My family's favorite chickpea stew is a hearty vegan stew, loaded with roasted cauliflowers, carrots, and tomatoes. The warm Mediterranean spice mixture deeply flavors this comforting vegan chickpea stew with notes of cumin, cinnamon and turmeric!
Serve it on top of quick-cooked couscous, or rice. And if nothing else, grab your favorite crusty bread to sop up all the goodness! Be sure to read through for my step-by-step tutorial and important tips.
Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew
Cauliflower and chickpea stew is the type of thing North African grandmas would throw in a clay pot and bake for hours until each vegetable is melting with flavor and goodness.
Not to worry! Today's chickpea stew recipe takes just over an hour start-to-finish, and the result is just as hearty, delicious, and deeply flavored.
The gist: protein-packed chickpeas are combined with quick-roasted cauliflower, sweet carrots, and tomatoes, and flavored with a bold Mediterranean spice mixture of turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, sweet paprika and a hint of cardamom.
I know the spice combination has you thinking warm, deeply-flavored Moroccan chickpea stew, something like a tagine--you're on the right track!
My family loves Moroccan lamb stew, but this vegan chickpea stew is a great way to enjoy the comfort of these warm flavors even in the absence of meat.
Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this chickpea stew recipe
- Spice Mixture: a bold, and warm combination of ground turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, sweet paprika and a hint of cardamom. I like to combine the spices together in a bowl before applying to my veggies and stew, this way, the flavors are distributed evenly. (Spices are available at our online shop here.)
- Vegetables: cauliflower and sweet carrots are the star hearty veggies in this stew. To get a head-start, and to coax out the natural sweetness of carrots and cauliflower, they're roasted on high heat for about 25 minutes or so (after taking on a bit of the spice mixture.) Onions and garlic come in later to kick-start the stew.
- Chickpeas: you can absolutely use canned chickpeas here to save time. They're tasty and loaded with nutrition. Just rinse and drain them well before using. (I'm never out of canned chickpeas because, outside of hummus, there are so many ways to use them!)
- Tomatoes: a good amount of chunky canned tomatoes is what gives this stew the liquid it needs, while adding umami and depth.
- Garnish: to finish this beautiful stew, a sprinkle of fresh parsley and some toasted nuts (either slivered almonds or pine nuts will work, and you can toast them stove-top with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.) The nuts are optional, but they due add texture and a welcomed nutty flavor.
How to Make Chickpea Stew: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Roast Cauliflower and Carrots
Crank up the oven heat to 475 degrees F. Toss your cauliflower and carrot pieces with salt, pepper, and about more than half of spice mixture ( turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, sweet paprika and a hint of cardamom.) A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve EVOO) will help you in making sure the veggies are well-coated with the seasonings.
Be sure to spread the cauliflower and carrots well on your lightly-oiled sheet pan. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the veggies have softened and gained some color. (It's okay if they still have some bite to them, there is more cooking yet.)
Step 2: Saute onions and garlic to start building your stew
Grab a nice large Dutch oven like this one (affiliate link). Heat up a little extra virgin olive oil till shimmering but not smoking. Saute onions for a brief 3 minutes, then add garlic and the remainder of the spice mixture. Stir for a couple minutes till nice and fragrant.
Step 3: Combine remaining stew ingredients with roasted vegetables & cook
Now add the chickpeas and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the roasted cauliflower and carrots.
Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover part-way (just allow a bit of room for the stew to breath) and cook for another 20 minutes or.
Be sure to check the stew, stir occasionally, and add a little water if needed.
Step 4: Garnish and Serve!
Remove from the heat and transfer to serving bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley and the toasted nuts.
What to Serve Along?
This chickpea stew makes a great vegetarian entree. And as with many soups and stews, you don't need to add much else next to it. But it's great served over quick-cooked couscous or Lebanese rice. Or grab pita or your favorite crusty bread to sop up all the goodness.
To start the meal, try a bright salad like Shriazi salad or fattoush.
Can you freeze chickpea stew?
This recipe makes enough to a small crowd of 6 or so. It will last well packed in a tight-lid container and refrigerated for 4 days or so.
And because there is no cream involved here, you can easily freeze leftover cooked chickpea stew. Be sure the stew is completely cooled before freezing in freezer-safe containers.
More one-p recipes to try:
Braised Eggplant and Chickpeas
Find Mediterranean diet recipes here.
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Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves up to 6
Description
My family's favorite chickpea stew is loaded with beautiful roasted cauliflowers, carrots, and tomatoes. The warm Mediterranean spice mixture, including turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika deeply flavors this comforting vegan chickpea stew.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ tsp ground green cardamom
- 1 whole head cauliflower, divided into small florets
- 5 medium-sized bulk carrots, peeled, cut into 1 ½" pieces
- Salt and pepper
- Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 14-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with its juice
- ½ cup parsley leaves, stems removed, roughly chopped
- Toasted slivered almonds (optional)
- Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the spices.
- Place the cauliflower florets and carrot pieces on a large lightly oiled baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little more than ½ of the spice mixture. Drizzle generously with olive oil, then toss to make sure the spices evenly coat the cauliflower and carrots.
- Bake in the 475 degrees F heated-oven for 20 minutes or until the carrots and cauliflower soften and gain some color. Remove from the heat and set aside for now. Turn the oven off.
- In a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and the remaining spices. Cook on medium-high for 2-3 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Now add the chickpeas and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the roasted cauliflower and carrots. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover part-way and cook for another 20 minutes. Be sure to check the stew, stir occasionally, and add a little water if needed.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to serving bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley and the toasted nuts (optional.) Enjoy hot over some quick-cooked couscous or with a side of warm pita bread.
Notes
- How to Serve this chickpea stew? This chickpea stew goes very well on top of quick-cooked couscous or Lebanese Rice. If nothing else, grab a piece of warm pita or some good crusty bread to sop up all the goodness.
- Leftovers? This recipe makes enough to a small crowd of 6 or so. It will last well packed in a tight-lid container and refrigerated for 4 days or so. And because there is no cream involved here, you can easily freeze leftover cooked chickpea stew. Be sure the stew is completely cooled before freezing in freezer-safe containers.
- Visit Our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil and all-natural spices including turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, sweet paprika and cardamom.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2016 and has been recently updated with new information and media for readers' benefit.
I made this for dinner last night and even my meat loving husband devoured it! I need to make it again!
Oh yummy! So hearty and healthy. A family favorite.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Love how easy and delicious this recipe is. It's perfect for a gathering or a party.
Yes! It's great for sharing :).
This was delicious: very filling and satisfying. Thank you!
My pleasure, Andrea!
fantastic spice mix, so good i have made a bigger batch to use in other recipes = love your web page
Sounds like a great idea!! Thanks, Chris!
We also like turmeric in recipes for the anti-inflammatory support! One other thing to note is that hydro-soluble supplement forms of turmeric will absorb better than spice food form.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing, Qunol!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I recently purchased all your spices and this Roasted cauliflower and chickpea stew was the first recipe of yours that I prepared. I loved the blend of spices in this recipe, and it even tasted better
the next day. However, I did need to use an additional 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and a 14 oz can of chicken broth in order to have more sauce, as the vegetables seemed to absorb most of the sauce by the end of the cooking period.
Yes... that kind of absorption does tend to happen by the next day. Glad the flavor was still on point :).
Wow beautiful flavours and textures. Will make again for guests
Awesome! Thanks, Sally!
Very nice. I'm always looking for veg and vegan recipes for my non-meat eating family and friends. I love the warm blend of spices in this and I'm as full as I could be from one bowl! We served this with olive loaf bread from a phenomenal local bakery. This is now part of my repertoire. I took a nice pic and am posting on FB with this link.
So glad this works for you, Kris! Thanks for sharing.
I was wondering the same thing, replacing the cauliflower with broccoli. I don't have cauli on hand at the moment...but this recipe looks perfect for tonight. The weather here in New England is rainy/icy mix and this looks like a perfect meal for tonight. The flavors and ingredients....yes, seem like a perfect meal for a cozy lazy night. Thanks Suzy for always inspiring!
I'm going to give it a try. ???
Great! I hope you enjoyed it, Robin!!
Now this is a really good stew. The spices are perfect and roasting the vegetables really deepens the flavor. Hearty and delicious, all it needs is a salad and good bread on the side.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
This stew was healthy, easy to make, and delicious! I felt a little under the weather today, couldn’t wrap my head around having to drag to the store in order to fix dinner and then remembered the head of cauliflower sitting in the fridge. I didn’t have parsley or pine nuts, forgot to make the Lebanese rice (also very good), and added both white wine and water in small amounts because it was quite thick. As a matter of preference, I think I’ll reduce the amount of cauliflower a bit next time and add some golden raisins. The combination of spices was wonderful and smelled so good as things simmered on the stove that I was feeling better by the time the stew was done. Now, after having two bowls, I feel much, much better and wanted to thank you for a delicious, easily adapted recipe that can cure what ails you!
Geni, I am so glad you enjoyed this! I hope you are feeling better.
I made this a few days ago and we loved it. Very hearty and satisfying. Leftovers the next day were even better!
Awesome, Jenny! Thanks for sharing!
I made this today and I am just loving every bite of it!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!
My pleasure, Jolanta! So glad you enjoyed it.
Any one have the nutrition information for this? Am trying to count my intake and lose weight.
Rose
Hi Suzy,
i doubled this recipe ( except for chick peas - 3 cans) for book club , and everyone loved it so much so they asked for the recipe! it is a keeper! thank you.
Sue, I'm so glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing.
I have made this several times, but somehow, it fell out my rotation. I made a big pot of this stew yesterday and will never forget it again! Absolutely wonderful, healthy and hearty on a cold winter day in Michigan. Cutting back on meat and this dish is no compromise. YUM! Love your recipes!