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Chickpea Spinach Pie with Berbere Spice. Easy Chickpea Spinach Pastry for holidays and company with vegan puff pastry. Use spices or blends of choice. Use lentils for variation. Vegan Soy-free Nut-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe
I told you I was going through a Berbere and Cajun obsession at the moment. So here goes another one. This ridiculously tasty pie is a breeze to put together. Use up those canned or cooked chickpeas or lentils, cook them up with the spices, onion and spinach. Fill up a thawed puff pastry sheets (many are accidentally vegan), seal and bake!
The idea for this came about when I was thinking about making something like a Spanakopita but simpler. Chickpeas are a easy filling if you already have some cooked. Loads of onion, spinach and spices and the crisp puff pastry make this pie very pleasing for the crowd. You can make one whole pie or small hand pies. Always a hit! Use any spices of choice or use the spice blends from my book (baharat, shawarma, garam masala etc). Or use just herbs, a combination of thyme, sage and oregano + nooch. Add some tofu or almond ricotta for variation.
Easy Holiday Appetizer or Side to impress. The chickpea spinach filling is also great in sandwiches or as a dip!
You can use this filling with filo as well. Brush each sheet with oil and place atleast 4 to 5 sheets, then add the filling and fold the sheets over.
More savory options for the holidays
- Chickpea Shepherds Pie
- Veggie Lasagna
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Lentil Quinoa “Meatloaf”
- Spiced Vegetable Pot Pie
Cook the chickpeas with the spices or herbs, then fold in the greens. Add some non dairy milk + flour to add a a bit of sauce. Cool and spread over a pastry sheet.
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Chickpea Spinach Pie with Berbere Spice
Ingredients
- 2 vegan puff pastry sheets
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion, , thinly sliced or chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, , finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin , , or 1/2 tsp cumin + 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 to 2 tsp berbere spice blend, , to preference based on heat of the blend. Or use garam masala, shawarma, chili powder blend or just herbs (thyme, oregano, sage)
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne or pepper flakes
- a good dash of black pepper
- 15 oz can chickpeas, , or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1/2 tsp salt, , less or more depending on if the chickpeas are salted
- 5 to 6 oz spinach
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped, or use more spinach
- 1/2 cup non dairy milk, + 1 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Remove the Puff pastry sheets from the freezer and cover and let them rest at room temperature. Roll them out a bit if you like (optikonal) (they should be ready in about 20 to 25 minutes to use. Prep and make the filling in the meanwhile).
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot add onion and garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook until translucent. Add spices and mix well. Mash the chickpeas using a fork or a food processor and add to the skillet. Add salt and mix well. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Add the greens and mix in. Cook for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and flavor.
- Mix the flour into the non dairy milk and add to the chickpeas. Cook for 2-3 minutes to bring to a boil and thicken. Let it cool for a few minutes. (This filling can be made ahead and used in the puff pastry, as a sandwich filling, or a dip with toasted pita. )
- Spread the mixture on one puff pastry and place the other pastry sheet on top. Crimp the edges with a fork and use scissors to cut vents in. You can also make individual pastry pockets.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 24 mins for one large piece, 16 to 20 minutes for smaller. Let the pastry cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve. Store on the counter for upto 3 hours, refrigerate for upto 3 days, freeze for months. Reheat in the oven when needed(5 mins from fridge and 10 mins from freezer) . See notes below for make head.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was so delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. My partner and I devoured every last bite tonight! I used a mixture of silverbeet and rainbow chard from my garden instead of spinach, which worked out well. I also added one carrot chopped finely which was a nice addition. It was my first time using berbere spice mix and certainly won’t be my last! So tasty! I made a garden salad to accompany the dish. Thanks again 😊
Awesome
I used phyllo dough. It was delicious! I think next time i will add some paneer.
Turned out perfectly! And very easy.👌🏻
Love, love, love this recipe! Made it with the puff pastry but I can tell I will be trying all the other options as well. Thank you for introducing me to the berbere spice blend—both it and this recipe will be among my favorites from now on. Thank you! So yummy!
Awesome
Oh my god this is so good! I used shawarma spice.
Mine didn’t look as nice as in the picture, but I think with practice I will learn how to work with this type of dough
Definitely a 5 star recipe!
Thank you!!! ah – taste is way more important than appearance, I say. Loving your shawarma choice.
By one sheet do you mean a box? I tried using one sheet of phyllo but it didn’t turn out, I couldn’t crimp it like you did. Never worked with this type of dough before so any help would be appreciated
So sorry that it didn’t turn out for you. It’s supposed to be vegan pastry dough – not phyllo dough. And typically, one sheet of puff is – 10″ X 15″ X 1/8″ prerolled and ready to use. so it depends on which brand. Hopefully that solves it! =)
I can’t stop making this! I’m obsessed with all the variations possible. And how fast and simple it is to make. I plan to impress some friends with it over the holidays. YOU HAVE THE BEST VEGAN RECIPES – CONSISTENTLY. Thanks.
Yay! Thanks! ❤️❤️
I’ve pinned many of your recipes but this is the first one I have actually made. It is delicious! So flavorful! Thank you for sharing your gift!
Awesome
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I’m really interested in making this but I only cook for 1. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to eat 9 of these in a few days before they go off so after cooking the pie and letting it cool, could I freeze some then reheat in the oven at a later time?
freeze some unbaked – after assembling into mini pastry pockets. Then they’re ready to go whenever you like.
Can I freeze just the mix itself? Will it defrost watery? Added mushroom and zucchini andnd used soy milk. have a fair bit left over, would love to keep and use another day as a dip or spread on crusty bread
You can. You make have to reheat it for a few mins on the skillet to reheat evenly and smooth out the mix
I have made this 3 times now, and it’s always a crowd pleaser, even with non-vegan family. Two times I have subbed garam masala for the berbere spice, but when I made it tonight I actually mixed up some berbere, and it was also really good!
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the positive review!