I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I pretty much ate my weight in cheese over the holiday. Now that I feel sufficiently icky, I’m trying to focus on some more plant-based recipes to help me get back to feeling normal. I decided to throw together a warm stew today with some things that I had on hand and ended up with this super hearty and delicious Smoky Potato Chickpea Stew. NOM NOM! Perfect for these cool fall days!
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The seasoning for this stew is very simple, just a ton of smoked paprika and curry powder, plus a little pinch of red pepper flakes for kick. I simmered the soup for a good long time which made the potatoes break down and thicken the broth into a wonderfully thick stew. I was really bummed that I didn’t have a really good loaf of bread or homemade croutons to soak up this stew, but I found some saltine crackers in my pantry, which worked in a pinch. Just know that this stew is just begging for a nice piece of crusty bread to go along with it!
What Kind of Curry Powder Do You Use?
I’ve enjoyed both 365 brand curry powder and Sharwood’s curry powder. You can use either hot or mild in this recipe, but I think I actually prefer mild curry powder here so that it doesn’t overpower the other flavors. You can also try making your own curry powder with this recipe for Easy Homemade Curry Powder from Spiceitupp.com.
Can You Freeze Smoky Potato Chickpea Stew?
Yes! This recipe freezes beautifully. Just divide the soup into single portions after cooking, cool the portions completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to the freezer for long term storage. You can keep the stew frozen for about three months. I like to use the reusable Ziploc containers because they can go straight from the freezer to the microwave for fast reheating when I need a quick meal.
Can I Substitute the Kale?
Yes, spinach makes a great substitute for the kale. But since spinach is much softer and more delicate than kale, add the spinach at the very end and just stir it into the stew until wilted.
Want more vegan stews? Try Vegan Winter Lentil Stew, Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Stew, or West African Peanut Stew.
Smoky Potato Chickpea Stew
Servings 6 1.3 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp curry powder ($0.30)
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.30)
- pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 2 russet potatoes (1.75-2 lbs total) ($1.62)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.55)
- 4 cups vegetable broth* ($0.52)
- 1/4 lb. fresh kale, chopped ($1.16)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large soup pot with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the curry powder, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes to the pot and continue to stir and cook for 1-2 minutes more to toast the spices.
- While the onion, garlic, and ginger are sautéing, peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Drain the chickpeas.
- Once the spices are toasted, add the potatoes, fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), and chickpeas to the pot. Pour the vegetable broth over top, then stir until everything is combined.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and allow the soup to simmer with the lid in place for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 45 minutes, stir the stew well and smash the potatoes against the side of the pot to help them break down and thicken the stew. Add the chopped kale and stir it into the stew until it has wilted. Taste the soup and adjust the salt or other spices if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread or crackers.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Smoky Chickpea Stew – Step by Step Photos
Finely dice one onion, mince two cloves of garlic, and grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large soup pot along with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent, then add 1 Tbsp curry powder, 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes more to toast the spices.
While the onions garlic and ginger are sautéing, peel and dice two russet potatoes and drain one 15oz. can of chickpeas. Once the spices have toasted, add the potatoes, chickpeas, and a 15oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices) to the pot.
Pour 4 cups vegetable broth over the contents of the pot, stir everything really well, then place a lid on top an turn the heat on to medium-high. Allow the stew to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 45 minutes, stirring only occasionally. After 45 minutes, stir well and smash the potatoes against the side wall of the pot to help thicken the stew (the photo is after smashing).
Pre-bagged chopped kale is the best thing that ever happened to me (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration). I used about 1/3 of this 12oz. bag. You can use however much you want. Just add a few handfuls to the stew and stir it in until the kale is wilted.
If you like your kale extra tender, you can simmer it a bit longer to soften it up, but I like mine to have some tooth and to be bright green. It’s important to taste the stew at this point and adjust the salt and seasonings to your liking. Depending on what type of broth you used, you may want to add a touch more salt to really make the flavors pop. Or maybe you want just a little more heat, so you add another pinch of red pepper flakes.
While the saltines were good in the stew, I really wish I had a nice crusty, chewy loaf of ciabatta! :D
Too spicy and I cut the amount of spices down after reading previous reviews.
This was delicious but I would reduce the smoked paprika by half. It drowned out the flavor of the curry and overall was too dominant.
I subbed potatoes for chopped up chunks of cauliflower an it turned out fantastic.
This has been one of my favorite recipes the last few years. Can I make it in a slow cooker?
I’d say so! We haven’t tested out but you should be able to do 2-3 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low. Let us know how it goes!
This was tasty! I (of course, I know it’s annoying) added a few things. I took out about a third of it and blended it up and added it back to the pot, then I added a can of coconut milk and some 100% peanut butter, just a tiny little bit (I learned that from a vegan curry recipe that has a tiny spoonful of almond butter, it’s a really great trick to add depth to recipes, especially vegetarian ones). It all turned out great! I added extra curry powder, because I had extra potatoes to use up, so that might be the reason I felt compelled to add the coconut milk. I imagine if followed to the letter it may not even need it. Super filling, healthy, cheap, and easy. Great dish!
Absolutely delicious- thank you!
This was so tasty! I’ll definitely make it again. I used red onion, sweet potato and spinach, since that’s what I had on hand and I loved it. Thank you!
Unfortunately, I had no available kale but decided to proceed without it. Oh! Wow! This was scrumptious to the max anyway. This recipe will be making its way to my table for many more future meals.
Really yummy! This is the first dish I’ve tried from the vegetarian plan, and I loved it! I was generous with the red pepper, so it was spicy.
This has become one of my new favorite recipes. I recently had a whole bunch of spinach on hand that needed to be used up quickly, so I made this (along with the Indian Style Creamed Spinach). I love the flavors, and it’s so easy to make.
This was my first recipe to try out of the vegetarian meal plan. I absolutely loved the bold flavors! In addition, I value using as much fresh produce as possible and the meal plan includes plenty of that. Where not, I can easily substitute some things and make from fresh (for instance, a can of diced tomatoes: use fresh tomatoes instead).
Any of the canned beans: I can cook beans myself from dried and freeze them to have handy when the recipe calls for them. And none of the ingredients are “exotic” which means everything is easily available at any major grocery store.
Well thought-out plan: healthy, “shoppable”, budget friendly, tasty. YES, YES, YES!
I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one or not but it turned out delicious! I basically doubled the curry powder, but other than that I made the recipe unaltered and it was super yummy and filling.
I can’t wait to start trying out these recipes. They sound absolutely delicious. Thank you.
Made this yesterday. Simple to make but seriously delicious. Had some leftovers for lunch today, with more for tomorrow. Yum.
I needed to use up some ingredients and this soup included all of them! Which doesn’t usually happen. I also had an extra can of coconut milk, so I added that and it turned out amazing! I know it would also be amazing without the coconut milk too :D
It also purees really well if you can’t eat solid food because all your wisdom teeth were just pulled 😅