These Marry Me Chickpeas are so delicious you'll be down on one knee! Made with a creamy Tuscan-inspired sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, these tested-till-perfect luscious, saucy chickpeas are perfect served with crusty bread. And the best part? Dinner is ready in less than 20 minutes.
Chickpeas so good you'll want to marry them
Listen. I love beans a lot. Like, A LOT. And these Marry Me Chickpeas are definitely in the top three most delicious bean recipes I've ever made or eaten. Of all time.
There are a lot of Marry Me Chickpeas recipes floating around on the internet now, so let me humbly tell you why this one is the best. Much like when I was trying to crack the code for this Vegetarian Dumpling Soup recipe, I realized you can't simply replace chicken with chickpeas and expect it to be delicious.
These tested-till-perfect Marry Me chickpeas make use of sundried tomatoes AND the flavorful oil they're packed in, plus finely minced red onion, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes to pump up the jam. We're using heavy cream because we're worth it. And, because I can't help myself (I am a nutritionist, after all) I've added a few handfuls of spinach in there to finish it off.
So, crack open a tin of chickpeas (or, if you prefer cooking chickpeas from dried, then by all means, do that), grab a loaf of crusty bread for soaking up that sauce, and get ready to fend of those proposals.
Let's do this!
🍅 Got sundried tomatoes left over? Try making our high-protein Marry Me pasta with cottage cheese or Marry Me Butter Beans on Toast to use them up!
Let's Make Marry Me Chickpeas Together
Alright, friends, let's do this! This recipe comes together really quickly, so I recommend getting everything measured and chopped before you get started.
Step 1: sauté those onions
Alrighty, we're going down with a mixture of butter and a bit of the oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Add your diced red onion to that, and sauté, stirring frequently, until it has softened.
Add the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes, along with a generous pinch of salt.
Step 2: simmer the chickpeas
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable broth, and chickpeas. Stir, and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the spinach (if using) and stir until wilted
Step 3: the big finish
Add the heavy cream, parmesan, and basil.
Ohhhh yeah, would you look at that. Remove from heat, and serve with crusty bread.
Recipe notes
This recipe has been thoroughly tested and is absolutely perfect when followed to the letter, but there are countless ways you can riff on it and make it your own, and it'll still be stupidly delicious.
Lighten it up. Listen, in my professional opinion, the heavy cream in this recipe is balanced by the fiber from the chickpeas and the spinach, and each serving is really only ¼ cup of heavy cream at most. But I get that some folks would rather make a lighter version. In that case, swap out the heavy cream for half-and-half.
Make it vegan. Feel free to use coconut milk or your favorite non-dairy cream for vegan Marry Me Chickpeas.
Add more veggies. Now we're talking! Marry Me Chickpeas go great with lightly steamed or roasted veggies on the side, or stirred in just before serving.
Meal prep it. This is one of those recipes that makes for excellent leftovers, so why not make a double batch?! Marry Me Chickpeas will last for 3-5 days in the fridge, and leftovers are great served with rice, pasta, or another whole grain.
Marry Me Chickpeas with Creamy Sundried Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon oil from the sundried tomatoes
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes more if you like some heat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas drained
- 2 cups baby spinach optional
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan
- a small handful of fresh basil leaves torn
- fresh basil, more parmesan, and crusty bread to serve
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.
- Add the butter along with a tablespoon of oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes.2 Tablespoons butter, 1 Tablespoon oil from the sundried tomatoes
- Add the red onion, and sauté, stirring frequently until it has softened.¼ cup finely diced red onion
- Add the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes along with a generous pinch of salt.3 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the sundried tomatoes, vegetable broth, and chickpeas. Stir, and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes.½ cup sundried tomatoes, 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas
- Add the spinach (if using) and stir until wilted2 cups baby spinach
- Add the heavy cream, parmesan, and basil.1 cup heavy cream, ½ cup freshly grated parmesan, a small handful of fresh basil leaves
- Remove from heat, and serve with crusty bread.fresh basil, more parmesan, and crusty bread to serve
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
Patricia Egerton says
Can I freeze this recipe?
Katie Trant says
Hi Patricia! I haven't tried freezing this one so I can't say for sure how it would turn out. My instincts say that the cream sauce might be a bit funky after thawing and re-heating, but it should still taste fine. Worth trying, I suppose.
Yvonne says
Served this disch to teenage scouts, and olders friends and everyone has asked for the recipet. My family loves it too. it's delicious.
Katie Trant says
Yay, this makes me so happy, Yvonne!
Leesa says
Yet another delicious, quick, and easy recipe. Thank you Katie!
Emmeline says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was SO good! Also very easy to make. Definitely making it again!
Alison says
A friend had been raving about this recipe - I really didn't think it could live up to the hype. Was I ever wrong. So damn delicious - I can't properly put into words how good these chickpeas are. And versatile too! I served mine with rice but will pair with a crusty bread next time. My taste buds said YES to these Marry Me Chickpeas. It was love at first bite <3 Thank you Katie!
Katie Trant says
So glad you enjoyed them! I just made another batch myself for my packed lunches and paired this batch with some seasoned farro. Yum!
Emma Edström says
Amazing, loved it! And so easy.
Katie Trant says
Yay! I'm so glad you liked this one as much as we do 🙂
Missy says
This was so good. Served over rice with a side salad. Delicious!
Katie Trant says
Hey Missy! So glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as we do 🙂
Dorothy Raviele says
I think using a stick blender to puree up some of the chickpeas will help give it that creamy texture we crave. Then just a splash of cream or half and half would suffice. Also, keep the aqua faba in the recipe. It adds flavor and makes it soupy enough for the good crusty bread.
Katie Trant says
Hey Dorothy! You could certainly try that, but puréeing the chickpeas would thicken this up quite a lot in a way that is not intended. You could also increase the broth and decrease the cream to get the ratio you're after. But the recipe as developed and tested is truly delicious!