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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 recipe is one of the best and most unusual recipes I have tried in a long time. I have tried it twice now and can’t imagine ever getting sick of it. Some notes: I prepared the chickpeas, onions, and all of their yummy spices separately in the oven as I found they were not getting crispy in the pot. The result was super duper crispy chickpeas and the lemon zest had caramelized! I added them on top right before serving. For leftovers, I reheated the chickpeas I’m the toaster oven for a few minutes and found the crunch to bounce right back that way. Though I was extremely skeptical about using dill in this recipe, I can say that it definitely works! The second time I made it, I made it with heartier greens such as kale, collards, and Swiss chard and found it to be just as satisfying as spinach. Definitely don’t skimp on the Greek yogurt and mint in the end—they make the dish! Oh, and I topped mine with fried eggs. For any vegans out there, I used vegan Greek yogurt and it’s worked perfectly!
I am so glad you tried this Lucy!! Thank you so much and I hope you continue to love recipes of mine! xTieghan
My oh my. Love this meal! All the fresh herbs are fantastic. Definitely do not leave out the yogurt and mint. It’s delicious served with naan.
I am so glad you loved this Alex! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this for my husband and me last night and I think it has become one of my favorite dishes. All the fresh herbs and spices made the flavor of this dish absolutely amazing! And then, adding the yogurt and mint at the end was fantastic. I had a little lemon left over so I squeezed lemon over the top of everything. I can’t wait to make this again. Thank you so much for the recipe. I’m a huge fan!
I am so happy to hear that you both loved this recipe, Britney! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Best chickpea recipe I have ever made, so flavorful! I was really excited to eat my lunch today and boy I was not disappointed! Every single one of your recipes is always a hit and I have made A LOT! Thanks for yet another great one 🙂
Thank you so much Nicky! xTieghan
THIS WAS AMAZING! So nice to bring new flavors into week day cooking, while also keeping it simple.
Thank you Makenzie! xTieghan
This looks amazing!! Do you think chicken broth work instead of vegetable if that’s what I have on hand??
Hi there! Chicken broth will be great! 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This was a slam dunk. You know it’s a great recipe when a week later I already want to make it again. And I normally hate repeating food close together so this is a compliment. I didnt have the correct herbs in my spice rack so I made it with dried italian herbs, dried chives and cumin instead. Great recipe, loved how the lemon was the right acidity yet subtle – greek yogurt really took this over the edge!
So amazing! I am so glad you loved this recipe, Kim! Thank you so much! xTieghan
So tasty and easy! Husband loved it and is an easy weeknight meal. I actually threw everything in a crockpot and it came out amazing. Dill adds a lovely flavor to the stew. Planning to make it again soon.
Thank you so much Deb! xTieghan
This recipe was fantastic! The flavors were lovely. Definitely going into the rotation!
Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
I have made this twice this week….it is sooooo yummy!!!
Thank you Paige! xTieghan
You did it again!! I made this for my family last night. My husband and I couldn’t get enough and my two littles (3 years and 18 months) gobbled it all up! So flavorful! I usually try to serve a meatless meal at least once a week, and this one is for sure a winner. None of us missed the meat. Thank you!
Hi Meg! It is so amazing to hear that your family loved this so much! Thank you so much! xTieghan
YUM YUM YUM!!! My husband and I both absolutely loved this recipe. I doubled the turmeric and subbed quinoa for the rice. Didn’t have mint or yogurt, and the result was still amazing. Thank you for this delicious dish. I suspect leftovers are going to be amazing!
Thank you so much Laura! I am so happy to hear that this turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
Hey! The recipe looks great! Would you consider adding some more vegetables? Trying to add some vitamins:) if so, which one will fit?
Thanks!
Hi there! I would add chopped broccoli and carrots. That will be so good! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi, sorry to bother you. I’d like to make this as a vegan option for Easter but I have a lot going on cooking-wise that day. Do you think if I kept the extra chickpeas separate I could make the stew part the day before and just re-heat? Or maybe just flash fry the extra chickpeas right before? Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.
Hey MO! I would just keep the chickpeas all together and not worry too much about the extra chickpeas for topping. It will be great as it! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This was a really great, simple, quick and useful stew! It will def be on my rota of recipes from now on!
That is so great! Thank you for trying this, Lior! xTieghan