Name: Chickpea Stew with Harissa (Vegan)
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 38 min
Ingredients: 2x14.11oz cans chickpeas (drained, reserve water from 1 can); 1 red sweet pointed pepper (deseeded, chopped); 1 red onion (finely chopped); 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped); 4 teaspoons harissa paste; 1x14.11oz can chopped tomatoes; 2 tablespoons tomato puree; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 vegetarian stock cube; ½ teaspoon ground coriander; ⅓ teaspoon ground cumin and onion granules (each); ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt (or to taste); 4 tablespoons parsley (finely chopped)

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This simple, vegan chickpea stew with tomato and harissa comes together in just a few easy steps. It contains a handful of pantry staples and comes together in under 40 minutes. Perfect for sharing with family or friends!

This North African inspired chickpea stew is full of warmth and gentle, smoky heat of harissa. Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste which contains spices such as smoked paprika, cumin, coriander and caraway seeds and carries so much depth of flavour there was no need to add too many extra ingredients so this recipe is extremely simple to put together.

Despite this simplicity this chickpea stew is bursting with flavour and ideal to make as a weeknight family meal as well as party food dish.

Why you'll love this chickpea casserole

It's simple and quick to make.
It uses cupboard ingredients.
It's vegan, gluten free and nutritious.

Chickpea stew ingredients

Ingredients for making vegan chickpea stew in individual dishes. — Chickpea stew ingredients.

This simple vegan chickpea casserole comes with a rich tomato sauce made using canned tomatoes, red onion, garlic, tomato puree as well as harissa paste for heat and added flavour. I also used a few spices including cumin, coriander and onion granules and you can tweak the amounts to your preference.

I also used 1 red sweet pointed pepper (which is sweeter than a bell pepper though you can use that instead if you can't get pointed peppers), perfect to offset the tangy tomato flavour in this chickpea stew recipe.

How to prepare the chickpeas

Canned chickpeas are a ready-to-eat product and you don't need to rinse them for this stew. I also used the chickpea water (from 1 can) to loosen the consistency of the stew. I used canned chickpeas for convenience but you can prepare chickpeas from scratch if you prefer. Simply soak dried chickpeas overnight then strain, add fresh water, cover and cook gently for about an hour or until tender (or use the packet instructions).

Top tip

If cooking dried chickpeas from scratch use approx. 150 ml (a little more than half a cup) of chickpea water in the stew.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1. In a pot heat up the oil, add the onion, garlic and red pepper, stir and cook gently for 3 minutes.

2. Add the canned tomatoes, chickpeas (plus the water from 1 can), spices, tomato puree, harissa paste and stock cube, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning if needed.

4. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Serving suggestions

This chickpea stew is delicious with rice, couscous, bulgur wheat, quinoa, pita bread or simply fresh crusty bread. It's great with morning eggs, as a side or main dish as well as party dish. You can also stir in a handful of finely chopped baby spinach once the stew is cooked.

For a non-vegetarian meal idea serve this chickpea casserole alongside yogurt marinated grilled chicken or spiced crispy chicken legs.

Top tips

Tweak the amounts of harissa, coriander and cumin to suit your taste. I recommend making the stew as per Instructions and adjusting the amount of heat and spice, if needed, once it's ready and you've tasted it. If you want more heat add cayenne, chili pepper or hot paprika.
I added approx. 160 ml of chickpea water (from 1 can) to the stew.
Best served hot. Tastes great the next day too!
Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

Substitutions

Red sweet pointed pepper: substitute red bell pepper if preferred.
I used fresh parsley for garnish but cilantro/coriander would work well too.
If you prefer not to use chickpea water add approx. 130 ml regular water (or to taste) instead.

Check out also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.

Keep in touch!

If you make this simple chickpea bake I'd love to know how it turned out for you. What herb did you use? Let me know in the comments bellow, thanks:)

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Chickpea Stew with Harissa (Vegan)