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
Absolutely amazing!!
Bought the meal plan and this was superb.
Made this for the first time last night. I was a bit nervous since we used to be a very meat heavy household and we’ve just started going veg, but it turns out I didn’t have to worry. It was a BIG hit. Next time I need to make 2x as much. The stew was completely gone by lunch today.
Delicious! I must’ve missed the part about crushing ALL of the potatoes, but I consider it a happy little accident. I’ve left the skin on both times I made this, and having potato chunks interspersed with the crushed ones is a great combo.
I’ve made this before and loved it! So filling. I want to try it in the instant pot not sure what the cooking time would be though
Made this for my family for the first time tonight. It was very good and filling! Perfect for cold weather.
We added a little cooked ground beef to it, but it probably didn’t need it. Might add some small pasta noodles next time to get my toddlers excited about it.
All around great recipe. Can’t wait to eat it for lunch this week. Will be adding it to our soup recipe rotation. :)
I was so excited to try this. I don’t know where I went wrong, but it was terrible. It tasted exactly like a fart smells. Was I supposed to use sweet curry powder? So disappointed.
Yeah, I’m not sure why your soup smells like farts. Kale can smell kind of farty when it goes bad, so maybe that was it?
Can I substitute the russet potatoes for yukon gold potatoes?
You can, but Yukon Gold tends to be more waxy and less starchy, so you won’t get the same amount of thickening from smashing the potatoes at the end like you would with russet potatoes.
I only have dried chickpeas. When in the recipe steps would you recommend adding them and how long should I cook before moving to the next step? Planning on making this with sweet potatoes and my mouth is watering!
You would want to cook them separately first before adding them to the soup because they’ll require too much liquid and too long of a cooking time to cook them directly in the soup. I don’t have a tutorial for cooking dry chickpeas, but I’m sure Google will have you covered. :)
I’ve made this a few different times now, and find it delightful each time. Sweet potato adds such wonderful character to the recipe, and hard greens like kale or chard are perfect. Pumpkin is also a good add for that sweetness and starchiness. It goes great with baked bread and keeps in the fridge well (with the exception of the greens, which become soggy – i would recommend boiling a new batch of greens quickly if you want to prepare a refrigerated serving).
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I both loved it. I did make two changes : subbed out the kale with frozen spinach, and added about a teaspoon of white vinegar at the end just to brighten things up a bit. This will be going into our regular rotation for sure.
We loved this recipe! I added a can of cannellini beans for extra fiber. Delicious!
This is great! Needed to use up some potatoes and kale from my CSA. Excellent flavor, easy to throw together. Gonna freeze some single servings and thaw as needed for lunches!
I’ve never rated a recipe before, but this one is that good. I’ve made it for friends and family and everyone loves it. My wife and I have had it weekly since I discovered it a couple months ago. Thanks Beth!
This stew was amazing! And super filling!
This was so flavorful! I’m putting it on my weekly rotation. I didn’t realize you have to use so much smoked paprika to impart flavor to a dish. Good to know, I literally thought the smoked paprika I bought was old.