Instant Pot Chickpea Mediterranean Bowl

Use your Instant Pot to make the chickpeas and the rice at the same time to make this delicious chickpea Mediterranean brown rice bowl!

Top with your favorite toppings and drizzle with a tangy lemon yogurt dill sauce for a healthy bowl you'll make repeatedly!

I have to admit that once I discovered bowls, I was all in. We have some sort of bowl at least once a week.

My bowls usually go in one of two directions, either Mediterranean or Mexican. I always keep the toppings needed for either kind of bowl in the fridge. Then all I have to do is decide on a grain and/or a protein and I am ready to go.

This Chickpea and Rice Bowl is made at least twice a month. I buy big bags of brown rice from Costco and either use my chickpeas from Rancho Gordo if I have some, otherwise, any store-bought brand will do.

It's so easy to make in the Instant Pot - you make the rice and chickpeas at the same time and they cook while you are preparing the toppings!

This bowl is inspired by a recipe in the Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook, where I learned the pot-in-pot technique for making rice and chickpeas at the same time! (I'll link to it in the recipe card!

Ingredients:

Chickpeas - dried.

Brown Rice - I try to buy organic. Costco has big bags of organic brown rice.

Broth - vegetable, chicken, or even water.

Toppings - whatever you like! I like to use:

• feta cheese
• kalamata olives
• green bell peppers
• red onions - preferably my Homemade Pickled Red Onions
• cucumbers
• lettuce - shredded. I think this lightens up the bowl.
• hummus - I buy organic small individual tubs at Costco and use ½ on each bowl.
• tomatoes

Yogurt sauce - yogurt, dill, lemon, garlic or garlic paste and salt.

Instructions.

I always soak chickpeas when cooking in the Instant pot, they seem to cook up easier and I want them to cook in the same amount of time that it takes the brown rice to cook.

You want to sort through them, rinse them, and place them in a bowl. Add 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Let them soak for 6-8 hours. I just do it in the morning and they have usually soaked long enough by the time I'm ready to make dinner.

I also prepare the lemon dill dressing so that the flavors have time to meld, but you can make it while the rice and chickpeas are cooking of you don't have time in the morning.

To make the dressing, combine yogurt, lemon juice, minced garlic or garlic paste (this is when I like to use garlic paste, it dissolves easier and my hands don't smell like garlic all day), salt, and dill. Store in the fridge until ready to us.

Drain the chickpeas (some people use the soaking water, I do not) and add them to the Instant Pot. Pour in 5 cups of water, this will give you plenty of broth that I save to use as aquafaba or to use in soups to help thicken and add flavor. I keep it frozen in jars in my freezer.

Place a steamer rack on top of the chickpeas. You want a height that is low enough so your bowl of rice will fit. I'll link to a set I use in the recipe card.

Place the rice and water in a metal or glass bowl and make sure it fits in the instant pot and still allows the lid to close. I use an old metal mixing bowl.

Lock the lid on and set the pressure release to sealing. Set the pressure at high for 25 minutes.

While the rice and chickpeas are cooking, prepare your toppings. On this day, I used cherry tomatoes, pickled red onions, cucumbers, green peppers, hummus, feta and lettuce.

When the Instant Pot is finished let it do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then release the pressure by moving the sealing vent to venting. I like to use the hook on the end of the spoon to do this so my hand doesn't get close to the steam.

Remove the lid, careful not to drip any of the water into your perfectly cooked rice.

Using oven mitts, remove the bowl of rice. Then using tongs or a fork, lift out the steamer rack.

Scoop a little rice and some chickpeas into each bowl, present the toppings and the lemon dill dressing and let everyone make their own bowl!

This is so good! We have it once a week, or any time we get cucumbers and tomatoes from our CSA.

I love that you can change up the toppings on this healthy rice bowl. Sometimes I leave off the hummus since it already has chickpeas in it, but it does make it extra creamy.

Such a delicious way to turn Instant Pot Chickpeas into a full meal!

More chickpea recipes.

Recipe.

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