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Chicken and Chickpea Stew

This stew is full of juicy chicken breast and deliciously filling chickpeas. It makes for a warm and hearty meal on a chilly night and it couldn’t be easier to make. The recipe has quickly become one of our favorites around our home.

For the longest, I was clueless about these little peas and how to cook with them. I mean I was familiar with hummus, of course, thanks to seeing it in most grocery stores, but outside of that, I had not used them at all.

After seeing them so many times on the dry bean aisle at my local grocery store, I decided to pick up some and we have loved them ever since. These days I usually pick up a couple of the one pound bags each shopping trip.

I find that it is cheaper to buy them dry and to prepare them myself since they are only around $1.50 a plan, versus buying the canned variety but you’ll have to decide which best meets your time and budget needs and choose that option.

Facts About Chickpeas

• originally cultivated in the Mediterranean and the Middle East
• they are also known as garbanzo beans
• they are rich in iron, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and vitamin K
• they contain great fiber and protein
• available all year around
• dry chickpeas are best if soaked before cooking

This stew is higher in healthy carbs due to the chickpeas but lower in fat. So it is a great meal if you are looking for a hearty stew for your or your family that focuses on a lower fat proteins. 

Also those that follow the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, this recipe is perfect for your “E” or “energizing meals” on this plan. 

Simplicity is Key!

For over a year now I have worked on recipes to share with you in a recipe series that I call “Simple Supper”. These are recipes focus on simple ingredients and they are easy and quick to make. These types of meals are super important to me as a busy mom.

Not only am I exhausted by the end of the day after working and our home school lessons, I just simply don’t want to spend several hours cooking dinner. I am sure I am not the only one that loves to feed her family healthy home-cooked meals without slaving away, right?

That’s why this Chicken and Chickpea Stew is the latest addition to my “Simple Suppers” series. It fits perfectly into this category! The recipe has only six ingredients that can all be found at any grocery store and it cooks in less than an hour in the Instant Pot.

Oh, and even better everything cooks in one pot at the same time! I call these types of recipes “dump and go“. You may remember my “Dump and Go Chili“.  It was a hit and another great THM “E” meal in this easy meal series. Be sure to check that one out too!

Enough rambling, let’s get down to making this Chicken and Chickpea Stew. All you will need is your Instant Pot and the ingredients below to get started.

You’ll need:

2 lbs of  dry chickpeas

2.5 pounds of chicken breasts

Dices tomatoes

Seasoning Mix of onions and peppers (frozen)

Chicken Stock

Seasonings to taste

Making the Instant Pot Chicken and Chickpea Stew.

The first step is to soak the chickpeas according to the back of the package. This process does take a little planning ahead, but it is important if you want to keep the cooking time shorter.  If you don’t have time to soak them, or maybe you simply forget to do this step, don’t worry all is not lost.

Using chickpeas that haven’t been soaked would be fine, it will just add longer to cooking time. Soaking them will allow them to cook much quicker in the Instant Pot. But I recommend soaking as it reduces the chance also or the peas not cooking all the way.

Nobody likes crunchy peas in their stew. I put my peas on at night to soak as we sleep, or before I go to work in the morning so they are ready when I get ready for them.

After you’ve soaked the chickpeas simply add them along with other ingredients into your Instant Pot. I like to stir it around a bit to mix in the spices and tomatoes but even that is not mandatory.

Once you have all the ingredients in the Instant Pot, you are ready to place the lid on it and set your timer per the recipe below.

Next comes the best part! Walk away and forget it while it cooks. Enjoy some time with your family or put your feet up as the Instant Pot does all the work.

I am actually taking advantage of this step in the recipe now.  I am off today from my full-time job so I taking advantage or easy recipes like this one to get some meal prep done for the week. A

When I need to do meal prep for the week, this is one of my go to meals. It is a great Fall recipe and making it a few days ahead of when I need it will save me so much time. 

It keeps well in the fridge so my hubby and son can just grab a bowl and heat it up when they are hungry. That takes a lot of pressure off me if I’m busy with work. How could you go wrong with a recipe like this, right? 

Oh and before I go if you like easy Instant Pot Recipes like this you can also check out my friend Carrie’s recipe over at The Healthy Milestone. She has a delicious looking Instant Pot Chicken Tender Stew that is a must try!

I also recommend checking out my simple chickpea curry that’s low fat and vegan.

Pro Tips From One of My Readers. Thanks to Cynthia for sharing her tip! 

I have been taking 1 can chickpeas and 1 can diced tomatoes and pureeing them together before adding with the rest of the ingredients to cook. This gives a bit of a creamier texture to the soup  

Check Out This Great Instant Pot I use!

Yield: 10 Servings

Instant Pot Chicken and Chickpea Stew || Low Fat, THM "E"

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

A hearty Instant Pot stew loaded with tender chicken breast and hearty chickpeas. This is a simple meal that will stick to your ribs and feed a family well.

Print

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 2 pounds dry Chickpeas, soaked
• 8 cups of Chicken Stock
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 (12 ounce) bag of frozen Seasoning Blend
• 2 teaspoons of garlic
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Instructions

1. Best for 6 and 8 quart Instant Pots.
2. To begin add all the ingredients into the Instant Pot and cover then with the broth. Note: if the ingredients are not covered top off with a small bit of water to cover.
3. After adding all the ingredients to the Instant Pot, place the lid on and turn the pressure value to closed.
4. Set the timer to 45 minutes and walk away and let the cooker do the work.
5. After the stew has finished cooking, let it natural release for 5 minutes then quick release the rest of the pressure.
6. Serve the stew hot and store any leftover in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

Note about the Seasoning Blend in the ingredient list. This is a bag of vegetables that usually include onions, celery, and bell peppers. It can be found in the frozen food section of most grocery stores. If you can't find this you can use 1/2 of a cup of each diced for this recipe.

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Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!