Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew With Lemon and Coconut

By Ali Slagle

Published Aug. 8, 2025

Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew With Lemon and Coconut
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
About 6 to 8 hours
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
About 6 to 8 hours
Rating
4(573)
Comments
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Soothing yet bright, this soup tastes like something that took careful attention, but really just requires throwing five ingredients into a slow cooker and letting it cook for hours. Dried chickpeas and cauliflower soften in the gentle heat, and the coconut milk thickens as the mixture cooks, seasoned with earthy turmeric and sweet lemon peel. While a little lemon juice balances the richness, the predominant lemon flavor here isn’t tangy but rather floral from the peels releasing their oils into the stew. Reminiscent of curries throughout South and Southeast Asia, it can be eaten over rice, or with sliced almonds or cilantro on top, but it can just as well stand alone.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1pound dried chickpeas (no need to soak)
  • 1head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into big florets
  • 2(14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
  • 1tablespoon ground turmeric
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2lemons
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

600 calories; 33 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 907 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the chickpeas, cauliflower, coconut milk, turmeric and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Use a vegetable peeler to peel wide strips of zest from the lemons, then add to the slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover the cauliflower.

  2. Step 2

    Cover and cook on low until the beans and cauliflower are tender, 6 to 8 hours.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the juice of half the lemon, then season to taste with salt, pepper and more lemon juice until the soup is rich and bright. The strips of lemon peel are deliciously sweet and floral, not at all bitter, but feel free to discard if you prefer.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
573 user ratings
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Comments

Mo Kevany

@SDC not sure why people feel the need to comment on a recipe that differs quite a lot from the original, making it a totally different recipe. I’m going to try the simple original which sounds delicious and so easy.

SDC

I have a 6-in-1 Instant pot, and this is what I did. Note that this recipe makes a lot of food! -1lb chickpeas 1 can coconut water, 1/2 the lemon peels, salt, and 1.5 cans of water. The chickpeas need to be completed covered by the fluid with some room to spare or else the top layer will dry out -seal and cook on bean setting for 20 minutes -chickpeas will be al dente, not entirely cooked -add cauliflower, 2 small yellow onions roughly chopped, and the following: stock cube 2-3 tbsp curry powder 2-3tsp cumin powder 1 can coconut cream 1 jalapeno 1 inch of ginger 1 large clove of garlic (mash jalapeno, ginger and garlic in mortar and pestal before adding or roughly chop) 1 can of water -the cauliflower will release some water, but not enough to make it runny -seal and put on chili setting for 5 minutes -safely open and add 1 cup cashews and 2 handfuls of spinach -stir spinach (should wilt immediately), add salt and pepper to taste -add a splash of coconut cream if it's too spicy for you, but remember that the instant pot will water down the spices I served it with brown basmati coconut rice and it was delicious. The sweetness and creamy flavor of the coconut rice will also help with any spice. The chickpeas are umami and the flavours are great. Cauliflower is perfectly cooked, soft with a hint of crisp. enjoy!

Anon O. Miss

@Bret Bradigan Slow cooking cauliflower for hours sounds awful. It doesn’t overcook?

Stephanie

I was so excited to try this even as I was assembling it, as I love cauliflower and chickpeas and curries. I always follow the instructions as given the first time… but I have to say, my husband and I both disliked it. I found the lemon overpowering, maybe I used too much juice but I assume “half the juice” meant the juice of one lemon with the second in reserve; I added some salt, but didn’t have a good idea how much and 3/4 tsp plus more pepper did not help. I put some in the fridge to see if it improves and threw most of it out.

Mindy Eisenberg

Made this last night as wanted a simple meal to host family prior to Thanksgiving. After reading the comments I decided to add 1/8 tsp baking soda to avoid curdling and it worked great. My other edits were: decreased the turmeric to 2 tsp., added 1 tsp. ground curry, 1 clove of minced garlic, added 3 tbs. of maple syrup (please don’t judge), measured the lemon juice and used 2 tbs., swapped out the full fat coconut milk for low fat. I made it on the stove-top in my Staub pot. I did a quick soak of the beans by bringing to a boil for 2 minutes and then covered off stove for 1 hour. I drained the beans, then proceeded with the recipe. I used a quart of water. I brought everything to a simmer, then let it cook covered for 2 hours. It was fabulous!

Michelle

The coconut milk broke/curdled for me—was that the intended result? Looks like it’s a bit broken in the recipe photo, but not as badly as mine

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