World Kitchen Stew

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Name: Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 2 x 400 g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes; 1 red onion, diced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 500 ml vegetable stock; 50 g dried apricots, chopped; Fresh coriander and toasted almonds, to serve; Couscous, to serve

Toasting the spices in oil at the beginning blooms their flavour.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Moroccan Chickpea Stew — Cinnamon, cumin and tomatoes stewed with chickpeas — comforting and deeply spiced.

10 min

Prep time

30 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

1,128 RATINGS

Why the spices go in early

Toasting the spices in oil at the beginning blooms their flavour. If you add them to liquid later, they taste raw and dusty.

The sweetness from the cinnamon is balanced by the acidity of the tomatoes and a little preserved lemon or fresh lemon juice at the end.

Instructions

About 40 min from start to finish

Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, stock, chickpeas and apricots. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, partially covered.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. The stew should be thick and the apricots plump.

Serve over couscous, scattered with coriander and toasted almonds.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Preserved lemon

If you have it, a tablespoon of chopped preserved lemon rind lifts the whole stew.

Add vegetables

Courgette, aubergine or spinach can be added in the last 10 minutes.

Make it ahead

This improves after a day in the fridge. Reheat gently and thin with a splash of stock if needed.

Questions we get a lot

Is this sweet?

It has a subtle sweetness from the cinnamon and apricots, but it remains savoury.

Can I use dried chickpeas?

Yes — cook them fully first. The stew is too quick for dried chickpeas.

What couscous is best?

Fine instant couscous, prepared with boiling water and a knob of butter.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.