade made with herbs, olive oil, and vinegar. This vinaigrette gives the chickpeas loads of flavor. The result is a super easy recipe that’s packed with flavor.
What’s in it?
Marinated chickpea recipes typically call for alliums, herbs, olive oil, and a source of acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. Some versions also include vegetables, cheese, or spices.
- Chickpeas are pulses. Like other pulses, they’re a good source of fiber, folate, and several minerals (1). Researchers have also examined chickpeas’ role in supporting heart, gut, and metabolic health (2).
- Alliums are members of the onion family, and they can give marinated chickpeas and other recipes a sharp, onion-like note. In this recipe, you’ll use shallot, garlic, and green onions. Alliums are typically rich in antioxidants and help support heart and metabolic health. Herbalists traditionally use garlic and other alliums to support the immune system.
- Parsley provides a verdant, clean note to the chickpeas. It’s rich in antioxidants, vitamin K, vitamin C, iron, potassium, and calcium (3).
- Gochugaru is a Korean-style chili powder used in kimchi. It has a smoky, sweet flavor and a mild to moderate heat level.
- Extra virgin olive oil is the foundation for the marinade. Rich in healthy monounsaturated fat and polyphenols, olive oil gives an otherwise light dish a little staying power.
- Red wine vinegar lends acidity to the chickpeas. The sharpness of vinegar helps balance the earthy quality of the chickpeas.
Cabernet Port Vinegar
This recipe uses Cabernet Port Vinegar from Acid League – it has the robust flavor of red wine vinegar with notes of chocolate, cherry, and dried fruit. It’s also an unfiltered, raw vinegar for a boost of nutrition.
Tips for Marinating Chickpeas
Making marinated chickpeas is easy, and it only takes about 5 minutes of chopping and mixing. Then you simply let the chickpeas marinate in the herby vinaigrette which allows them to soak up all the flavor from the garlic, shallots, parsley, olive oil, and vinegar.
Still, there are a few things to keep in mind when making the recipe.
- Rinse the chickpeas very well. The starchy liquid from jarred chickpeas (also called aquafaba) can cause digestive discomfort in some people. If you’re not careful, any remaining aquafaba can dampen the flavor of the vinaigrette and shorten the dish’s shelflife.
- Chop everything very finely. Tiny bits of parsley, shallots, garlic, and green onions lend more flavor and more uniform flavor to the chickpeas.
- Stir gently. Cooked chickpeas can break apart fairly easily. So you don’t end up with a chickpea mash, stir gently – just enough to incorporate the herbs and other ingredients thoroughly.
- It’s better the next day. While you can eat the marinated chickpeas right away if you like, prep them ahead and plan to serve them the next day. All that time soaking up the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and herbs means more flavor.
- Serve marinated chickpeas at room temperature. Cold temperatures tend to dampen flavor and make pulses a bit chalky. Serve this recipe at room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
Marinated Chickpea Recipe
The perfect make-ahead recipe, these marinated chickpeas come together in the blink of an eye. Just add everything to a mixing bowl and stir. Easy.
Servings: 4 servings
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Instructions
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Dump the chickpeas in a medium mixing bowl, and then add the shallot, garlic, green onions, parsley, sea salt, gochugaru, olive oil, and vinegar. Stir to combine.
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Allow the chickpeas to marinate and soak up all the flavors of the herbs for 10 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Variations
Try making marinated beans instead. Just swap in kidney beans, lima beans, or another bean of your choice.
Swap in crushed red chili flakes for the gochugaru. Gochugaru is a Korean-style chili powder with a moderate heat and sweet, smoky flavor. And it’s just about perfect for this recipe. If you don’t have any, swap in about ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
Try lemon juice instead of vinegar. Lemon provides a nice acidity that helps to balance the starchy, earthy quality of chickpeas and other pulses. Try dicing up a preserved lemon for an even bigger boost of flavor.
Mix up the herbs. While this version of marinated chickpeas calls for plenty of flat-leaf parsley, other herbs work well, too. Try fresh dill, thyme, or even a little chopped basil or mint.
Red onion is a perfect stand-in for the shallot. If you don’t happen to have shallots, you can swap in finely chopped red onion. About ¼ cup works well as a substitute for the shallot.
For a more substantial salad, consider adding kalamata olives or diced red bell pepper to the chickpea mixture.
Recipe Questions
Yes. This recipe calls for about 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, which is equivalent to about ¾ cup dry chickpeas.
Marinated chickpeas will keep in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for about 5 days.
No, this salad doesn’t freeze well.
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References
- Chickpeas. Nutritiondata.org (2022)
- Jukanti AK, Gaur PM, Gowda CL, Chibbar RN. Nutritional quality and health benefits of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.): a review. Br J Nutr. 2012 Aug;108 Suppl 1:S11-26.
- Parsley. Nutritiondata.org. (2022)
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