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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 soup was SO DELICIOUS!!!!!!! 10/10 stars! Cant wait to share the recipe with friends
AW thank you Kate!
This was my first soup/stew of the fall season! It did not disappoint- the blend of spices were so flavorful! Recipe made so much I split it with my son’s family too. I think next time I might add more bone broth to make it more soup like!
yes you can totally soup it up more with more broth where it’s not so stew like
Delicious flavors!
So glad you enjoyed it, Tara!
Can you add raw chicken breasts/thighs and let it cook in the broth etc. then pull out and shred and add back in?
yes you can absolutely do that here.
Loved this – It was the warm *hug* I needed and so comforting to have coming home from a long week of travel.
Hi there! Can I do this is the slow cooker?
This soup/stew was so good!! Made it for dinner tonight and the flavours meshed together so well. Excited to have it for lunch tomorrow! The only change I made was ditali pasta for the couscous.
So glad you loved it!!
This was amazing and felt so nourishing! I omitted the couscous and added a bunch of kale for even more veggies and it is amazing. Love soup week!
Love those swaps! glad it was a hit
Looks great
This looks amazing! Do you have any tips about how to reheat leftovers? (If there are any 🤭) I always feel like soups with couscous are very thick the next day.
YES! I always reheat on the stovetop and add more broth to reheat!! I like a brothier soup, so for soups with pasta it’s essential to add more to reheat