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When you’re craving something warming, healthy and fresh, this Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice is the perfect thing to make. All made in one pan, in just about 30 minutes, and using good for us ingredients like chickpeas, turmeric, lemon, spinach, and plenty of fresh herbs. It’s hearty, springy, and beyond delicious. Finish each bowl off with steamed rice and a dollop of yogurt for a healthy, colorful meal.
I think this is the perfect recipe for today. It’s the day after St. Patrick’s Day, it’s mid March, the weather may or may not be dreary (March rain is the worst, but March sunshine is the best), and it’s Monday. All of this adds up to something very important, we need an easy recipe that’s healthy and cozy too.
Enter this Persian Herb and Chickpea Stew…with rice because Monday also needs some carbs.
Yes, a stew. Maybe my first ever stew here on HBH??
Nope, just looked, I have an Instant Pot Beef Stew from back in 2017 that I forgot about. Not sure how I could have forgotten about it, as so many of you have said how much you love! Anyway, to me stew is a very unappealing word, but I guess it is what it is. This stew is not quite soup, but instead is slightly thicker, and is served over rice. It’s also served steaming hot, and made spring fresh with a very good amount of fresh herbs. So good!
Here’s the story. Even though I normally hesitate to make stews, I trusted my soon to be sister-in-law, Lyndsie, when she told me I must make Persian Herb Stew. The Persian herb part sounded so good, so I decided to put the “stew” part out of my head. She text me all of the ingredients that go into a Persian Herb Stew and I created a recipe based off those ingredients. Lynds doesn’t normally send me a text with a list a of ingredients for a recipe. But she’d just had this stew at one of her favorite Persian restaurants in LA, Shirin. And she insisted that I had to recreate it.
She obviously didn’t have the measurements for anything. But it was kind of fun playing around with the ingredient list she sent. After a few trials, I got the herb amounts to where I felt they were just right. And I now have a Persian Herb Stew to share!
Soo, it’s a good Monday. And we can all thank Lynds for inspiring this recipe and pushing me to share it with you all.
Alright, now this stew is pretty easy. But I will say that you need to have some fresh herbs on hand to make this stew happen. I mean, it is a herb stew, so herbs are obviously important.
It all starts and ends in the very same pan. First up, crisp the chickpeas. I love adding this step, as it really gives the chickpeas some color, and of course additional crunch. To keep things extra flavorful (and healthier) there’s a dash of turmeric. There’s also red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. And lemon for a touch of acidity. Together they create the perfect combo.
The key with the chickpeas is to remove a handful, to be used for topping, before adding in any liquids. You then ensure the chickpeas won’t lose any of their crunch. Once you’ve removed some of the chickpeas, add in a little broth, some spinach, and all of the herbs.
For the herbs, I kept things pretty traditional to a Persian stew, cilantro, parsley, and chives. My only addition was fresh dill. And that’s mainly because I am currently obsessed. Yep, happens ever time spring is about to roll in.
Let everything simmer together on the stove for a bit and that’s it. Well, kind of…
The next step is the rice. I like steamed basmati, but you can use brown too. Either way, the rice is very important. Spoon a good amount into your bowls, spoon the stew overtop, and finish with the reserved chickpeas. Simple, healthy, and every bite is full of good flavors, a little heat, and some crunch too.
Great Monday night dinner that can easily double as lunch the following day! Pretty much as close to perfect as it gets.
One more tip…you should definitely serve this with some Naan. Because everyone needs some fresh naan in their life, at least once a week!
PS. I am adding in this note a little late here this morning. But after reading through some of your comments I realized that there are many of you who wondered about the absence of last Tuesday’s post. I mentioned in Sunday’s post that I’m working on a large project with an end of the month deadline. Therefore, just like last Tuesday, I’ve decided to skip tomorrow’s and next Tuesday’s posts. Once April arrives things will be back to their usual schedule. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding!
If you make this Persian Herb Stew, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
watch the how to video:
Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1441 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cans (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- plain Greek yogurt, for serving
- fresh mint, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until he chickpeas begin to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, turmeric, crushed red pepper, and lemon zest, cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. 2. Carefully remove 1 cup of chickpeas and reserve for topping, only if desired. 3. To the chickpeas, add 3 cups broth, the lemon juice, and season with salt. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the spinach, cilantro, parsley, dill, and chives, and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the stew is very fragrant. Taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed. If you would like a thinner consistency, add the remaining 1 cup broth.4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the stew overtop. Top with yogurt, the reserved chickpeas, and fresh mint.
This post was originally published on March 18, 2019
This was delicious! The flavors were outstanding. I made it last week and am going to make it again this week. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much! xTieghan
Dear Tieghan,
normally I don`t write any comments. Today it`s different. I´m following your blog since 2 years now and although I`m vegetarian and also for me as an European it`s very unusual to cook with the American measure “cup”, it`s one of my favourite blogs. Yesterday I made this recipe and we totally loved it. Instead of Lemon zest and juice I used preserved lemon (from Ottolenghi`s shop 😉 ) and I would hardly recommend this.
Thanks for all the great (vegetarian) recipes and the inspiration for creating own variations!
Kind regards from Germany
Mina
Hi Mina! It is so great to hear from you! Thank you for following my blog, I am so glad you like it and enjoyed this recipe! I hope you continue to! xTieghan
This recipe was a winner for us, too. Thank you, Tieghan!
My chickpeas did not crisp up in the pot. I took out a cup for the topping, spread the chickpeas out on a baking tray, and put them straight into the toaster oven at ~400 degrees F. I left them there while I worked on the stew itself. (Meanwhile, the Instant Pot cooked the rice.) By the time the rice and stew were ready, so were the now-crispy chickpeas.
Thank you so much Martha! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
Fantastic recipe! Thank you! I subbed in chicken stock but otherwise made as written. This is perfect as is for spring. I might try it with a lamb shank cooked into dried chickpeas when the weather is colder. Either way, will definitely make again.
Also, I don’t think it’s at all like “The Stew” aside from the obvious chickpeas and the fact that all stews have a few things in common. That stew is a take on a Thai-style curry. The flavors are completely different.
I am so happy this recipe turned out amazing for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Made this last night for dinner and it was a HIT! Loved it so much – everything I have made from your site has been incredible. Is it possible to freeze the leftovers?
Hey Katie! The leftovers will freeze great! You can freeze in a freezer safe container for up tot 3 months. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this last night and it was very nice. The only change was that I cooked the rice in with the rest of the ingredients. I found 3 cups of water created too much liquid and would be more of a soup than a curry. I would certainly make this again as I grow chickpeas so having a new way of using them is always great. Thanks.
Thank you so much Maurice! That is so awesome that you grow your own chickpeas, I love that! xTieghan
I made this for the family last night and everyone loved it 2yr old on up! couple changes: I subbed chard for the spinach and simmered it for 1 1/2hrs and didin’t top with yogurt or mint. Oh and I doubled it glad I did! Thanks for a great recipe. 🙂
Thank you so much Tammy! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed this! xTieghan
Yum!!
I personally, welcome ALL stew recipes! I grew up with an Irish mom and we pretty much extensively ate stew – beef, chicken, lamb, veggie, you name it. As an adult I love adopting her recipes and making them a little more modern, but keeping the simplicity of a one-pot meal 🙂
I would love a take on some stew recipes maybe in the autumn or winter! I’d love to see what you came up with, with your creativity!
Thank you so much Libby! I hope you love the stew recipes on my blog! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was wonderful! My mom is visiting from Durango and she barely eats but she loved it! I had made the famous stew and to me this was much much better. The fresh herbs really took the flavor to another level and the rice and yogurt really brought everything together. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Barb! I am so happy you and your mother loved this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Omg!!! Made this tonight to go with a simple roasted chicken over veggies, leaving out the dairy yogurt part. (Also didn’t add chives or mint because I didn’t have them). I didn’t even put it over the rice yet have just been eating the stew itself out of the pot with a spoon and it is soooo delicious!!!! Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Thank you so much Jennifer! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
YAY! Just in time for Persian New year (Nowruz) we have herb rice and a special fish. This is so lovely, thank you Tieghan! Obsessed with your blog and cookbook. Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much Rana! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
I am a huge HBH fan so I hate to say this, but this seems like a pretty direct copycat of Alison roman’s very popular chickpea stew from her cookbook Dining In. It went viral and can be found on Bon Appetit.
Hey Jana, I am aware of the stew, but no way is this a copycat. In fact, it never even crossed my mind until now. If you look at the recipes there are similarities, but mine is also pretty different. As mentioned in the post, this recipe was inspired by a restaurant in LA. My brothers girlfriend recommended I recreate it her favorite herb stew. I work incredibly hard to create recipes that are different and unique, but the bottom line is that someone in the world has probably made something very similar. I am sharing what I love and how I have made it. Hope that makes sense. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a great day. xTieghan
Thanks so much to Lyndsie for this marvelous “stew” idea. What a super recipe. All of these ingredients surely give it a rich depth of flavor. I always look forward to your emails every morning to see what new thing you have come up with. Everything is always so creative. Thanks for all your sharing.
Thank you so much Linger! I hope you try this! xTieghan
I’m persian and grew up eating persian stews all my life! This is an interesting twist on the persian herb stew as it traditionally simmers for hours and hours and usually includes a bone-in red meat so all the flavors simmer in! I’ll have to give this one a try! Thanks for bringing to life a persian inspired dish on your blog as I rarely find our recepies on the web! #hbh
Hi Sarab! I hope you love this recipe and let me know how it turns out for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
this looks so good, I love chickpeas!!
Thank you so much Ruth! xTieghan