This vegan and gluten-free friendly Instant Pot chickpea stew is a delicious main meal full of Moroccan-influenced spices and flavours. Serve it over rice, couscous or with some crusty bread.
This delicious Instant Pot chickpea stew (chickpeas are the same as garbanzo beans) is an adaptation from an original recipe in Viva! magazine. I used to make it on a stovetop, which normally took about 35-40 minutes, but decided to try it in the Instant Pot and it worked really well. The flavours developed just as well but in a much shorter time.
The stew can be served on its own with some toasted or fresh, crusty bread, or with a side of rice or couscous. It’s a healthy meal that is vegan and gluten-free friendly, with lots of fibre, plant protein and nutrients from tomatoes and spinach. It can be made ahead of time and we think it gets even better once it sits in the fridge overnight. It can also be frozen for later.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT CHICKPEA STEW
You will find the full list of ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below but here are some step-by-step pics and cooking tips.
This Instant Pot stew is made with pre-cooked or canned chickpeas. You can cook dry chickpeas in your Instant Pot ahead of time as well (times are provided in the recipe). We also have a handy article on how to cook various beans and lentils in the Instant Pot here.
There are a few lovely seasonings and ingredients that give this stew so much flavour: warm spices such as cumin, paprika and coriander seeds, onions and garlic, sun-dried tomatoes (key ingredient!) and raisins or sultanas for sweetness.
The stew is also full of nutrient-dense spinach. If you’re vegan or plant-based, you will get a lot of protein and iron from this dish. And, even if you don’t love spinach, it incorporates well into the stew during cooking and it kinds of blends in with all other ingredients.
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
- For more plant-based recipes, check out our collection of vegan Instant Pot recipes here.
- If you like Moroccan flavours, you might also like our lamb and potato stew recipe or our leg of lamb stew with dates and cinnamon.
- For other hearty stew, try this recipe for Instant Pot black-eyed peas with sausage and kale
- 20 Instant Pot Recipes Using Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
Moroccan-Style Instant Pot Chickpea Stew
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This vegan and gluten-free friendly Instant Pot chickpea stew is a delicious main meal full of Moroccan-influenced spices and flavours. Serve it over rice, couscous or with some crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or chilli
- 2 heaped teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed powder (this one is optional if you don’t have it)
- 1.5 –2 cups (400g) chopped tinned omatoes
- 2 tins (400 g each) canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
- 2 tablespoons of raisins
- 12 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped into pieces (use a knife or scissors)
- 140 g/ 5 oz. washed baby spinach or a few lumps of frozen spinach)
- 750ml (3+1/2 cups) vegetable stock (made with a veggie stock cube or premade)
- A pinch of salt and some pepper, to taste
- A handful of fresh cilantro or parsley leaves to serve
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key. Once slightly heated, add the onion and olive oil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and stir through for 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir through. Press Cancel to stop the Sauté function.
- Pop the lid on top, lock it (making sure the steam valve is pointing to Sealing) and set the Instant Pot to Manual, HIGH, for 10 Minutes. After 3 beeps, the IP will start to build up the pressure and the cooking will begin. Once the timer goes off, allow 10 minutes for the pressure to release naturally, and then use a quick release to let off the rest of the steam (simply point the sealing valve to Venting).
- Open the lid and stir the stew. We like to let it sit for 5 minutes before serving it with some fresh herbs on top. You can serve a side of cooked rice, couscous or crusty bread with this stew.
Notes
For this stew recipe, we are using tinned, cooked chickpeas so the whole thing only takes 10 minutes on HIGH pressure. If you want to use dried garbanzo beans/chickpeas, we recommend to cook them first following these timings.
- Dry cooking time: 35-40 minutes on high pressure in enough water to fully submerge the beans.
- Soaked cooking time: 10-15 minutes on high pressure in enough water to fully submerge the beans.
- Then use the above recipe!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 421
- Sugar: 27.5 g
- Sodium: 882.2 mg
- Fat: 12.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.8 g
- Fiber: 16.6 g
- Protein: 17.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Instant Pot, Chickpeas, Moroccan, Stew
SAVE THIS CHICKPEA STEW RECIPE TO PINTEREST
Pretty tasty! I think the amount of liquid is excessive– it ended up more like a hearty soup than a stew. I strained some of that broth out (it’s delicious on its own as a soup!) and the resulting stew was perfect. I also added some fresh lemon peel with the spices, and the juice of half that lemon at the end, which really brightened everything up. A great low-maintenance meal for the cold wintery days!
★★★★
The narrative about Moroccan style Instant Pot Chickpea Stew mentions using coriander seed for flavor, but it’s not listed in the recipe. Should I use it and how much?
It’s 1 teaspoon, just amended the ingredients. It is optional as the recipe will work just as well without it (not everyone stocks this spice).
Soooo delicious! Sooo simple. I was extremely satisfied after having this meal. I modified it to fit whatever was in my pantry, but this recipe is so flexible. A very quick & nourishing comfort-meal. Yum!
★★★★★
Thank you!
Super easy and very complex flavors. Wonderful!
★★★★★
I’ve made this a couple of times now and it is certainly very tasty and popular with those sharing it with me. The second time it was quite peppery and I am wondering whether I should make sure I’m using sweet paprika rather than the ‘hot ‘ sort. Still very nice though!
★★★★★
Glad you’ve made it so many times! Yes, paprika can come in so many varieties and the flavor can be a little different and sometimes spicier.
Yes, the hot paprika would definitely add a kick and that peppery flavor. Really depends on what you like 🙂
If you have a basic instant pot with no buttons/settings, do you just put everything in at once?
The saute mode helps bring out the flavor of the onions. You can put everything in at once sacrificing some flavor and texture.
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was great. Decided to make it on the stove rather than in the Instant Pot, mostly because I couldn’t be bothered lugging the IP up from the basement. The stew had the right amount of heat with a little bit of sweetness from the occasional raisin. Recommend a combo of cilantro and parsley. Delish!
Thanks for your lovely feedback, Samantha. Glad you enjoyed it even on the stovetop.
Great taste! The only thing I did different was use homemade mushroom vegetable broth because I had it in the freezer. I don’t care where it comes from it tastes great. Will definitely make it again!!!
★★★★
Way more of a soup than a stew. Adding cooked rice at the end was a necessity. Very tasty.
★★★★
This is excellent! I made it exactly as the recipe states. Really delicious.
★★★★★
Thanks, Ann. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Delicious recipe which everyone in the family loved! Thank you so much for sharing it. I shared my experience here: https://www.trylearngrow.com/2019/01/27/vegan-moroccan-chickpea-stew/
★★★★★
Glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your own creation of our recipe.
Are the sun dried tomatoes dried or canned? I purchased dried sun dried tomatoes and now I’m worried about whether I should add more liquid…
We used sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil but you can also use the dried version. The liquid will come from tinned tomatoes and stock, not the sun-dried tomatoes 🙂 They are there for the wonderful flavor.
This is really delicious! I have tried several Moroccan soups/stews and this one is hands down my favourite. The only change I made was to add a few dried apricots. Thanks!
★★★★★
This looks very good. I will probably try it this weekend. Do you have the nutritional information for this dish?
★★★★★
Not at the moment but planning to add it in the future.
We have been making this in India for centuries. This is a common dish and there is nothing “Moroccan” about it. You don’t need an Instant Pot to make it. My mom made it when she did not have time to cook and there was no Instant Pot then.
★
There are many similar dishes between Indian and Moroccan cuisines and yes, we have made it both on the stovetop and in the Instant Pot (which is quicker).
Are you giving one star because it’s not from India ? We also been making it for centuries in Morocco. And if you use dry chickpeas, it will take longer to cook so it’s not a quick meal .
★★★★★
Sounds to me like Jack did not cook this recipe. Sad you are rating it without trying it. There is NOTHING you need an Instant Pot to make. Everything that can be made in an instant pot can be made without one.