This hearty and nutritious chickpea stew is filled with flavor from ras el hanout seasoning, sweet potatoes, and fresh ginger and garlic. It comes together in just over 30 minutes and tastes amazing!
This chickpea stew is chock full of cozy flavors and nutritious ingredients. In addition to garlic, ginger, and onion, the stew is seasoned with ras el hanout, a really warming blend of spices used in Moroccan cooking.
I also use ras el hanout in my red lentil stew, and you can find it at most supermarkets in the spice aisle. It can be substituted with curry powder as needed.
As you can tell from the spice selection, this chickpea stew leans heavily on cozy curry flavors, but it also has a touch of sweetness from sweet potatoes. Best served with a big wedge of bread!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Simple process: Like any good stew, this recipe is pretty straightforward. We'll dice up a few vegetables, then saute them and simmer. This stew is ready in just over 30 minutes.
- Balanced: This chickpea stew uses two cans of chickpeas, or roughly 3 cups. That means each serving has about 15 grams of protein and over 10 grams of fiber.
- Warming flavors: Ras el hanout typically includes warming spices like cinnamon, anise, cardamom, and cloves. These seasonings make the chickpea stew really cozy and hearty without making it heavy.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas: Two cans of chickpeas yield about 3 cups of chickpeas. Another option is to cook from dry using my Instant Pot chickpeas recipe.
- Ras el hanout: This is a North African seasoning blend most commonly associated with Moroccan cooking. It should be available at most large grocery stores (it's available at my Kroger). Garam masala or just regular curry powder is an adequate swap in equal parts, but note that the flavors will be slightly different.
- Sweet potatoes: Choose orange/red-skinned Jewel or Garnet sweet potatoes. These soften up a lot as they cook and add a nice amount of sweetness to the dish.
- Tahini: Don't skip this ingredient! It adds a touch of nuttiness and creaminess to the chickpea stew that really takes it to the next level.
- Vegetable broth: I use Better than Bouillon vegetable base, but any type of broth works here.
- Carrots: Choose whole carrots. I usually peel the carrot skin before chopping, but you can leave it on if you prefer.
- Garlic, ginger, and onion create the aromatic base. I recommend fresh ginger and garlic.
- Kale: Optional, adds a pop of green, texture, and nutrition. Spinach also works well, but I recommend adding it at the end.
Step-by-step instructions
Cooking equipment: Any pot 4-quarts or larger works well. I used a 3.5-quart Dutch oven in the photos and it filled it a bit higher than I'd like, so I recommend choosing a larger pot.
- Heat a Dutch oven or sauce pot over medium heat. Drizzle with enough oil to coat. Once hot, add the onion, carrots, and salt. Saute until the onion is golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the kale, ginger, and garlic. Continue cooking until the kale is wilted and the ginger and garlic are golden, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the ras al hanout and cumin, toasting while stirring frequently to bloom the spices, about 30 seconds. Stir in the remaining spices, sweet potato, chickpeas, and vegetable broth.
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the tahini until well combined. Taste for seasonings and enjoy!
Tips and variations
- Sweet potato skins: I don't typically peel sweet potato skins because they soften a lot as they cook, they help hold the sweet potato pieces together, and they provide iron and fiber. However, you can peel them if you prefer.
- Stir the tahini in when the heat is off or it will separate due to the high heat. The most foolproof method for mixing in the tahini is whisking it with an equal amount of soup broth before stirring it into the chickpea stew.
- These days I find myself grating garlic and ginger more often than hand chopping it. I use the smallest holes on a box grater or this microplane. This quickly turns the ginger and garlic into a paste, which helps distribute it through the soup better and cooks it more quickly.
- Regular potatoes, such as Russet or Yukon gold, can be used in place of sweet potatoes.
- I tested this stew with both tahini and peanut butter. Peanut butter yielded the same level of creaminess as tahini, but had a more noticeable sweet flavor. Tahini added a nuttier but also more neutral flavor. If you don't have tahini, peanut butter is a great substitute. Even almond butter or cashew butter would likely work well.
- This stew is not brothy. Add extra vegetable broth as desired.
Storage tips
- Best within 3 to 4 days. Let the soup cool before transferring it to storage containers.
- Freezing: Chickpea stew freezes well. Let the soup cool before transferring it to freezer-safe containers. Leave an inch of space at the top of the container to allow for expansion. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: Reheat on the stovetop over medium-high heat, until hot and bubbling.
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Chickpea Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 4-quart (or larger) Dutch oven or stock pot
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato see note #1
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil of choice
- 1 small sweet yellow onion diced
- 2 whole carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
- 3 cups chopped kale (about 3 ounces) see note #2
- ½ inch ginger grated (see note #3)
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 2 teaspoons ras el hanout see note #4
- 1 teasoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas drained and rinsed; yields ~3 cups chickpeas
- 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth see note #5
- ⅓ cup tahini see note #6
- chopped cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Clean and dice the sweet potato into roughly ¾-inch pieces. I leave the sweet potato skin on but you can remove it if you prefer, just note that the sweet potato will break down more easily.
- Heat a Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Drizzle with enough oil to coat. Once hot, add the onion, carrots, and salt. Saute until the onion is golden, stirring occassionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the kale, ginger, and garlic. Continue cooking until the kale is wilted and the ginger and garlic are golden, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the ras al hanout and cumin, toasting while stirring frequently to bloom the spices, about 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, sweet potato, chickpeas, tomatoes with juices, and vegetable broth.
- Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove the lid and boil until the sweet potatoes are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup soup broth and the ⅓ cup tahini until mostly smooth. Return to the stew, stirring until well distributed. Taste for seasonings and enjoy!
Notes
- Sweet potato: Choose orange-fleshed/red-skinned sweet potato, commonly called Garnet or Jewel varieties.
- Kale: The kale is optional. Spinach also works, but I recommend adding it after boiling as it will wilt into the stew very quickly.
- Grating: This turns the ginger and garlic into a paste and allows it to distribute more evenly throughout the soup. I use the small holes on a box grater or this microplane. If these tools aren't available, mincing the garlic and ginger is just fine.
- Ras el hanout: This is a Moroccan spice blend that typically includes cinnamon, cardamom, and other warming seasonings. If unable to find it at your grocery store, an equal amount of garam masala or curry powder can be used for a roughly similar result.
- Broth: This is a thick stew/soup. For a brothier result, add 4 cups or more of broth.
- Tahini: Adds creaminess, depth, and nuttiness. An equal amount of peanut butter works but will add a sweeter, more noticeable flavor.
Laura
Made this recipe last night. It was totally delicious and all the flavours combined so well together.
Cassidy Reeser
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the review!