Easy Chickpea Tomato Stew

This chickpea tomato stew requires minimal chopping, but manages to be bold in flavor thanks to good quality tomatoes, paprika and basil. This stew is vegan, gluten free, and nut free. Also perfect for a quick meal prep meal in the middle of the week.

I lead a very busy life, but I have a feeling you do too. So I hope we can commiserate together! I currently work a full time job counseling as a virtual dietitian (meeting with people to talk about their health and nutrition virtually), while also building my social media platform, adding to my blog, recipe testing…it’s a lot. People ask me a lot, “how do you keep up with everything?” I typically respond, “NOT WELL!” I am the type to take on more than I can chew. I think this is why I cook the way I do. I focus on simple meals, simple ingredients. If I have to overthink a dish, I just instantly scrap it. I also will do everything in my power to keep it in one pan. Because no one has time to do extra dishes…at least not me.

Que this easy chickpea tomato stew. I emphasize the easy because this comes together in less than 30 minutes, but still tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. Perfect to pair with some rice or pasta. The best type of dinner especially for those tough weeknights. So let’s dive right in.

Why You’ll Love This Stew

• Only involves simple ingredients and minimal chopping. I know how much we don’t like chopping.
• This is a tasty and great way to get in your vegetables without too much hard work.
• Nut free, gluten free and vegan…but still delicious and warming.

Key Ingredients

• Smoked Paprika: to lend a little smoky flavor
• Fennel Seeds: provides a slight sweet flavor to all the bold smoky flavors
• Sweet Potato: makes this nice and hearty and adds lots of fiber
• Jalapeno: just for a little spice, feel free to remove the seeds
• San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes: the secret in this stew for good flavor and not too much acidity, these are my recent go to
• Nutritional Yeast: for a little umami flavor
• Tahini: pairs super well with the tomatoes and gives this stew a great velvety texture
• Spinach: because we have to get our veggies in, and definitely feel free to use frozen if you don’t have fresh

How to make this chickpea tomato stew

1. Cook down onions and then add in garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add in seasonings, chickpeas, sweet potatoes and jalapeno and sauté briefly.
3. Stir in tomatoes and crush them lightly with your cooking spoon to break them up.
4. To the pot add in water, nutritional yeast and tahini then bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are nice and tender.
5. Add spinach in and allow to naturally wilt from the heat, then give one more good stir and serve it up with some rice.

Tips for making this stew

• If you can, try not to skimp on the recommended canned tomatoes. But if you can’t find them (they are in every grocery store, it’s those yellow labeled cans, just make sure it says the San Marzano variety), feel free to use fire roasted diced tomatoes.
• Sweet potatoes can be tricky sometimes when it comes to making sure they are cooked through. One tip I have is to make sure they are cut fairly small. This will help the potatoes cook more evenly. Also, give them a little steaming action and make sure as your stew is simmering, that you do put a lid on it to cover as it cooks.
• Allow your stew to completely cool before storing in the fridge. This can be stored in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. And also freezes perfectly. Store in individually portioned containers and pull out as needed from the freezer for up to 3 months.
• If you aren’t a fan of tahini, you can also opt to use a mild flavor substitute like almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. Using sunflower seed butter will help to keep this nut free. You can also cook some red lentils and add it as a puree to thicken this stew if you’d like to avoid a nut and seed butter completely.

More stews to try

• Creamy Quinoa Coconut Soup
• Black Bean and Butternut Squash Stew
• Spiced Lentil Stew
• Pumpkin Red Curry

Easy Chickpea Tomato Stew

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: American

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Description

This chickpea tomato stew requires minimal chopping, but manages to be bold in flavor thanks to good quality tomatoes, paprika and basil.

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 medium onion (diced)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 15 oz can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
• 1 jalapeno (sliced)
• 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cubed)
• 1 15 oz can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 heaping tbsp tahini
• 1 cup of water
• 2–3 cups baby spinach
• 4–5 leaves fresh basil (sliced thinly)

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Instructions

1. Start by bringing a large pan to medium heat with a touch of oil if desired to prevent sticking. To your pan, add in onion with a pinch of salt and sauté until softened.
2. Add in garlic and sauté until fragrant, about one minute. Then add in your paprika, Italian seasoning, fennel, chickpeas, sweet potatoes and jalapeno. Stir well to combine and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
3. To the pan, add in tomatoes and with your cooking spoon or spatula, crush the tomatoes.
4. To the mixture add in water, nutritional yeast and tahini, stir well and bring to a simmer. Cover your pan with a lid and allow mixture to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked through (test sweet potato chunks using a knife or fork to pierce).
5. Stir in some spinach and allow to wilt naturally from the heat of the stew. Once wilted, mix in some minced fresh basil at the end and serve as is or with some rice.

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Notes

If you aren’t a fan of tahini, you can also opt to use a mild flavor substitute like almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. Using sunflower seed butter will help to keep this nut free. You can also cook some red lentils and add it as a puree to thicken this stew if you’d like to avoid a nut and seed butter completely.

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★ Catherine