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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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
So yummy! The kale in the soup keeps its form and is deliciously chewy days later. Quick to throw together and perfect for cold winter day.
Made this tonight and boy is it delish!!! Will be on my top soup/ stew list!! Thank you!
can I use frozen kale?
Yes you certainly can.
Great recipe but strongly advise against using the Better Than Bullion (or similar) product in this (or any recipe). Just go with a high quality vegetable or chicken stock that’s not mass-produced (preferably homemade, but if store-bought, then a high quality minimally processed one). Most bullion products like BTB are essentially just meat-flavored glutamate/MSG goop that relies on highly-concentrated, highly-processed, chemical-ly flavor enhancers that are thinly-veiled sources of glutamates (ie, “yeast extracts”, “concentrates”, “flavors”). If you’re gonna go to the trouble of crafting this otherwise great dish from whole foods from scratch in your kitchen, why dump a mass-manufactured flavor enhancer into it? Go totally authentic, and let the wonderful flavors develop from the herbs and spices, whole ingredients, and a quality broth or stock.
Thank you for the details. I have used BTB whenever I want more intense chicken flavor than my broth has thinking it was the healthier option (over Knorr), but now will stick with bone broth!
This recipe is so delicious and easy. I’ve made it about 6 times over the past few months, as the weather has cooled down. It’s so perfect for a cold day, and is one of mine and my husband’s favourites. It’s refreshing (for us) to have a meatless meal that’s still so satisfying! After everything has softened, I smush it all with a potato masher! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
What a great idea to mash it with the potato masher! Thanks for sharing Jess!
I made this this week, but instead of simmering in a pot I put it all in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Turned out great! Everything up until the part where you simmer it can be done ahead of time and put in the fridge overnight. A great weeknight meal.
Oh good to know Dave! Thanks for letting us know.
This is excellent. I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was to make. I love recipes where I just chop things up and throw them in a pot! This actually tastes kind of similar to the 15 bean soup, with a lot less prep and shorter cook time. Definitely going to add this to the rotation!
One pot meals are the true winners of late fall and winter!
Yesterday I made this and had to chuck it all out because one tablespoon of the Hungarian smoked paprika I had was waaaaaaay too much. Today I remade it with one teaspoon of (a different) smoked paprika and it was truly amazing. Disclaimer: newbie cook, so not the first time it ended in the garbage on first try.
I’ll definitely be making this one again, thanks!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that Dana! But happy you tried it again. The sign of a real chef is trying it again and again!
I made this with sweet potato and holy moly it was delicious!
Oh that’s a great twist! Thanks Remy!
First time commenter, long time Budget Byter! This stew was absolutely amazing. The flavors and the way the potatoes soak up the spices was so great on a cold fall day. I added a pound of cooked ground pork to beef it up, as well as doubled the greens (used spinach instead of kale, personal preference), and 1 extra cup of broth (used chicken since I didn’t need it to be a vegan dish). This bumped up the servings to at least 8, probably closer to 10-12. After our family of 6 ate we still had about 10 cups of stew leftover, so this was a great dish to freeze a bulk of the leftovers for another easy dinner a few weeks down the line.
Thank you Chris! And great work on making it last!
Made this with sweet potato and spinach, added a jalepeño and chili powder too – the spice with the sweetness evened the flavors out. Greek yogurt was a great topping.
Definitely making this again!
Loved the pun of using pork to beef it up! :-)
This turned out incredibly! Super easy to throw together and the flavors were so rich and tasty. Definitely will be making again!
Thanks Danielle!
Hmmm I wonder what it would be like to add some liquid smoke and bbq sauce to make it even more smoky tasting. Would probably not add curry powder with those additions but it’s worth a try
Definitely worth a try!
Made this tonight, it was fantastic! I love your recipes!
Thanks Michelle!
This is honestly my favorite soup recipe EVER! I make it at least once a month and bring it to work for lunch in the winter. Now that the weather is cooling off it might be time for my first batch of the season!
Question – do you think I could make it in an Instant Pot? I’m a big fan of Instant Pot soups so that would make this so much better!
Yep, I think this one would be easy to do in an IP. I’d probably use the sauté function for the onion and stuff in the beginning, then the soup function after everything else is added. After it cooks on the soup function, add the kale and maybe let it simmer with the sauté function until the kale is to the level of tenderness that you like. But that’s just my best guess. I’m not super well versed with the IP.
This was really delicious! I used powdered ginger instead of fresh, sweet potatoes instead of white, and then added an extra can of chickpeas for protein and it was so yum. Added some cayenne pepper too because I like it spicy. I’m adding this to my meal rotation, super tasty and healthy.