Middle Eastern Seven Spice Chickpea Stew! It’s heartwarming, nourishing, and deeply satisfying, an easy weeknight winner that also shines as a weekend centerpiece.

This Middle Eastern Seven Spice Chickpea Stew is a cozy, soul-satisfying bowl that brims with warming spices and hearty chickpeas. Each spoonful delivers a comforting hug of cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, balanced with bright tomatoes and a whisper of garlic and onions. This stew is a Middle Eastern staple enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, making it a versatile addition to any menu.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

This stew is a true Middle Eastern staple, and trust me, we devoured it. It sits beautifully on a breakfast plate or a cozy dinner, especially when you’re craving something savory, sugar-free, and packed with healthy goodness.

It’s the kind of dish you reach for when you want comfort food that nourishes the body and satisfies the senses. You gotta give this one a try, the combination of pantry-friendly ingredients, fragrant spices, and comforting texture makes it a memorable, crave-worthy staple for any food lover.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Middle Eastern Seven Spice Chickpea Stew is a cozy stew filled with warming Middle Eastern spices and chickpeas. It is hearty, delicious, and comforting. This traditional stew is a Middle Eastern staple often eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the tomato paste and petite diced tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. If you prefer that tinny taste that is typically associated with canned tomatoes, feel free to leave it out or only add a pinch.
• Warming Spices: Feel free to add additional spices or subtract spices to suit your personal tastes.
• Middle Eastern Seven Spices:  There are many different versions of Middle Eastern 7 Spice largely dependent on regional differences. The most common and consistent spices are allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg. If you have Middle Eastern 7 Spice Blend in your spice cabinet, then feel free to use it and eliminate the cumin, cinnamon, coriander, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, chili powder. Hold off on the black pepper until you gauge the flavors via a taste test. Start with 1½ to 2 teaspoons and build from there.
• Thickness of the Stew: If the stew becomes too thick, add ¼ cup (+/-) of water or vegetable broth until the stew reaches the desired thickness.
• Tahini Substitutions:  Feel free to substitute the tahini with your favorite nut or seed butter with the understanding that the flavor and texture may change accordingly.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

This stew freezes well.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
• Tahini: We used Ziyad Premium Tahini (Sesame Paste). Feel free to use your favorite brand of tahini.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Large skillet with a lid

If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Middle Eastern Seven Spice Chickpea Stew

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 40 Minutes
• Yield: 5 Cups 1x
• Category: Stew
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This Middle Eastern Seven Spice Chickpea Stew is a cozy, soul-satisfying bowl that brims with warming spices and hearty chickpeas.

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Ingredients

Scale 1/2x1x2x

Base Ingredients:

• 1 large white onion, fine dice *
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• ¾ cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 – [ 14.5 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda *

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon coriander (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (+/-)
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice (+/-)
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves (+/-)
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (+/-)
• ¼ teaspoon regular chili powder (+/-) *
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• ¼ to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) * 

Other Ingredients:

• 2 – [ 15.5 oz. cans ] chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons tahini *

Optional Toppings:

• Chopped fresh cilantro (or fresh parsley)

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Instructions

1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
2. In a large skillet, add the finely diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
3. Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stir constantly for one minute. Add the Spice/Herb Mix and sauté, stirring constantly until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
4. Then add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the baking soda) to the pot, stir to incorporate, bring to a boil, then add the baking soda, stir well.
5. Add the chickpeas, boil with a low-percolating boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the tahini, boil with a low-percolating boil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Taste test, add additional seasonings, if needed. If additional seasonings are added, simmer for several minutes.
8. Remove the pot from the stove, cover with a lid, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Serve and enjoy!

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Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Servings:  4 (makes 5 cups)

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