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Win hearts and prepare to fall in love with these Marry Me Chickpeas, a vegetarian twist on Marry Me Chicken! With over 35 million views across social media, this incredible 15-minute meal chickpea recipe has been devoured in thousands of kitchens around the world.
Pairs well with Air Fryer Veggies on the side. Finish the meal with Vegan Panna Cotta!
save this recipe!These Marry Me Chickpeas – the vegetarian equivalent of Marry Me Chicken – are about to have you head over heels for chickpeas! Wrapped in a creamy Tuscan sauce and absolutely loaded with flavor, they’ve quickly become one of my favorite ways to use a can of chickpeas! They’re:
- Easy to make, requiring just 1 pan and 15 minutes
- Served any way, like with a thick slice of sourdough bread or over a bed of rice
- Made with mostly pantry staples so you can enjoy this without much advanced planning!
Reader rating
“I made this dish for the first time about a month ago and last week my boyfriend proposed. Could be a coincidence, but also could be the power of delicious Tuscan cooking.” —Kyra
Key Ingredients
The ingredients are mostly pantry staples, so you can make it just about whenever the mood strikes! Jump to the recipe for measurements–this is just an overview.
- Chickpeas: We’re using two cans of chickpeas, or you can cook your chickpeas from dried.
- Garlic: Alright, garlic may not be the most romantic ingredient, but if you’re about to propose, we should be past the point of caring about garlic breath, right?
- Seasonings: Salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and black pepper bring flavor and spice!
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Bring that savory Tuscan flavor. Get the kind packed in oil!
- Broth: Vegetable broth, either from a carton, cube, or homemade from veggie scraps.
- Cream: In testing, I found heavy cream to give the best texture, but feel free to use half-and-half for a lighter dish, or coconut milk for a vegan option.
- Parmesan: Brings a savory taste perfect for rounding out this dish. Vegans should omit or use a plant-based parm.
How to make Marry Me Chickpeas
Making this dish takes just 1 pan and less than 15 minutes. This is an overview, jump to the recipe for the full printable recipe!
- Make the flavor base, a delicious combination of butter, garlic, and spices.
- Add the fillings and cook for a few minutes.
- Finish it off with cream, parmesan, and basil!
I like adding veggies
While I absolutely love this dish just how it is, sometimes I’ll bulk it up with veggies! I’ll cook a bunch of veggies in the air fryer (zucchini and cauliflower are my favorites for this one), then stir them in right before serving.
Protein Variations
Not a fan of chickpeas? Try one of these variations!
- White Beans – add them at the same time that you would have added the chickpeas (see also Marry Me Butter Beans)
- Tofu – cube and crisp it up (air fried tofu is my personal favorite)
- Soy Curls – this vegan ingredient has the texture of chicken and would be great here (how to cook soy curls here)
Reader rating
“Holy h*ll this was amazing!!! Wow I was scared it wasn’t going to be much because of how few ingredients it called for but WOW it packed a flavorful punch!” —Sam
Serving Suggestions
- With vegetables, like these air fryer veggies which can cook while the chickpeas cook
- With bread, like crusty sourdough, fluffy naan, or toasted rye
- With rice, like jasmine or basmati rice
How To Make Marry Me Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 28 g
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp each salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 cup vegetable broth, 236 mL
- 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained, 425 g cans
- 1 cup heavy cream, can sub half-and-half
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Flavor Base: Heat 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 4 cloves garlic, ½ tsp each salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper in a large saute pan or pot over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant.
- Fillings: Stir in ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 cup vegetable broth, and 2 15-oz cans chickpeas. Continue cooking on medium, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Finish: Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup grated parmesan, and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil. Serve warm with crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Meal Prep it!
Make a batch of these proposal-worthy chickpeas and portion them into 4 or 5 meal prep containers with a grain (like brown rice or quinoa) and a steamed veggie (like broccoli or asparagus). I like to add a handful of cherry tomatoes as well!
Hi just some feed back from my last comment ( me Georgie ,) made the marry me chickpea as planed foe dinner tonight , used red peppers and onion followed the rest of recepie adding little extra on the spice and herb and happy to say my son in law was impressed and even my fussy son said it was so nice , my daughter loved it , and they are going to start making it ,, Thank you for this great easy to make meal 🙂.. only thing is my son in law is still asking why is it called marry me chickpea , Iv probably got it wrong but I said I think it’s based on marry me chicken recipe 🤷♀️ wi,d guess 😂
Yep it’s based on a Marry Me Chicken dish!
Absolutely brilliant recipe my husband loved it. Made it exactly as written. Can’t wait to have it again.
Marry Me Chickpeas was absolutely the best. I made it for a Christmas potluck and everyone was commenting on how they loved it. This one is a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I would love to try this and many of your other recipes but I could do with them being lower in fat (especially saturated). What could be substituted for heavy cream – maybe Greek yoghurt or low fat crème fraiche? And butter – maybe olive oil or at least 50% olive oil?
Love to have your suggestions so that I can get into some of your delicious looking recipes.
Hi Richard! This one is indeed a bit high in fat. Olive oil works well in this recipe and can replace the butter entirely. To replace the cream, you can stir in plain yogurt after removing it from the heat (Greek may be a little too sour). Happy eating!
Richard
You could use almond milk and thicken the sauce with cornstarch and water.
This is sooooo good!! I could eat this every day and be happy! The sun dried tomatoes add such awesome flavor!! I have made it with cream and with coconut milk (use it or lose it) and it is always delicious!
Quick, easy and delicious! I added a box of frozen spinach to my recipe.
One clarification, should the chickpeas be drained and rinsed?
Thanks
Yep! Drain (and rinse if you’d like) before adding them in 🙂 Enjoy!
The first time I made this recipe, it was too watery and salty for my tastes. But I liked the flavour profile, so I decided to make it again with some slight alterations, and it turned out amazing!
Alterations I made:
– I used half the amount of vege stock.
– I didn’t add any extra salt (my vege stock was salty enough).
– I used four bean mix, as it was the only thing I had in my cupboard. Zero complaints!
– I added chopped spinach with the parmesan and cream for some additional greens.
Now that I’ve tailored it to my personal tastes, I’ll definitely make again.
This is SO good! I’ve made it a couple of times now and everyone loved it. I added chicken to my sons since he eats meat. I also added orzo and spinach since I was out of fresh basil will make again. Thank you
This recipe says it makes 4 servings. Can you tell me what the serving size is (cups measurement?) Thanks!
Hi Sherry! It’ll be about 1 to 1.5 cups 🙂
I am not a fan of pieces of tomato in my food. Could I use tomato paste? I am thinking sauce make it runny.
Tomato paste could work well! You might just add some smoked paprika as well to help replicate the flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes.