If you are looking for a budget friendly, healthy and protein packed meal, then you need to add this Spicy Moroccan Chickpea Stew to your meal plan. It is made using store cupboard staples, so you might not even need to go shopping to make it, and it's easy to adapt to suit all tastes. Dip some crusty bread in to it for a warming and hearty meal.
If you asked us what is one ingredient that we always have in our cupboard, it's chickpeas. They are super cheap, really versatile and who doesn't want to be able to whip up some homemade hummus within minutes?
But there is SO much more to chickpeas than just hummus. We love using them as a base for a rich and hearty stew, that is still nutrient dense as well. This Moroccan version just so happens to be one of our favourites.
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Why should you try it?
- A delicious vegetarian and vegan meal
- Just 400 calories for a big bowl
- Really cheap to make
- Protein packed
- A good source of dietary fibre
Step by step
One: Heat some oil in a large pan, add the onion and gently cook for 2 minutes.
Two: Add the cumin, paprika, ras-el-hanout and salt and pepper and stir well and cook for a further minute.
Three: Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, harissa, water and stock cube and stir well.
Four: Add the lentils, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the chickpeas and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add a little more water if needed.
Five: Add the chopped coriander (cilantro), stir and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Moroccan flavours
When we don't know what to make for dinner, we raid the cupboard and make some kind of chickpea stew. We always have chickpeas and tinned tomatoes and an abundance of herbs and spices, so it just kind of comes together.
This Moroccan version is a favourite, because anything we can add lots of ras-el-hanout to is good with us. We just added a little bit of cayenne pepper to the stew, but you could add plenty more if you like your meals spicy.
We also added some harissa to it to give it a little bit of extra spice, but also because anything Moroccan just needs a little bit of harissa in our opinion. If you haven't tried it, or even heard of it before, harissa is a North African hot chilli paste and it is another one of our favourite ingredients.
Harissa is made mostly of roasted red peppers and you can buy tubes of it in the world food aisles of supermarkets. A little bit goes a long way too, so another must if you are trying healthy eating on a budget.
How to serve
You could serve this over rice or couscous, or any grain really. But we had half a loaf of ciabatta that needed using up, so we used that to scoop up the stew and it worked perfectly. You could serve it with a french stick too.
Seasoning alternatives
Although this is a Moroccan stew, that is only because of the spices that we have used. You could make it in to a Mexican stew, a Spanish stew or even and Asian inspired stew. Just change the herbs and spices accordingly.
This is one of those meals that can be used as a base, and then get creative to change it up. They are our favourite kinds of meals.
FAQs
If you, or someone in your house, really felt like they needed meat in this, then you could add some turkey mince or leftover chicken. But it really doesn't need it and the health benefits of having a few meatless meals each week are huge!
Meatless doesn't have to be tasteless and with the harissa, cumin, paprika and ras-el-hanout in this stew, it certainly isn't lacking in taste. The chickpeas and lentils also mean that there is plenty of protein in this meal too.
Yes, you can, and it reheats really well. We made a big batch of this when I was pregnant and loaded the freezer with individual portions. We then defrosted it overnight, reheated it and served it with some bread warmed in the oven. It does tend to get a little bit spicer when reheated though.
Extra tips
- You could serve this with rice or couscous if you didn't want to dip bread in it.
- Whilst we have gone with Moroccan spices, you can use any you like. We often make a Mexican version of this chickpea stew.
- This freezes and reheats really well, but it does tend to get spicier when reheated.
- It's a great vegan recipe, but you can add some leftover chicken to it, or even crumble some feta on top.
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Recipe
Spicy Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 400 g chickpeas drained
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 0.5 teaspoon paprika
- 1.5 teaspoon ras-el-hanout
- 0.5 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
- 400 g chopped tomatoes canned
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 500 ml boiling water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 40 g red split lentils rinsed
- 2 tablespoon harissa
- Yogurt and ciabatta bread to serve
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a large pan, add the onion and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the cumin, paprika, ras-el-hanout and salt and pepper and stir well and cook for a further minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, harissa, water and stock cube and stir well.
- Add the lentils, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the chickpeas and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add a little more water if needed.
- Add the chopped coriander (cilantro), stir and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Notes
- You could serve this with rice or couscous if you didn't want to dip bread in it.
- Whilst we have gone with Moroccan spices, you can use any you like. We often make a Mexican version of this chickpea stew.
- This freezes and reheats really well, but it does tend to get spicier when reheated.
- It's a great vegan recipe, but you can add some leftover chicken to it, or even crumble some feta on top.
Edna Rooke
My family really, really loved this recipe. In fact, my son said it was one of the best meals ever.
Dannii
Wow, that is high praise. So glad you all enjoyed it.
Jen
I love the idea of freezing this into individual portions to make it easy to grab for lunch or dinner. Thanks for the tip!
Maz
Love this stew, it's so tasty and quick.
Thanks a million ♥️
Dannii
It's one of our favourites too. So glad you enjoyed it.
Mahy
I definitely need this stew for so a couple of reasons. One, it's been so long since I made one, and two, I love Moroccan recipes - can't wait!
Romina
We always have chickpeas in the cupboard, such a wonderful ingredient and this stew is perfect.
Danielle Wolter
I LOVE using ras el hanout in recipes. This sounds so incredible! Definitely something I'm making this weekend!
Steve
This is absolutely lovely. I double batched it and it's enough to serve 6 with white basmati rice and a wee bread roll. Super tasty dish.
Dannii
So glad you enjoyed it. I love having some of this stashed in the freezer too.
Robert
Looks absolutely delicious! Will definitely try this healthy dish. A great way to add chickpeas to your diet. :)
tanya brannan
I never used to like Chick Peas but having been reintroduced to them around 6 months ago, I am now quite a fan! This recipe looks both tasty and relatively simple so I will be having a go at it!
Lubka Henry
This looks so delicious and is very nutritious too. Thanks for sharing this recipe :)
Kira
This is something I would usually go for but it actually sounds really lovely!
Rachel
I absolutely love chickpeas so this definitely appeals to me x
Baby Isabella
We should eat more Chickpeas! We didn't know of all the health benefits. Great recipe x
UK Caterers
It really looks very delicious, definitely will try it! Thank you
denajayne
This looks amazing, I don't really like chick peas though! xo
Teresa Bowen
Anything with chickpeas makes me happy. I will be trying this recipe soon.
Angela Key Milnes
This is absolutely a good post and such a yummy recipe, I would love to try this fr my family
Lilinha
What a nutritious dish. I love chickpea and spices, so would love this stew!
Faye
I am drooling over this - your photos are amazing.
By the way, I tried the chicken tikka in your book the other day and it was lovely. Fingers crossed for a second book.