Moroccan Chickpea Lentil Stew

This Moroccan-spiced stew is packed with chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. It's gluten free, vegan, and ready in about 45 minutes. Delicious as leftovers and best served with warm pita or flatbread!

Like many of you, we have been eating mostly pantry-friendly recipes these days. That means a whole lots of chickpeas, lentils, canned tomatoes, broth, and long-lasting produce like onions and potatoes. Guess what all of those ingredients make?

Soup! Or stew. Or any kind of hodgepodge random meal that you make in a pot.

This Vegan Moroccan Chickpea Lentil Stew is a fantastic way to make the most out of your pantry items. It's incredibly flavorful, thanks to a melange of Moroccan spices. It's also super easy to make and can be on your dinner table in less than an hour, with only a few minutes of hands-on work.

Sound good? We sure think so!

How to make Moroccan Chickpea Lentil Stew

First things first, grab your soup pot! We most often use our cast iron dutch oven, which is perfect for soups and stews, so sturdy and lasts forever. Our favorite is Le Creuset (not sponsored, we just adore their products!).

We're only using a few fresh produce items to keep this stew super simple. Start by sautéing a diced onion in some olive oil, then add in a few cloves of garlic.

Garlic obsessed? A few extra cloves never hurts!

Once the alliums are softened, it's time to add in some diced sweet potatoes. You can leave the skin on or peel them, it's totally up to you. We usually prefer them peeled and compost the skins or add them to our dogs' food. They're obsessed with all things sweet potato!

Once the sweet potatoes have started to soften (about 5 minutes), it's time to add in most of the remaining ingredients! Dump in a can of diced tomatoes, a container of vegetable broth, lentils and your spices.

Which brings us to...

What kind of lentils should I use?

Brown or green lentils are the best option for soups and stews if they're not going to be puréed. They're much sturdier and won't turn to mush in liquid.

We love using French green lentils, which are a bit smaller and darker in color than regular green lentils. They hold their shape particularly well, providing a bit of texture to this stew.

Avoid red and yellow lentils in this stew, which tend to break down into mush when cooked for too long. These lentils are best used in puréed soups, curries and purees.

Moroccan spice blend

We used a simple blend of spices that we always keep in our pantry. This Moroccan-inspired spice blend is a sweet, fragrant and just slightly spicy.

• Cumin: cumin is essential to this blend. It adds an earthy, smoky flavor that can't be beat!
• Ground ginger: I love the zesty flavor of ginger. Bump it up with the addition of a little fresh ginger. Grate about 2 teaspoon and add it in with the garlic!
• Coriander: Did you know that coriander is dried cilantro seeds? The flavor differs slightly, so you can't sub 1:1 with fresh cilantro.
• Cayenne: Add an extra pinch for a spicier stew.
• Cinnamon: Warming, flavorful cinnamon rounds out all of the spices in this Moroccan blend.

Other Moroccan spices you could add include turmeric, paprika, nutmeg, cloves, fenugreek, chili powder, garlic, etc.

Love Moroccan spices? Try this Moroccan Lentil Carrot Salad!

Chickpeas

Once the lentils are fully cooked (about 25 minutes of simmering), the Moroccan chickpea stew is just about finished. The final ingredient: chickpeas!

We used canned chickpeas and drained/rinsed before adding to the soup. If you want to use dried chickpeas, we suggest cooking them separately and adding to the soup later. Here's a great tutorial on how to cook dried chickpeas!

Alternatively, you could add canned white beans or even kidney beans to this stew if you're all out of chickpeas. Just be sure to add them right at the end so they don't fall apart in the cooking process.

Recipe tips & Ingredient substitutions

• No sweet potatoes? Sub with an equal amount of butternut squash, regular potatoes, carrots or parsnips.
• Add in a handful of greens, such as chopped kale, swiss chard or parsley. Stir in right at the end before serving.
• Other vegetables to add: celery, zucchini, carrots, shallots or cauliflower
• Not vegan? Feel free to add in some shredded chicken for more protein.
• For more plant-based protein, you could also add in or top with tofu. Hodo Foods makes these amazing Moroccan Tofu Cubes that would be perfect with this chickpea lentil stew!
• Meal prepping this stew? Great! It stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week. When reheating, you may want to add in a bit more broth to loosen it up.
• Freezer friendly? You bet! Let the stew cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
• Topping suggestions: top with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream. We also love adding a handful of fresh herbs and red pepper flakes. Best served with warm pita or flatbread!

More vegan stew recipes

• Vegan Lentil Vegetable Stew
• White Bean Tomato Stew
• Quinoa Vegetable Stew
• Mushroom Stew over Mashed Potatoes

If you make this Vegan Moroccan Chickpea Lentil Stew, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

Print