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This Lemon Chicken and Chickpea Stew is a hearty dish that brings together delicious, rich, Greek-inspired flavors like lemon, oregano, and dill.
One thing about me is that I will find a way to incorporate chickpeas in as many meals as possible! They’re so versatile and it’s easy to keep a few cans in the pantry. This Lemon Chicken and Chickpea Stew is a fantastic meal to make when you’re looking for a hearty and wholesome dinner, as both the chicken and the chickpeas add a lot of protein.
This Lemon Chicken and Chickpea Stew also works great for meal prep! It’s simple to prepare, and is a beautiful, healthy soup to turn to when you’re looking for something nourishing, fresh, and bright.
Ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Paprika
- Ground Turmeric
- Ground Coriander
- Canned Chickpeas
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Bay Leaves
- Lemon
- Israeli or Pearl Couscous
- Fresh Oregano
- Cooked Shredded Chicken I use Rotisserie
- Fresh Parsley
- Fresh Dill
Step-by-Step:
Step one: cook your veggies
Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the veggies are tender, about 8 minutes.
step two: add the spices
Add the pepper flakes, turmeric, and coriander and continue to cook, stirring, toasting the spices, about 2 minutes.
step three: add the chickpeas
Add the chickpeas, broth, bay leaves, and lemon zest, and bring to a rapid simmer. Reduce the heat to a subtle simmer, about medium-low heat, and stir in the couscous and oregano. Cover and cook until the chickpeas and couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.
step four: add the rest of the ingredients and simmer
Add in the chicken, lemon juice, parsley, and dill, and stir to combine. Let simmer, uncovered, to warm the chicken and allow the flavor to meld into the chicken, about 5 more minutes.
step five: finish and serve!
Discard the bay leaves. Taste and add salt, if desired. To serve, ladle into a bowl and top with fresh dill.
Recipe FAQs:
You can use pearl couscous here, too!
I wouldn’t say this soup is spicy, really, but if you are sensitive to spice, you can skip the red pepper flakes!
You can use any shredded chicken you’d like! I think using a rotisserie makes it super easy, but you can use whatever chicken you have on hand.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this stew! Let me know in the comments after you try it!
Looking for more delicious and hearty stew recipes? Try these!
Dairy-Free Creamy Chicken + Wild Rice Soup
Lemon Chicken and Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion (from about 1/2 large onion)
- 1 cup small-diced celery, (from about 2 stalks)
- ¾ cup small-diced carrot, (from about 1 carrot)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1/4 cup Israeli or pearl couscous
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I use rotisserie)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the veggies are tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add the red pepper flakes, paprika, turmeric, and coriander. Cook, stirring, toasting the spices, about 2 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, broth, bay leaves, and lemon zest, and bring to a rapid simmer. Reduce the heat to a subtle simmer, about medium-low heat, and stir in the couscous and oregano. Cover and cook until the chickpeas and couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the chicken, lemon juice, parsley, and dill, and stir to combine. Let simmer, uncovered, to warm the chicken and allow the flavor to meld in to the chicken, about 5 more minutes.
- Discard the bay leaves. Taste and add salt, if desired. To serve, ladle into bowl and top with fresh dill.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Eat Love Eats.
This stew is just amazing. I have made it a few times now. I just have to comment that paprika is listed in the ingredients, but not in the instructions of when to add it. Today, I just added it along with the turmeric, pepper flakes and coriander.
Thanks for flagging this! I’ve updated the recipe for clarity.
Delicious! The red pepper flake is a must 👌🏼
So cozy and delicious!
What would you substitute for chickpeas?
One of my favorite recipes of winter this year. Scaled it in half and used a countertop Grill to cook the chicken for shredding.
Hearty, flavorful, and the texture of the Israeli couscous is like icing on the cake.
Froze well.
This was delicious! I threw it all in the slow cooker for about 4 hours and was so yummy. Loved that it was super filling and comforting but not heavy at all. Will definitely be making again!
FYI I believe there’s a typo on the Amount of oregano…. It calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh or sub 2 tablespoons of dried. Thank God, I looked before I did that or I would’ve ruined my recipe. Herbs are more concentrated than fresh so you’re supposed to use less dried than fresh. I adjusted properly and it taste fantastic! Thanks for another great recipe.
thank you so much for pointing this out! I have edited the recipe!
Is 2 tablespoons of dried oregano correct? Or is it 2 tsp of dried oregano?
I would go with 2 tsp’s, it is usually less.
Would you suggest rice or gluten free pasta as a gluten free alternative to the couscous?
A gluten free orzo would work great here, or other small shaped pasta.