If you are looking for a budget friendly, healthy and protein packed meal, then you need to give this Spicy Moroccan Chickpea Stew a try. 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. Simple ingredient, but big flavours. Dip some crusty bread in to it for a warming and hearty meal.
One ingredient we always have in our cupboard is 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 chickpea stew, that is still nutrient dense as well. This Moroccan version just so happens to be one of our favourites. Chickpeas in a tomato based sauce with harissa and ras-el-hanout.
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Why you will love it
- Vegan - Vegan food can be hearty and comforting too and this Moroccan chickpea stew is definitely that.
- Low in calories - There are just 400 calories for a big bowl and it is super filling too.
- Budget friendly - This is really cheap to make and uses mostly ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard. It's easy to adapt too, so you don't need to spend money on buying anything special.
- Protein packed - Vegan meals can be full of protein too and this spicy chickpea stew certainly is. It has lentils and chickpeas - both which are full of protein.
Ingredients needed
- Oil - We cooked the onions in a good quality olive oil.
- Onion - The is the base of the chickpea stew. We used a medium brown onion, however you could swap it for 3 shallots, which would give it a sweeter flavour.
- Spices - This is where most of the flavour comes from. We used a mixture of cumin, cinnamon, paprika, ras-el-hanout (a must in Moroccan dishes), salt and pepper
- Chopped tomatoes - This is what makes up the bulk of the sauce, so you want to use the best quality chopped tomatoes that you can. Cheap tomatoes tend to be really watery and you will end up with a thin stew.
- Tomato puree - This helps to thicken the sauce and add a more tomatoey flavour.
- Harissa - This is a hot chilli pepper paste. You can also get rose harissa which adds a lovely floral flavour to the Moroccan chickpea stew. It is easy to make your own Harissa Paste.
- Stock - Use a good quality vegetable stock to loosen up the stew.
- Lentils - We used red lentils because they are quick cooking. You could use green lentils instead, but we would recommend using a can of cooked green lentils.
- Chickpeas - This is the star of the stew. We used a can of chickpeas and we rinsed them before stirring them in.
- Coriander - This adds some lovely freshness to the chickpea stew.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Heat some oil in a large pan, add the onion and gently cook for 2 minutes.
Two: Add the cumin, cinnamon, 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.
Health benefits of chickpeas
Chickpeas are really versatile and they are nutritious too. Canned and dried chickpeas have a low glycemic index, which means your body absorbs and digests them slowly. This helps to keep your blood sugar and insulin from going up too fast.
Chickpeas are high in dietary fibre, as well as being a good source of calcium, iron and folate.
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. You can buy rose harissa too, which adds even more flavour.
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.
Variations
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.
There are also lots of different vegetables that you can add. When cooking the onion, you could also cook some aubergine, mushrooms, bell peppers and courgettes. About 5 minutes before the chickpea stew is finished cooking, you could add a couple of handfuls of spinach for a green vegetable boost.
When serving, we like to sprinkle on some chopped olives and sometimes some crumbled feta if we don't want it to be vegan.
What to serve with Moroccan Chickpea Stew
You could serve this chickpea stew over Turmeric Rice or Roasted Vegetable 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.
You could also roast some sweet potato cubes or Roasted Butternut Squash and stir that in to the stew, and then you wouldn't really need to serve it with anything.
Other side dishes that go with this Moroccan stew are:
- Homemade Flatbread
- Roasted Swede
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Garlic Spring Greens
- Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli
- Hassleback Potatoes
- Celeriac Chips
- Wholewheat Tortilla Wraps
- Cabbage with Cumin
Storage
Store: If you have any leftovers, then they can be put in an air tight container and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. We love leftovers on a baked potato.
Freeze: Yes, you can freeze it, and it reheats really well. We made a big batch of this when I was pregnant and loaded the freezer with individual portions. Make sure it is fully cooled and then transfer in to freezer containers and it will keep for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Once fully defrosted, you can either reheat it in the microwave or heat it through in a pan. Serve it with some bread, warmed in the oven. Reheating it will intensify the spices, so be warned!
Frequently asked questions
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, this can easily be cooked in the slow cooker. Cook the onions in a pan and add the spices and then add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours. You will need to use less stock when cooking in the slow cooker. Use 250ml of stock.
If you use gluten free stock and spices, and make sure that there is no cross contamination, this is a delicious gluten free dish.
Yes, you can easily double the recipe, just make sure that you have a pan big enough for all the ingredients.
More chickpea recipes
If you’ve tried this Moroccan Chickpea Stew, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Spicy Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 400 g (2.5 cups) Chickpeas - drained
- 1 Onion - thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon Paprika
- 1.5 teaspoon Ras-el-hanout
- 10 g (0.66 cups) Fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 400 g (14 oz) Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 1 tablespoon Tomato puree
- 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 40 g (0.25 cups) Dried red lentils - rinsed
- 2 tablespoon Harissa
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a large pan, add 1 Onion and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon Cumin, 0.5 teaspoon Paprika, 1.5 teaspoon Ras-el-hanout0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamon and 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper and stir well and cook for a further minute.
- Add 400 g Chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon Tomato puree, 2 tablespoon Harissa, 500 ml boiling water and 1 vegetable stock cube and stir well.
- Add 40 g Dried red lentils, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add 400 g Chickpeas and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add a little more water if needed.
- Add 10 g Fresh 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.
- Add some crunch before serving with some flaked almonds or toasted pine nuts.
- If you want this to be more of a soup consistency, then add some more stock.
Debbie
This was a delicious and healthy recipe! Easy enough to make on a weeknight too. I was never the biggest fan of chickpeas but when it's cooked well and a dish with a lot of flavour, it is amazing. I omitted the lentils as I'm not the biggest fan of them and replaced it with potato chopped into cubes. I served mine over rice and saved leftovers for tomorrow too. I'm going to toast some flaked almonds and use it as a garnish for the leftovers, can't wait!
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.