Creamy Chickpea Mash with Spinach
This Avocado Chickpea Mash with Spinach is our favorite healthy vegan lunch recipe! With just 10 ingredients and 20 minutes of kitchen time, it’s simple, picky-eater friendly, and FULL of flavor. There are both gluten-free AND oil-free options too!
Today’s recipe was requested by one of our favorite Plant Power People – the wonderful Natasha – who gave us a Kale Chickpea Mash recipe from Veg Web to use as our inspiration.
I must admit, as soon as I heard the word kale, everything in me told me to run the other way, but with New Year’s Resolution season right around the corner, I knew it was time to give this healthy lunch a go.
My first instinct was obviously to drown this mash in vegan mayo…because, well, I’m ME. But, I ended up opting for an approach that would add to the nutrients in this dish without sending my veggie-phobic self to the high heavens in search for vegan pizza.
The answer, my friends? Avocado cream sauce. Oh. Yea.
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Now, I’m not a huge fan of avocados on their own, but ohhhh buddy, when you blend one of those bad boys up with some liquid and seasonings, it creates the creamiest, most decadent sauce or spread you could ever imagine. And you don’t even need a fancy blender for this! We actually use our immersion blender, and that works great.
The other change I wanted to make was to sub spinach for the kale. You can totally still use kale if you’re a fan, but spinach is a much less threatening green for those of us picky eaters out there. Honestly, I LOVE the spinach in this recipe, and THAT is really saying something!
This avocado chickpea mash with spinach is GREAT served either hot or cold on sandwiches, wraps, salads, and right outta the pot! We would suggest pairing it with fries or chips and a glass of chocolate plant milk – pre-school style. 😎
Other tasty vegan sandwich recipes:
- White Bean Toona Salad Sandwich
- Homemade Vegan Broccoli & Cheddar Hot Pockets
- Seitan French Dip Sandwich
Thanks again to Natasha for forcing me to step outside my comfort zone on this one. If and when you make this recipe, we would so love to know what you thought! Rate it and leave a comment below or tag us in your sandwich love photos on Instagram. We’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”. 😉
And if you never want to miss a Plant Power Couple recipe, make sure you’ve signed up for our email list!
Enjoy!
Creamy Chickpea Mash with Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil sub veg broth if oil-free
- 4 large cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 red onion minced
- 4 cups fresh spinach shredded and stems removed
- 1 14- oz can chickpeas drained
For the avocado cream sauce:
- 1/2 large ripe avocado
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce sub tamari for gluten-free
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Heat your oil over medium-high heat in a medium sauce pan. Add the garlic, onion, and a pinch of salt and saute for about 3 - 5 minutes or until translucent and wonderfully fragrant.
- Turn the heat to medium, add the chopped spinach, and stir to coat. Stir in the chickpeas, cover, and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and leave it covered while you make the avocado sauce.
- To make the avocado sauce: Add all ingredients to your blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Finally, Use a potato masher or a large wooden spoon to mash the chickpeas and stir in the avocado cream sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Enjoy this creamy chickpea mash on a sandwich, wrapped in a tortilla, or just right out of the bowl!
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Wow this dish looks so delicious. I am going to try it soon. Thanks love!
Yay, Kristen! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
Is it possible to make the avocado sauce without the nutritional yeast?
I’d say it’s possible, but the taste would definitely be different. You may also want to cut a bit of the water, as it will be a thinner texture. Let us know if you try it!
Is this recipe for 1 serving?
Hi, Missy! We usually get about 4 sandwiches out of it, but I guess it totally depends on how hungry you are!
Absolutely delicious! This will definitely become a staple in my house. Flavorful, easy to make, healthy. Can’t get any better. Thanks for the recipe!
Thrilled to hear that, Cathy! Thanks so much for your review!