This vibrant and simple Lebanese chickpea stew recipe has a delicious combination of chickpeas, roasted red peppers and za'atar spice. It is so quick and easy to make. Serve it for dinner with pita bread or steamed rice.
Table of Contents
Hearty, flavorful chickpea stew
I'm so excited to share with you one of my favorite chickpea recipes: this vibrant, absolutely gorgeous Lebanese Chickpea Stew.
I adore Lebanese food because it is extremely tasty and very healthy, with lots of beans and grains. Many Lebanese dishes are both flavorful and easy to make, needing a bare minimum of spices and herbs that work skillfully together to impart loads of flavor and oomph. This chickpea stew is a perfect illustration of Lebanese cuisine, its simplicity and its deliciousness.
The star ingredient in this stew are chickpeas, of course, which are so great in stews like Indian chana masala and Moroccan chickpea stew. They pair nicely with the Mediterranean flavors in this chickpea stew. The za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix, and roasted red peppers add a wonderful smokiness. Red pepper flakes and paprika add a hint of spice.
This is an easy weeknight recipe, and it's soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free. There is very little chopping to be done, most of the ingredients come from a jar or a can, and all of the steps go by very quickly. If you eat with your eyes first you will love how this chickpea stew looks: it has a rich, deep-red, appetizing sauce punctuated by the plump, beige chickpeas.
It's impossible to describe the incredible fragrance that wafts through the house when this stew is bubbling on the stove. Desi walked in the door sniffing the air and wolfed down a bowl of rice topped with the chickpea stew. "It's very good," he declared.
This was one of the best stews I have tasted! The flavour combination is absolutely amazing! - Debbie
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Recipe card
Lebanese chickpea stew recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
Ingredients
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine too. If starting with dried chickpeas use 1 cup of chickpeas and cook until tender, Drain out any liquid).
- 2-3 heaping teaspoons za'atar (add 2 teaspoons first and add more as needed)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 roasted bell pepper (chopped in small, bite-size pieces)
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Place garlic cloves and cumin seeds in mortar or in a food processor. Crush into a coarse paste.
- Place olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven along with the crushed garlic and cumin. Turn heat to medium low and saute until the garlic and cumin are very aromatic, about a minute.
- Add the tomato paste, paprika and red pepper flakes to the pot and stir to mix. Continue to saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chickpeas to the pot along with the za'atar, roasted red peppers and bay leaves. Stir to mix.
- Add 2 cups water to the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot and cook 10 minutes for the flavors to merge and for the stew to thicken. Remove the lid in the last two minutes of cooking. I like crushing some of the chickpeas with the ladle to help thicken the stew.
- Add salt to taste, stir in the parsley and turn off heat. Serve the chickpea stew hot or warm.
Notes
- If you cooked the chickpeas from scratch, you can add the cooking stock back to the stew instead of the 2 cups of water in the recipe. You can also use vegetable stock or vegetable broth instead of water.
- Add more water or stock as needed to thin out the recipe. I like this stew quite thick, and it will thicken further as it stands.
- If you like the stew with plenty of heat, use cayenne pepper instead of paprika.
Nutrition Information
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Recipe FAQs
Fava beans or lima beans would be a good substitute. You can even try this sauce with green beans.
Readers have reported adding grilled eggplant, spinach and cauliflower. Squash or potatoes would work too.
Substitute with two to three teaspoons of a mix of dried oregano, marjoram and thyme. At a pinch, thyme alone will do. Squeeze in some lemon juice for a bit of tang that the sumac would have added. I do highly recommend buying or making za'atar - it's a really simple recipe and you will find all sorts of uses for it, like this eggplant hummus and manakish, a Lebanese flatbread.
Serve the chickpea stew with wholegrain pita bread or basmati rice, or with a yummy mujadara, a Middle Eastern rice and lentils dish. It also pairs well with quinoa or couscous. Serve with any vegetable side - this chickpea stew is particularly delicious with this simple side of Lebanese green beans, loubieh bi zeit.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Reheat on stove or in microwave, thinning out with some water if needed.
Thelma
I made this recipe and absolutely loved it. Because I loved this so much, I'm going to make the Rajma and basmati rice on the side or eat it with naan, which I love plain, garlic, or butter.
Thank you for sharing these recipes. I'm not a vegan but great food is great food. I didn't even miss not having meat at all.
Teri L.
Made this for dinner tonight as we do meatless Thursdays. Absolutely delicious. Had some cooked Jasmine rice that I didn't want to go to waste, so had it with that and half of an avocado.
Joanne
I didn't have fresh garlic or tomato paste, so I used minced garlic from a jar, and a can of crushed tomatoes.
I didn't have za'atar, but followed your recipe and made my own.
Oh, and I used smoked paprika.
Still, with all these changes, it was fantastic.
So delicious. I served it over orange sweet potatoes, disappointed I was out of Greek yoghurt.
Thank you so much for this winning recipe.
LP
Absolutely delicious!! I blended the leftovers (with some tahini and ice) to make a spicy hummus. I will be adding this to my roster, for sure!
Vaishali
Awesome! I love the idea of making a spicy hummus with these ingredients. ❤️
Unique places in the World
This Lebanese Chickpea Stew sounds absolutely delicious! I love the idea of combining chickpeas with roasted red peppers and za'atar spice—it must add such a unique and vibrant flavor profile. It’s great that it comes together so quickly, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner. I can’t wait to serve it with crusty bread or steamed rice. Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Chloé
This recipe was super easy and delicious! Thank you!
Mine turned out less oily than how your photo looks, which I was looking forward to dipping my bread into 🤤 I added a bit of olive oil on top when serving.
Any tips on how to get it nice and oily like in the photo?
Vaishali
Hi Chloe, there isn't a whole lot of oil in the recipe - what you see in the photo is the light reflecting from the liquid. You can always use more oil in the recipe if you want a bit of an oil slick on top - you could go as high as 1/2 cup.
Debra Sanders
I made this and everyone loved it. I am making again tonight. Can I add a white fish to this recipe?
Vaishali
Hi Debbie, so happy you loved it. I designed this stew to be vegan, so not certain how it would taste with fish added.