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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
Like Sarahb, I was thinking this sounds a lot like a simpler Gormeh Sabzi (my husband is Persian, and that’s his favorite dish). Making this tonight–it looks really delicious (those chickpeas!). I think the only difference I might make, is to add some saffron to the rice, as we have plenty on hand (thanks to the family).
I hope you love this Kate! Let me know how it turns out for you! Thanks! xTieghan
Wow!!!! What a great recipe!!! Made this last night for my husband…we both loved it!!! More Persian recipes please :-).
Thank you so much for the hard work and diligence you give to creating such amazing recipes. I am HUGE fan of yours and am so grateful for the food I get to enjoy as a result of your amazing blog and cookbook!
This is so amazing to hear! I am so glad you and your husband loved this recipe, Jeannine! Thank you! xTieghan
I’ve been following you for a couple of years now, and have found your recipes to garner rave reviews. No one in our house feels that well tonight, so I thought ‘let food be thy medicine’, and wow – we are SO happy with the results of this Persian soup! We are sure we are all going to feel better 🙂 We will post our pic on Instagram tomorrow… thanks Tieghan!!
I love that concept and I am so glad this turned out so well for your family! Thank you Carmen! xTieghan
I am about to make this—will let you know. Another way garnish is sautéed onions (in olive oil) stir in a TBSP of dried mint, its delish. Also, using lime is very common in stews and soups ( I add dried Persian lime In the last 20 minutes of most dishes—even spaghetti sauce.
I hope this turns out amazing for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
This was even better the second day. I added probably 2-3x the dill and a little more lemon juice.
So amazing! Thank you so much Danica! xTieghan
I made this last week and it was lovely. Something different and so tasty. It freezes well too!
Thank you Karen! xTieghan
I love these flavors and all the herbs, such a perfect spring dinner idea!
Thank you so much Laura! xTieghan
Loved this recipe! It was simple and delicious. It is the perfect early spring soup. I substituted cooked quinoa for the rice. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Janelle! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
This is a warming delicious stew–i didn’t have spinach so i swapped in swiss chard. Easy to tweak, full of flavor! Thank you!
Thank you so much Leah! xTieghan
Absolutely DELICIOUS! Thank you so much. I’m sure this will be a regular at home.
Debbie
That is so great! Thank you Debbie! xTieghan
Thank you so much for bringing this recipe into my life! The fresh herbs (especially the dill) make this dish so vibrant in flavor and color. The only thing is, is that I’d add more vegetable stock – I let mine simmer too long and it reduced too much BUT I think that made all the ingredients come together so nicely. I have yet to make a recipe of yours that I haven’t loved! Keep up the amazing work, Tieghan!
Hi Kathleen! I am so happy you loved this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe was AMAZING!!!! I love this blog, make your recipes at least twice a week, and snapped up the cookbook as soon as it was published but this stew is above and beyond. Thank you!!!!
Thank you so much Alexia! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
This stew was so good! I made it for vegetarian friends and they loved it. I also made naan to go with it. Great recipes!!
Thank you Anne!! xTieghan
After making the chicken with the goats cheese and walnut filling last night I made this tonight 🙂 Although very different still very, very tasty and satisfying.
I can highly recommend.
I am so glad you liked this, Esi! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hey I was wondering if the cilantrois really powerful in this dish and if so if it is necessary or if something can be used instead. I’m not the biggest fan of it usually.
Please let me know,
Thanks!
Hi there! You can use an equal amount of basil in place of the cilantro. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan