Creamy Chickpea Stew
My Creamy Chickpea Stew is ready in less than 30 minutes and is not just delicious but also a testament to the magic of cooking—proving you can create a lusciously cream sauce without a single drop of heavy cream or any dairy in sight.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 (14 ounce) cans chickpeas, 1 drained and 2 with liquid
- 1 (14 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- Fresh basil, minced
- Optional grated parmesan or nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Warm olive oil on a wide deep skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and sauté for about 6 minutes, until soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, being careful to not let it burn. Add 1 can of drained chickpeas and sauté for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the diced tomatoes and mix everything together. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Puree the 2 remaining cans of chickpeas (with their liquid) in a blender. Pour into the warm stew. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until everything is piping hot. Season with salt, ground black pepper, fresh chopped basil and any other preferred seasonings. Fresh grated parm (or nutritional yeast) is a delicious finishing touch!
Notes
• Use a large, wide skillet. Mine is ~11 inches across.
• I strongly recommend using canned “fire-roasted” diced tomatoes, as they add more flavor than plain canned diced tomatoes.
• You’ll need a total of three cans chickpeas: one can will be rinsed and drained. Two cans are blended with their liquid (called aqua faba) to create a creamy, velvety texture without having to use heavy cream. If you are unfamiliar with aqua faba, it’s perfectly safe to consume and blends up beautifully to create a thick texture. It prevents the need for vegetable broth and works like a charm!
• If your blender isn’t big enough to puree both chickpea cans (+ liquid) at the same time, you can do it in two batches, and pour each into the skillet when it’s done blending.
• You can transform this into a fully creamed version, by pureeing all three cans of chickpeas, and then adding to the skillet after the tomatoes have simmered.
• Season to your heart’s content—the possibilities are endless! Add extra ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes for heat, minced fresh or dried herbs like basil, rosemary, oregano, etc. And adding grated parmesan or nutritional yeast at the end really makes this stew sing!
• Storage tips: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, stirring occasionally to maintain its creamy texture. You can also freeze this stew in portioned containers for up to 3 months. Simply thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition Information per serving
Serving Size: 1 cupCalories: 250Carbohydrates: 34gProtein: 11gTotal Fat: 9g— Unsaturated Fat: 8g— Saturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 390mgPotassium: 392mgFiber: 10gTotal Sugar: 8g— Natural Sugar: 8g— Added Sugar: 0gIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is calculated using a leading industry software. That being said, brands can vary, and there may be slight fluctuations in the numbers.