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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Notes
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
Had to make my own curry powder since I didn’t have a premade mix. I accidentally doubled the amount of curry powder…but it made it SO flavorful. It was a happy accident. For those who think it is bland, go on and double that curry powder! It’s tastes amazing.
This is really nice and rich served with sour cream on top.
This is restaurant-quality delicious! Seriously. If I sat down in a restaurant and was served this, I would be so pleased. It’s easy and simple, but also surprisingly hearty and filling. Another winner from Budget Bytes that’s going in my regular rotation – thank you!
Delicious! Just made this tonight and it was just perfect – especially considering it’s really cold out right now.
I added chopped carrots and celery to this recipe, only because I had some on hand.
Will make this again… and again.
10/10 winner!!! Tastes amazing… really hearty and healthy. And pretty quick and easy to make :)
Will become a regular in our house now!
Seriously…so good. I have been trying to do more vegetarian and your site is my go to!
I really liked this soup. Unfortunately due to the shortage of stuff at the grocery store because of the pandemic they did not have fire-roasted tomatoes, so I bought regular ones. This seemed to make the soup pretty bland. I ended up adding some cumin and that worked well.
I also left the potato skins on because I don’t mind potato skins floating around in my soup
I’ve just recently found your site and am loving what I see! Was wondering what you think about subbing in sweet potatoes for the russet potatoes in this dish?
We haven’t tried it with sweet potatoes, however previous readers below have and commented it was delicious!
Sweet potatoes work very well
I ONLY make this with sweet potatoes! Tried it once and it’s even better than russet in my opinion. The sweet spicy smoky combo is amazing!
Hello! Did this used to be your “Kale and Chickpea Soup”? I can’t find that recipe and this is the closest thing to it. Would you be able to share what that recipe was? It was wonderful, and I was hoping to make it again. Thank you!
Hi Megan! Shoot us an email at support@budgetbytes.com and we’ll find what you’re looking for :)
Once more, I have another favorite recipe from your website. Thanks again for sharing an affordable, easy, and flavorful plant-based dish that my whole family enjoys eating. It’s so easy to adapt to the Instant Pot too.
Instead of canned chickpeas, I used 1.5 cup soaked chickpeas. First, I sautéed the garlic, ginger, onion, spices, etc. Then I stirred in the the broth and soaked chickpeas. Then added the potatoes (unpeeled and cut it in larger pieces maybe 1.5-2 inches so they wouldn’t disintegrate) and put the canned tomatoes on top. I cooked it on high pressure for 35 minutes and 10 minute natural release, then I stirred in the kale. It can probably be less cooking time, but my chickpeas weren’t soaked overnight (more like 6 hrs).
My guess is that 1 cup unsoaked chickpeas would work and increase cooking time to whatever is usual for unsoaked chickpeas (55 minutes?) There seems to be enough broth to cook the beans.
Thank you so much for this IP conversion!! I was wanting to use dried beans as well but as an IP newbie was worried about messing everything up. This is super helpful!!
Absolutely delicious. Made it a couple weeks ago, making it again among this chaos!
Only one swap, since I had it on hand. I subbed about a teaspoon of adobo sauce from a chipotle pepper can that I had, in for the red pepper flakes. Wanted to keep the smokiness going!
I made this last night and it was delicious! Hearty and flavorful AND easy enough to make on a weekday.
I’ve made this several times, and have always loved it. We recently discovered that my son is allergic to chick peas, so I substituted with cannellini beans. It is so full of flavor!
Was nervous at first that it was too thin and bland but after everything cooked down and I smashed the potatoes against the side, (excellent idea btw) all the flavors came out and meddled well together. I used a miso ginger broth instead of vegetable and fresh ginger and it turned out well. Thanks
I am a pretty picky eater and was worried I wouldn’t like this but it was so good! I added more chickpeas just because I like them a lot.