Braised Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce
If you’ve never braised something, you are missing out! Since buying my Dutch oven, I’ve waited for winter to use it for braising. Braising is an excellent combination cooking method that utilizes stovetop cooking and oven cooking with liquid. I think a Dutch oven with a lid is the best for braising. Typically, meat is used for braising recipes, so I subbed out meat for braised chickpeas in this recipe. Braises use acidic ingredients for great flavor, so I incorporated tomato sauce, sauerkraut, and balsamic vinegar.
Braised Kale
The tastiest way to eat kale is in a braise. I made this recipe for my parents and they hate kale. When they tried the kale and chard in this tomato braise, they said “wow I think I love kale now.”
Braised Chickpeas with Chard and Kale
This meal includes a lot of vegetables and fiber, making it perfect for gut health. Since the card and kale are cooked for a long while, the oxalates are reduced/eliminated making these vegetables easier to digest. I even use sauerkraut with the brine in this recipe. Since it is cooked, the probiotics in the sauerkraut die, but sauerkraut provides a ton of healthy post-biotic compounds even when cooked. These chickpeas are the perfect main dish for a healthy and nourishing family dinner on a cold evening.
Pairings with Braised Chickpeas, Chard and Kale
You can serve braised chickpeas with a lot of different sides. Jon and I enjoy eating these chickpeas with a side of rice. Try any healthy whole grain though, like quinoa, barley, or polenta. You can also serve this dish with these buttery, flaky, amazing sourdough biscuits. The soft, creamy, buttery biscuits pair perfectly with the rich acidic braise.
Other Pairings You Might Enjoy
- Sourdough Garlic Bread Dinner Rolls
- Buttery Flaky Sourdough Biscuits From Scratch
- Customizable Sourdough Focaccia Bread From Scratch
Braised Chickpeas with Sundried Tomatoes and Kale
A warm and delicious meal that combines elements of braised kale and braised chickpea with chard recipes. This recipe is filling, nourishing and perfect for fall and winter dinners.
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 45 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup sauerkraut with the brine
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
- 2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
Instructions
- For this recipe, you will need a dutch oven with a lid that can go from the stovetop straight into the oven.
- Place a dutch oven over medium heat, and add in the oil, onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook until the onions start to brown and stick to the bottom a bit.
- Preheat your oven to 375° F.
- Add in the thyme, basil, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly combined. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for about 15-30 minutes with stirring, until the liquid thickens.
- Turn off the stove-top heat.
- Place the lid on your dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven.
- Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Carefully remove from the oven, and be careful with the hot lid.
- Serve with rice or roasted potatoes and enjoy!
The photo of this recipe really captured my attention a few weeks ago when I first saw it. It looks so hearty! I’m not too crazy about having to buy an ingredient that I’ll rarely use, maple syrup in this case, but then after doing some research I found out that I can store the maple syrup in the freezer and it will keep a really long time, like years…., and it stays in it’s liquid state even in the freezer. So I decided to go ahead and try this recipe. We loved it! It’s so different than anything we’ve ever tried and it’s so filling. I paired it with Jasmine Brown Rice. I had to tweak the instructions a bit because it turns out that our Dutch Oven is not actually oven-proof…. the handles seem to be some sort of plastic. So I transferred the contents to a crock-pot and cooked it on high for about 3 hours. Someone with more cooking experience than me might have done things differently, but the end result sure seemed great to us. Can’t wait to try the leftovers tonight!
I really want to try this recipe but don’t have a dutch oven. Do you think this flavor combo could work in a pressure cooker or does the braising produce an important flavor component?
Thank you for your help with this and all the fantastic recipes!
I’m unsure what cooking this in a pressure cooker would do. I think it could work, as long as you reduce and thicken the sauce after pressure cooking, instead of before. If you reduce the sauce before pressure cooking, it may scorch/burn in the pressure cooker.