This easy Chickpea Paprikash recipe is healthier twist on the classic Hungarian comfort food. With a creamy coconut based sauce, sweet paprika and canned chickpeas, all served over pasta noodles. Vegan, easy and on the table in less than 30 minutes, it’s the perfect flavor packed dinner for any night of the week.
Ingredients in Chickpea Paprikash
This recipe was inspired by the traditional Hungarian dish, Chicken Paprikash. This version keeps things a little lighter by replacing the chicken with a couple cans of chickpeas and the sour cream with full fat coconut milk.
The base consists of just a few other elemensts: onion, garlic and tomato paste. This recipe requires very few ingredients so make sure they are of as high quality as you can find. Because paprika is the main flavoring for the entire dish, it’s best to use Sweet Hungarian paprika for a more authentic taste.
How to Make Chickpea Paprikash
This chickpea paprikash recipe is short and sweet. All you need to do is sauté some chopped onion in a bit of oil until softened. Add in the tomato paste and garlic, then let those toast for a couple minutes, until fragrant.
Pour in the coconut milk, chickpeas and paprika. It may seem weird to add the paprika right into the coconut milk as opposed to sautéing it with the onion, but paprika burns very easily. Paprika is also fat soluble, so there’s no need to blast it with heat to unlock the flavor due to the high fat content of the coconut milk.
Add a big pinch of salt and bring everything up to a low boil. Reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. This allows the paprika to “bloom” and meld with the other flavors in the dish.
At the end of cooking, the sauce should have thickened slightly and the chickpeas should be very tender. Important last step: taste for salt! If the sauce tastes bland in any way, it probably needs a little more salt to elevate the flavors.
What to Serve with Chickpea Paprikash
I find that this chickpea paprikash recipe goes wonderfully with any short cut pasta. I recently tried radiatori (pictured) and it was perfect for picking up that thick and creamy sauce. Other pasta shapes with lots of ridges, such as fusilii, rotini or rotelle are great too. A large wider noodles would also work well.
If you don’t want pasta, try serving this chickpea paprikash with potatoes or a traditional potato dumpling called spaetzle. A light side salad or handful of arugula is also a great way to balance out the meal.
More Recipes to Try:
- Grilled Tofu Shawarma Bowls
- Vegan Corn Chowder with Shiitake Bacon
- Honey Sesame Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
- Vegan Lasagna Bolognese
- Italian Stuffed Peppers
Made this recipe? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram and follow along on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!
Chickpea Paprikash
A twist on the traditional Hungarian dish, this vegan chickpea paprikash recipe has a creamy coconut based sauce with sweet paprika and tomato paste. Served over pasta, it's quick, easy and so comforting.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 13.5 oz can full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 28 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 lb short cut pasta (gluten free if needed)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. When shimmering, add the onion and cook until softened—about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour in the coconut milk, chickpeas, paprika and salt. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat and cook for 5-10 minutes uncovered until thick and heated through. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.
- Divide the pasta among bowls and top with the chickpea paprikash. Serve with a light side salad if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 597Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1140mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 19gSugar: 13gProtein: 26g
All nutritional info is an estimation
Will this keep in the fridge or freezer?
Yes, it should keep for about 4-5 days in the fridge when sealed in an airtight container and a month or so in the freezer.
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Could I use smoked paprika? It’s all I have on hand.
Hi Rae! Smoked paprika and sweet paprika have very different flavors so the resulting dish will be quite different than intended. If smoked paprika is all you can find, I recommend halving the amount as it’s pretty strong. I hope you love the recipe!
I ended up using the smoked paprika but didn’t use as much as it called for. A nice flavour but I’ll try sweet paprika next time. This was delicious! Thank you!