Hearty Chicken Chickpea Stew with tender chicken, chickpeas, and vegetables infused in a tahini flavored broth. Make it stove top, Instant Pot, or slow cooker, it’s the perfect meal to warm you up.
Love stew? Try this chicken stew or for hands off dinner make this chicken stew in slow cooker.
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I always-always tell people when asked how I manage to cook healthy while raising 2 kids and running a business, that the key to success is to cook big pots of soup and stew, stir fries and other types of throw together one pot meals.
This chicken chickpea stew recipe is easy and flavor packed with tons of protein and fiber. Delicious, comforting, and filling, it’s everything a stew should be!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget-friendly: Healthy meals like this chicken and chickpea stew are affordable because many times anything can go in that pot.
- Easy: They are quick because chop-chop and simmer, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Leftovers: And because it makes a big batch, you open the fridge or freezer and leftovers are staring at you!
- Healthy: When it comes to healthy chicken recipes, a colorful stew will keep you super satisfied. It’s filled with wholesome ingredients and includes a medley of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Ingredients for Chicken Chickpea Stew
This chicken chickpea stew is great, using the simplest ingredients you could only imagine. See substitutions in FAQ’s.
- Boneless and skinless chicken breast: Just a pound to make meat more of a side rather than main ingredient.
- Tomatoes: You can use fresh cubed tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes. Another option is fire roasted tomatoes to add a smoky flare or kick up the heat with Rotel.
- Quinoa: Uncooked and any color you have on hand.
- Chickpeas: Low fat and a great source of protein, you can use canned chickpeas or Instant Pot chickpeas.
- Tahini paste: That 1/2 cup of tahini changes everything for this stew!
- Onion and garlic: Aromatics include diced onion and minced garlic, use fresh garlic for best flavor.
- Oil: Use a high smoke oil like olive oil or avocado oil for sautéing.
- Bell peppers: Chop 2 pounds of any color you like, I like orange, yellow, and red peppers for their sweeter taste but green peppers work great too. If you’d like to add more veggies I recommend celery, carrots, and potatoes. You could also stir in some fresh spinach towards the end.
- Chicken broth: I recommend low-sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken broth.
- Herbs and spices: Salt, pepper, bay leaves, fresh parsley or basil.
How to Make Chicken Chickpea Stew
Here’s a quick overview how to make easy one-pot chickpea stew on the stove.
There’s a full recipe card below along with instructions for making this hearty stew in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
- Sauté aromatics: Heat a large Dutch oven on low heat, add oil and swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add vegetables and chicken: Increase to medium heat and add bell peppers to the pot, cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Next, add cubed chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Combine remaining ingredients: Add tomatoes, quinoa, chickpeas, chicken broth, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and stir.
- Simmer: Cover with lid and cook on low for 20 minutes.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my pro tips to making a flavorful stew.
- Use chicken thighs: If you prefer dark meat feel free to use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Where to find tahini: You can find it in any supermarket, most grocery stores where I live have tahini paste. For sure, health food stores will carry it. You could also use ground up sesame paste.
- No need to rinse quinoa: Quinoa comes pre-washed and will get stuck in a mesh strainer. I did not find this stew bitter but some readers have, so rinse if you wish.
- Add other spices: Cater to your taste buds, add fragrance and flavor with spices like chili powder, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, turmeric, coriander, or ground cumin. You can also add fresh cilantro if you like its strong taste.
What to Serve Chickpea Stew with?
A crisp simple lettuce salad, massaged kale salad, or healthy broccoli salad pairs perfectly with this tender stew along with bread, pita, or naan to soak up the rich sauce.
How to Store
Store: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container, pop in the refrigerator, and enjoy within 5 days.
Freeze: Once cooked and cooled completely, store in an airtight container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat on a stovetop covered on low.
How to Make a Freezer Meal
- Before freezing (slow cooker): Preheat large skillet on low heat, swirl a bit of oil to coat and add onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium, add pepper and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a gallon size resealable plastic bag with other ingredients (minus tahini and herbs) to freeze.
- Instant Pot: Freeze all ingredients (minus chicken broth, tahini and herbs) in a gallon size resealable plastic bag. Cook from frozen with 2 cups chicken broth on High pressure for 20 minutes. Quick release.
- Slow cooker: Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Cook with 2 cups chicken broth on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours.
- After cooking: Add tahini and herbs, stir and let stand for a couple minutes.
Check out my full list of 20 healthy freezer meals. I’m obsessed!
Recipe Tip
Please note this is a large meal, so if you are cooking in anything other than 8 quart Instant Pot (I have one) then freeze in 2 bags or 2 containers. For 8 Quart Instant Pot, freeze the bag standing upright, then it fits and the lid will close.
FAQs
Yes, omit chicken and follow same recipe.
I would give it a try with white rice or buckwheat, no other changes and you might need less or more cook time. You can also try red lentils but stew will be more mushy which is fine.
Possibly with peanut butter or almond butter would work. Start with less amount, 1/4 cup and see how it tastes.
Cannellini beans are the best substitute for chickpeas.
Yes. I would add 1/2 cup extra broth to compensate for the loss of liquid.
More Stew Recipes to Try
More Chickpea Recipes to Try
- Chickpea avocado salad
- Chickpea tuna salad
- Garlic hummus
- Mediterranean chickpea salad
- Sweet potato hummus
Chicken Chickpea Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 pounds bell peppers seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 pound boneless & skinless chicken breasts cubed
- Oil for frying
- 1 pound tomatoes cubed or 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 2 x 14 ounces cans chickpeas rinsed & drained
- 2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup tahini paste
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley or basil finely chopped
Instructions
Stovetop
- Preheat large dutch oven on low heat, swirl a bit of oil to coat and add onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium, add bell peppers and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken, cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes, quinoa, chickpeas, broth, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Stir, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.
Instant Pot
- Add ingredients in exact order listed: onion, garlic, bell pepper, chicken, quinoa, chickpeas, broth, salt, pepper, bay leaves and tomatoes. Do not stir.
- Pressure cook on High for 20 minutes and afterwards release pressure with Quick Release method.
Slow Cooker
- Preheat large dutch oven on low heat, swirl a bit of oil to coat and add onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium, add pepper and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer to a large slow cooker along with chicken, tomatoes, quinoa, chickpeas, broth, salt, pepper, bay leaves and stir. Cover and cook for 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.
- Last Step for All Methods: Turn off heat. Add tahini and herbs, stir and let stew stand for a couple minutes.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
- You might need to add less salt if beans and broth you are using are not low sodium or salt free (for example, my cooked beans are unsalted).
Was great! I added dry basil instead of real (didn’t have any), I added two cans of rotel in addition to the cans of tomatoes. I added some smoked paprika as well. I added red and yellow peppers with the green.
I did not use the tahini since my wife didn’t want it.
It turned out very well! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your feedback and variations Jory!
There was a bitter-tasting element to the stew I made immediately after it was done cooking. Would the culprit be the bay leaf? After a few hours of letting it sit, the bitterness edged off.
Could be.
If you didn’t rinse the quinoa first, that is likely your culprit. Quinoa always needs rinsing to get rid of a bitter flavor.
Wasn’t sure about chickpeas but what a yummy dish this turned out to be!
Thanks for another great dish 😋
Yay! Glad you liked it!
where would I find tahini paste?
and is there any substitutions for it?
Most grocery stores where I live have tahini paste. For sure, health food stores will carry it. I haven’t tried substituting it in this recipe, but a quick google search might give you some options.
This is phenomenal! Light, easy and absolutely delicious!
Can chickpeas be substituted for other beans. I only have 1 can of chickpeas now.
Sure. Cannellini beans have a similar taste to chickpeas.
1/2 cup of peanut butter to replace tahini?
What can I use to replace quinoa?
Buckwheat or maybe white rice.
Anything I can use to replace the Tahini paste?
Peanut butter.
Used 3 tablespoons of peanut butter instead of tahini didn’t have bell peppers so use celery didn’t have quinoa so use lentil beans came out great great flavor
If your MILhad Le Creuset they are warrantied for life. You could take them to a store and get replacement pieces. Their cookware is amazing and if you take care of them they will last forever!