March 15, 2011 (Updated July 15, 2020)

“Cheesy” Vegan Coconut Sauteed Chickpeas and Kale

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

Vegan Vegetarian
32 comments

I’d recommend hitting the grocery store immediately — because vegan or not, you will want to make this recipe ASAP. It smells and tastes like cheesy buttery goodness — but it’s vegan! Introducing “Cheesy” Vegan Coconut Sauteed Chickpeas and Kale:

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I made this this morning in my pajamas because class was cancelled today! I was sad because it’s one of my favorites (Medical Nutrition Therapy), but so excited to have a free day to catch up on laundry, emails, etc. following my trip. Plus — I can’t even remember the last time I invented something new in the kitchen. Hooray for free time to COOK creatively vs. just relying on staples!

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After all my travel last week, I was craving something vegan or vegetarian with lots of beans and veggies. I always eat more meat when I travel! I was also itching to try out the new coconut oil and nutritional yeast I picked up recently. Both are reportedly nutritional superstars!

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I was going to make roasted chickpeas (this recipe looks delicious), but ya’ll know I like my recipes to take approximates 5 seconds and be as easy as possible. Plus, I wanted to include kale, so I decided sautéed would be a better option 🙂

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I was really pleased with how this recipe came out — the nutritional yeast makes it super cheesy! It almost tastes like mac and cheese with a slight hint of coconut from the oil. Perfect. Comfort food at its healthiest 🙂

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“Cheesy” Vegan Coconut Sautéed Chickpeas and Kale

(makes 2 to 4 servings, depending if having as a side or main dish)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can cooked chickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin coconut
  • 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 to 2 C fresh kale (loosely packed)
  • 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp. water (to keep it from drying out)
  • Salt & pepper to taste (I used a pinch each)

Instructions:

Toss everything into a pan and heat, stirring frequently, on medium for 5 to 10 minutes, or until kale is fully wilted. Enjoy!

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Coconut oil has been getting some attention lately in the media for it’s health benefits and deliciousness — did you see the NY Times article about it earlier this month? I’m looking forward to creating more recipes with it 🙂

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I’m off to a noon power yoga class, and then I need to get down to some schoolwork. Have a wonderful day!

- anne

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32 comments
  • That looks awesome! I need to pick up some nutritional yeast fo' sho' -- I'm seeing it everywhere lately! Plus, I'm seriously missing some cheesiness in my life. Silly lenten veganism... :P I've been experimenting with coconut oil more and more lately, too. But it's still so polarizing - for a long time it was considered the WORST oil to use, but now it's coming back as being one of the best? Call me confused. I love coconut though, so as long as the jury's still out and there's still some good buzz, I'm keeping it (in moderation, of course, as with all oils, right?)
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    • I say anything that's a clean, whole food is fine in moderation. As with any other oil, just don't have a ton of it, like you said! :)
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  • This looks awesome, and I think I have all of these things in my house! I just got a jar of coconut oil for the first time the other day and have the same questions as Gretchen. I used some to make broccoli last night and coconut-crusted tofu. I also put a little bit in a chocolate peanut butter protein shake the other day and it was amazing...so I hope it's good for us!
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  • I just found your blog and I'm loving it. I can't wait to give this a try. I happen to have all the ingredients so it may just make an appereance at dinner :)
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    • Thanks! Welcome to the blog :)
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  • Hooray for cancelled classes! I love nutritonal yeast. I make a cheesy chickpea/quinoa dish that is out of this world! I love it!
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  • Great recipe! Definitely bookmarking. I love all the clean ingredients.
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  • I will try this recipe out on myself before I make it for the family. It looks really really good. Does anyone besides me find chickpeas to be a bit chalky?Maybe it's because I have only eaten canned chickpeas.
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  • Holy CRAP this looks amazing. I love nutritional yeast! And kale! And chickpeas! Oh man oh man. I may have to make this tonight.
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  • This look great! I bought a bunch of kale this weekend, and have been looking for creative ways to use it!
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  • I actually have nutritional yeast and coconut oil on my grocery list for this week :)
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  • Hi Anne! Long time reader and just gegtting my blog back up :-) That looks so good! All things right up my alley.... though i've yet to expiriment with the nutritional yeast. Coconut oil is my latest obsession, its great!
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  • This looks GREAT! I still need to try nutritional yeast. I'm not sure why I haven't gotten on this yet.
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  • Looks wonderful, Anne. Very creative. Excited to try it! Well done -
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  • YUM! There is something truly magical, cheesy and buttery about the combo of coconut oil/nooch/salt, I put it on many things, including bowls of warm quinoa when I'm super lazy! Oh and chickpeas, of course. I'm seriously going to make this for dinner, I love nothing more than kale & chickpeas together. Amazing idea! And thanks for the link! I know it's mildly time consuming, but if you loved this you will LOVE the roasted cheesy chickpeas!
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  • Anne , made this last night ! Loved it. It was also all in my fridge already so so easy. I added some onions and really liked that. Thanks for the recipe!
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  • I feel like I need more usages for nooch. I have a container in my refrigerator that I got quite awhile go. (Embarassingly, I am now wondering if it's even good anymore.) To be honest, I don't use it that much unless I am making vegan cheese sauces. Thanks for giving me another way to use it.
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  • I'm addicted! I finally made this and I can't wait to make it again. Thanks for sharing.
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  • This looks damn tasty! I had a kale craving but wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it and have eaten too many kale crisps recently, so this is perfect! Thanks for the five minute tasty goodness.
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    • Yay - glad to hear it! :)
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  • I made this dish tonight. I added 1 cup chopped onions. I served fresh cut pineapple on the side. It was wonderful!
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  • just curious if you have the nutrient values broken out for this meal? im on low carb and just wondering what it is, thanks!
    Reply
    • I don't advocate calorie counting, so I don't share that information for my recipes. You can calculate it over at SparkRecipes or My Fitness Pal if you want!
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  • I bought the ingredients for this yesterday and am looking forward to making this for my vegan daughter home for the summer. Yum!
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    • Wonderful - enjoy! :)
      Reply