You'll fall in love with this marry me chickpeas recipe, a vegetarian twist on the popular Marry me Chicken! Made with protein rich chickpeas cooked in a creamy Tuscan style sun-dried tomato sauce, this date night worthy meal is ready in just 15 minutes!
About Easy Marry me chickpeas with creamy Tuscan sauce
You’ve probably seen the viral “Marry Me Chicken” recipe floating around on social media, right? Well, I’ve created my own vegetarian version—Marry Me Chickpeas! This is my take on that famous dish, and I promise it’s just as delicious. I've made it at least 20 times before sharing it with you and I've nailed the flavors.
As a vegetarian, I've swapped out the chicken for chickpeas, keeping things simple and easy to find. Plus I've worked around the ingredients to bring out the best flavours for Chickpeas in a creamy Tuscan sauce.
Why you'll fall in love this recipe?
- Quick and Easy: Ready in just 15 minutes, this marry me recipe is a breeze to prepare, using pantry staples and requiring only one pan.
- Versatile to serve: Enjoy this dish with pasta, over a bed of rice, or accompanied by a thick slice of bread – it's incredibly versatile and delicious in every serving.
- Easy to vary: Whether you want to switch up the protein or bulk up the dish, it's a simple and adaptable recipe.
- Make it Plant based: Its super easy to transform the recipe into a vegan marry me chickpeas recipe, simply by using dairy free alternatives.
Ingredients
Marry me Chickpeas contains a number of ingredients and all of them are easy to find at your local grocery stores. Lets talk about the most important ones.
- Oil – I use the flavourful oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, but olive oil works well too.
- White Onion or Shallots – Avoid red onions, as they can overpower the creamy sauce.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic adds loads of flavour. Opt for fresh instead of canned for the best taste.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes – It contribute rich flavors to the Tuscany style sauce. Use homemade sun dried tomatoes or the ones from the can.
- Chickpeas – Use canned chickpeas for convenience or prepare homemade chickpeas from dried ones.
- Double Cream (Heavy Cream) –Avoid using half and half or any lighter cream.
- Nutritional Yeast or Vegetarian Parmesan Cheese – Add these for a creamy and flavourful sauce.
How to make Marry me Chickpeas? : Step by Step
- Sauté and Flavour: Heat oil and add diced onions, garlic. Sauté until translucent (3-4 mins).
- Mix and Simmer: Add sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable stock, chilli flakes and Italian herbs.Bring it to boil.Add cream, salt and pepper and spinach. Mix well. Cover and simmer for 5 mins.
- Finish and Enjoy: Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast and sprinkle chopped basil. Enjoy!
Variations
- For extra protein, I love adding bite-sized tofu or paneer to the creamy Tuscan sauce, similar to how I would in my easy paneer curry.
- When I want to pack in more veggies, I’ll toss in sautéed mushrooms, air fried broccoli, or air fryer veggies for a delicious recipe variation.
- Another favorite variation is adding cooked pasta to make marry me pasta. Its so filling and makes a delicious lunch option with leftovers.
Storing leftovers
We hardly have leftovers. However if any, this is how I store it.
- In the fridge: Marry me chickpeas tastes better the next day. I think the flavours tend to marry well over time. Store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-4 days.
- In the freezer: You can freeze the leftover creamy chickpea for up to 3 months. Thaw the dish in the fridge overnight. Bear in mind the texture will change because it has got cream.
- To reheat: Place on the stovetop, add a splash of stock or water and cook until warm thoroughly. Alternatively cook in the microwave.
Serving Suggestion
I love to pair this creamy chickpeas dish with baguette slices or crusty bread options like no-knead bread, yogurt flatbread, or garlic naan, ensuring every bit of that flavourful sauce is enjoyed.
Serve up this creamy Marry Me Chickpeas alongside steamed white basmati rice, brown rice, quinoa, or your preferred pasta.
For a lighter side, opt for a fresh lettuce salad featuring a light vinaigrette or a red cabbage coleslaw
Recipe FAQ's
"Marry Me Chickpeas" got its name because people believe that if you make this dish for someone, they might want to marry you. But for me, the real magic is how the ingredients come together in the easy Italian Tuscan sauce.
It's a fantastic recipe to cook for your special someone on Valentine's Day or your anniversary – so good that it might even be considered "proposal worthy"!
Sure, why not! If you like a bit of crunch, I highly recommend adding air fryer chickpeas to the Italian cream style sauce.
Absolutely! Other than cream, rest of the ingredients are Vegan in the recipe. Simply use coconut milk or any other dairy free cream to make this delicious vegan marry me chickpeas.The dish is still so good, you will win hearts with the dish and want to make it again and again.
With a creamy Tuscan style tomato sauce and nutritious chickpeas, this incredible vegetarian meal is ready in 15 minutes.
The recipe is super simple to make roasted chickpeas in the air fryer for a bit of crispiness. I have a detailed recipe for air fryer roasted chickpeas. Be sure to check it out.
More easy Italian Inspired recipes
Super easy marry me chickpeas recipe below
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil *
- 1 white onion diced 70g
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped 50g
- 2 can chickpeas drained or 480g *
- 1 tablespoon Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 cup vegetable stock 240ml
- ⅔ cup double cream or heavy cream 150ml
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup spinach 30g
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon basil leaves chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable stock, Italian herbs and chilli flakes. Bring it to a boil.
- Add the cream, salt and pepper and spinach. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, allowing the flavors to marry.
- Remove the pan from heat, add nutritional yeast, sprinkle basil leaves and enjoy.
Gerald Sandy says
This is very good, easy, and nutritious. I made a few adjustments to suit my preferences. For canned chickpeas, I substituted 300g of dried chickpeas. I soaked them overnight and cooked them the next day in a pressure cooker for 25 minutes with aromatics (dried onion flakes, black peppercorns, and a bay leaf). I also substituted the spinach with a more robust green, chicory (dandelion greens).
Sandhya's Kitchen says
That is fantastic to know you enjoyed the recipe. Cooking the chickpeas from dried beans is great.
Marilyn J. Olsen says
Really good