Cookbook author and New York Times columnist Alison Roman first published the Alison Roman Chickpea Stew in The New York Times in 2018. The recipe quickly took the internet by storm, gaining popularity among home chefs and food lovers on social media through its own hashtag #TheStew.
The NYT chickpea stew recipe has many renditions today, so you may also see it referred to online as “Chickpea Turmeric Stew,” “Chickpea Curry Stew,” or “Coconut Curry Chickpea Stew.” Because of its original publication in The New York Times, you may also see it appear as “The New York Times Chickpea Stew” or the “NY Times Chickpea Stew.” Whatever you’d like to call it, Alison Roman’s viral recipe is truly delicious and worth a try!
Ingredients
The beauty of this vegetarian chickpea stew is that, because of its short ingredient list of pantry staples, it’s budget-friendly and requires little to no grocery shopping if you have a well-stocked kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need to make the Alison Roman stew recipe:
- Olive oil: Garbanzo beans love to bathe in oil, so you’ll need about a ¼ cup.
- Aromatics: Onion, fresh ginger, and garlic deepen the stew’s flavors and add a nice aroma.
- Spices and seasonings: You’ll need ground turmeric, red pepper flakes (optional), kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Canned garbanzo beans: Spiced chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are the star of the show in this recipe. The canned version is easy, inexpensive, and convenient, but you can also cook your own dried chickpeas if you’d prefer. Just ensure that the ones you use in this recipe are cooked.
- Full-fat coconut milk: According to Roman, full-fat coconut milk yields the best results for this chickpea coconut stew. You’ll want to avoid lite coconut milk, low-fat coconut milk, cream of coconut, or coconut milk that’s meant for drinking, as these variations will alter the consistency of the stew.
- Vegetable stock: You can also use chicken stock (I make mine following Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Stock recipe) if preferred.
- Hearty leafy greens: Use your favorite hearty leafy green, such as kale, collard greens, swiss chard, baby spinach, or mustard greens. However, remember that swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs, such as mint, parsley, or cilantro, add the perfect finishing touch and hint of flavor to this recipe.
- Garnishes and accompaniments: Finish off your stew with a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream), a good drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lime juice, and a handful of fresh mint. You can also finish it off with extra chili flakes for a spicy chickpea soup. Serve with bread on the side, if preferred.
Optional Add-Ins
Don’t be afraid to make this Alison Roman The Stew recipe your own by tossing in additional ingredients to amp up the flavor profile, make it more hearty, or add extra nutrients. Here are some suggestions:
- More vegetables: In my opinion, you can’t add too many veggies to a stew! To boost your turmeric chickpea stew with extra nutrition, stir in ½ cup of chopped carrots, celery, sweet potato, and baby bok choy. Roman recommends cooking the carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes along with the aromatics, but you’ll want to add in the bok choy during the last five minutes of cooking.
- Add a carb: While this stew is pretty filling on its own, you can make it especially hearty by adding a carb. I personally like to toss in some ramen noodles about three minutes or so before serving. You can also add some quinoa about 10 minutes before serving to give the stew extra body and heartiness.
- Make it richer: If you are a fan of turmeric and are like me, have a batch of homemade golden paste in your fridge at all times, use a tablespoon of it instead of using ground turmeric spice.
How to Make Alison Roman’s Chickpea Stew?
With just a few minutes of prep time and a little over a half hour of cook time, this creamy, flavorful, and spicy chickpea stew with garlicky coconut milk is ready to enjoy. Plus, it all comes together in one pot! Here’s how to make it:
- Cook the onion: Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the onion is translucent, making sure to stir occasionally.
- Add additional aromatics and spices: Add the ginger, minced garlic cloves, ground turmeric, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to the pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Fry the garbanzo beans: Pour in the cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and let the chickpeas sizzle and break down, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes.
- Crush the garbanzo beans: Remove a cup of chickpeas to use for garnish. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently crush the remaining chickpeas against the side of the pot to help them release their starchy insides. Doing so will help make the stew a bit thicker, so do not skip this step.
- Add the liquids: Pour in the cans of coconut milk and vegetable broth and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, making sure to scrape the pot to remove any bits that are stuck to the bottom.
- Simmer: Place the lid on the pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Let simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- Add the greens: Use your hands to chop the kale or leafy greens of your choosing into bite-size pieces and add them to the pot. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the greens are soft. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve: Ladle into bowls and garnish with the reserved garbanzo beans and other toppings of your choosing. Serve with bread on the side, if preferred.
How to Make Ahead, Store, Reheat, & Freeze?
This coconut chickpea stew is quick enough to whip up for an easy weeknight meal, but it’s also make-ahead friendly and stores well as part of your weekly meal prep. Here are some tips:
- Make ahead: To make this recipe ahead of time, follow the above instructions through step 6. You’ll want to add in your greens right before serving, as they tend to become wilted and soggy as the stew sits.
- Store: To store, bring the leftover kale and chickpea stew to room temperature before ladling it into an airtight container (you can also portion it out into several containers). It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Bring the stew to room temperature and store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Thaw your frozen stew overnight in the fridge. Reheat per the instructions below.
- Reheat: You can reheat your leftover stew on the stovetop or, in a pinch, microwave it in 30 seconds intervals until warmed through, making sure to give it a stir after each interval.
What Goes with Alison Roman Chickpea Stew?
Because of its Indian and Caribbean influences, this chickpea stew with coconut milk pairs beautifully with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-style flatbreads. To round out your meal, you can also pair your stew with a simple green salad or a healthy grain. If you’re wondering what to serve with this chickpea stew recipe, here are a few additional ideas:
- Serve it with bread: Bread is a no-brainer side to pair with a stew, and we especially love to dip our bread in that delicious leftover broth! I recommend pairing your coconut turmeric soup with a flatbread like Naan, Pita, or Lavash for a Middle Eastern flair. Also, my artisan-style, crusty, No-Knead Bread never met a stew it didn’t like.
- Pair it with a green salad: To get in your daily dose of greens, whip up an easy, nutrient-dense salad to enjoy as a side dish with your warm bowl of curry chickpea stew. My favorites are this Kale Quinoa Salad, this simple Spring Mix Salad, and my colorful Harvest Salad. Serve it with a glass of crisp white wine on the side and call it a dinner!
- Add some cooked grains: If you prefer a hearty, filling stew, I recommend adding some cooked grains to offer texture, substance, fiber, and carbs. My favorites are quinoa and bulgur, and I even have how-to guides on the blog for Cooked Quinoa and Cooked Bulgur. For additional flavor, try serving it with my yummy Bulgur Pilaf.
Expert Tips
Since this stew recipe is adapted from the original version created by Alison Roman, I learned a few tips and tricks from her while researching the recipe. I’ve included these tips below to help you achieve expert-level results on your first try:
- Season as you go: Roman adds salt various times throughout the original recipe, which helps her ensure that each ingredient is properly seasoned. However, this is a bit too much salt for my preference, so I cut down on the salt a bit for my version of her recipe. However, I suggest that you taste as you go and adjust the salt to your liking.
- Simmer to your preferred thickness: This coconut ginger chickpea soup begins with a soup-like consistency and must simmer for about a half hour to take on a thicker, stew-like consistency. You can simmer it for less time if you’d prefer a coconut chickpea soup, or a bit longer if you’re after that perfect stew thickness. It’s up to you!
- Break those chickpeas! Do not skip the part where you break the garbanzo beans with the back of the spoon, as it will help thicken the stew.
FAQs
Yes, you can. After making your garbanzo bean stew, let it cool to room temperature. Ladle it into a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.
While garbanzo beans are considered a plant-based protein, they are also a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. A 1-cup serving of garbanzo beans contains about 269 calories, of which about 67% are from carbohydrates. The remaining calories come from its protein and fat content.
Other Curry Recipes You Might Also Like
There’s nothing like an aromatic, warming, perfectly spiced bowl of curry to enjoy on a cool day (or even a warm one!), especially if you are a fan of the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric spice. If you love Middle Eastern, Indian, and Asian-inspired dishes with bold flavors like this curried chickpea stew, you’ll love these recipes below:
If you try Alison Roman’s Chickpea Stew Recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
Alison Roman The Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped – from a 2-inch piece ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or chili flakes optional
- 2 cans chickpeas, (15-ounces each) drained and rinsed
- 2 cans full-fat coconut milk, (15-ounces each)
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups kale leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces – other greens like Swiss chard and collard greens would also work
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves, or cilantro
For serving (optional):
- Plain Yogurt
- Toasted Pita or lavash bread
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened 5-6 minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, ground turmeric, and crushed red pepper and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garbanzo beans and fry them in oil and spices while stirring frequently until they start to break down for about 8-10 minutes.
- Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, crush the garbanzo beans slightly to release some of their starches (which will help thicken the stew.) Remove a cup of stewed chickpeas for garnish.
- Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, and salt and pepper. Scrape down the bits at the bottom of the pot and give it a good stir.
- Put the lid on, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes or until it thickens to your liking.
- Add kale leaves and cook for 5 more minutes or until kale leaves are nice and soft.
- Taste for seasoning and add in if necessary.
- Ladle into bowls. Garnish with the reserved garbanzo beans, red pepper flakes, fresh mint (or cilantro) leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve it with yogurt and pita bread (or lavash) on the side.
Video
Notes
- Season as you go: In the original recipe, Roman adds salt after each step, which helps her ensure that each ingredient is properly seasoned. However, this is a bit too much salt for my preference (especially if you are using any other salt then Diamond kosher salt), so I cut down on the salt a bit for my version of her recipe. However, I suggest that you taste as you go and adjust the salt to your liking.
- Simmer to your preferred thickness: This stew begins with a soup-like consistency and must simmer for about a half hour to take on a thicker, stew-like consistency. You can simmer it for less time if you’d prefer more of a soup or a bit longer if you’re after that perfect stew thickness. It’s up to you!
- Break those chickpeas! Do not skip the part where you break the garbanzo beans with the back of the spoon, as it helps with thickening the stew.
- Make ahead: To make this recipe ahead of time, follow the above instructions through step 6. You’ll want to add in your greens right before serving, as they tend to become wilted and soggy as the stew sits.
- Store: To store, bring the stew to room temperature before placing it into an airtight container (you can also portion it out into several containers). It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Bring the stew to room temperature and store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Thaw your frozen stew overnight in the fridge. Reheat per the instructions below.
- Reheat: You can reheat your leftover stew on the stovetop or, in a pinch, microwave it in 30 seconds intervals until warmed through, making sure to give it a stir after each interval.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is a keeper! Simple to prepare, full of flavor (admittedly, I took some and added curry powder) and customizable. Thank you!
YAY! This is music to my ears Diane.
Thanks for coming by, sharing your experience and taking the time to leave a review.
How many ounces approximately is a serving size? I want to scale the recipe for 18-20 people and it would be helpful to know
Thanks!
Hi Molly,
To be honest, I did not weigh the recipe when I made it. However, I’d say it would be approximately about 1 1/2 cups – 2 cups per serving.
If I was serving this to 18 people I would triple the recipe.
I hope this helps.