Spiced Chickpea Grain Bowlswith barley / cucumbers / chimichurri sauce
These grain bowls have layers of flavor starting with spiced chickpeas and vegetables and a final topping of creamy yogurt-based chimichurri sauce.
Ingredients
- Cilantro - 1/3 cup, chopped
- Parsley - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Shallots - 1 clove, chopped
- Capers - 1 Tbsp, drained and rinsed
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 Tbsp
- Lime juice - 2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 1/3 cup
- Barley, hulled and uncooked - 2/3 cup
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Oregano - 1/2 tsp
- Paprika - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Bell peppers, any color - 1, diced
- Zucchini - 1 lb, cubed
- Cucumbers - 12 oz, diced
- Beans, garbanzo (15 oz / 387 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
- Chimichurri sauce (ingredients listed separately) - ~1/3 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Barley - Double if making Thursday’s meal. Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt water generously and add barley. Cook for 45 to 55 minutes, until tender but not soggy. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make spice mix - Combine cumin, oregano, paprika, and salt (portion for grain bowls). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Bell peppers / Zucchini - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make chimichurri sauce - Double if making Wednesday’s meal. Combine cilantro, parsley, garlic, shallots, capers, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and oil (portion for chimichurri) in a blender or a food processor. Add more oil if it’s too thick. Season to taste with salt or more lime juice. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cucumbers - Dice cucumbers. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
Make
- Heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil (portion for grain bowls) and then peppers and zucchini. Saute until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add beans and spice mix. Saute for 2 minutes more.
- Remove from heat and squeeze lemon juice over top. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Whisk together chimichurri (if doubled reserve half for Wednesday) and yogurt.
- Reheat barley (reserve half if doubled) in the microwave.
- Divide barley between bowls. Top with beans / vegetables and cucumbers. Top with yogurt-chimichurri sauce. Enjoy!
Get access to all of our delicious recipes and time-saving meal plans!
No payment info required for trial.
Reviews
This meal has 41 reviews
I really loved the sauce! Agree with other reviewers that more barley would have been good, though I'll probably just make rice next time since it cooks so much more quickly.
I really liked this. The chimichurri sauce is amazing and really made the meal.
I was surprised by how tasty this was. I made the original and vegetarian versions simultaneously. I liked having more veggies, even with the steak. The yogurt sauce definitely made this meal. Agree that amount of barley was skimpy for 4.
Used farro. Really filling and love that yogurt sauce.
Too much chimichurri in the salad, but loved all the flavors.
I always love chimichurri sauce. Roasted the chickpeas in the oven so they were a little crispy