Ras el Hanout Chickpea and Spinach Stew

By Nargisse Benkabbou

Updated September 11, 2025

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(3,169)
Comments
Read comments

This warming one-pot stew delivers the depth and comfort of a long-simmered meal in a fraction of the time. Chickpeas and spinach braise in a richly spiced tomato base, creating layers of warmth and complexity. Ras el hanout, a fragrant Moroccan spice blend, gives the dish its signature aromatic depth; gently toasted tomato paste intensifies its flavor even further. A splash of soy sauce provides an unexpected but welcome hit of umami, rounding out the dish with a richness that mimics a stew that's been bubbling away for hours. Served with a generous spoonful of yogurt (or a squeeze of lemon) and a drizzle of harissa oil to cut through the richness, it's perfect with crusty bread or spooned over grains like rice, barley, bulgur or quinoa.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

FOR THE STEW

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to serve

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ras el hanout (see Tip)

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 cup vegetable stock, plus more if needed

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • Fine sea salt

  • 3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed

  • 5 cups/5 ounces packed spinach leaves (stemmed and roughly torn if large)

  • ½ cup Greek yogurt or lemon wedges (optional), for serving

  • Crusty bread, couscous, bulgur or rice, for serving

FOR THE HARISSA OIL (OPTIONAL)

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon harissa paste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

57 grams carbs; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 461 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 15 grams fiber; 817 milligrams sodium; 19 grams protein; 11 grams sugar

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.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the stew: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add the garlic and ras el hanout and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until the tomato paste darkens slightly in color, about 2 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the stock, soy sauce and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce slightly darkens in color and its flavors have melded.

  3. Step 3

    Add the chickpeas and simmer until they are warm and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until wilted and fully incorporated into the stew, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. If the stew starts getting too thick, feel free to add a few more spoonfuls of stock or water.

  4. Step 4

    If using, make the harissa oil: In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and harissa until well incorporated.

  5. Step 5

    Serve the stew warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or lemon wedges on the side, and a drizzle of olive oil (or harissa oil), if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread or over grains like couscous, bulgur or rice.

Tip

  •  Ras el hanout is widely available online and in larger grocery stores. If you’d like to make your own, stir together the following ingredients: 1 teaspoon each ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground ginger, ground cumin, ground cardamom and ground nutmeg, plus ½ teaspoon each ground aniseed, ground caraway seeds, ground fennel, ground cloves and ground black pepper. (This blend makes about 3 tablespoons ras el hanout.)

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
3,169 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Tim

@Breece Hall vegetarian good, carnivore less so, but cannibalism not really acceptable.

A real Park Ranger

Doubled the stock and Ras El Hanout but will triple when making again. Easy recipe with layers of flavor. This will be a regular vegetarian comfort dish in our household.

John R

Pretty easy and quick. Pretty tasty too. It needed more than a cup of stock, and it needed a larger dose of ras el hanout. I added some shredded leftover rotisserie chicken to my pot, which helped it considerably.

Leslie

I doubled pretty much everything in this recipe except the chickpeas and we all love it in our household. We like it better when its more "brothy." I usually add some onion and/or shallot just to step it up a little bit and serve it with warm naan bread for dipping. Delicious!

Brit

How long does this last in the refrigerator?

Augustus McCrae

This is shockingly bland. I followed the commenters’ suggested edits: more than doubled the spice, more than doubled the stock. Still no flavor. To the contributor, please add instructions for removing the skin from the chickpeas. As is, I ended up with bland, brown broth and bean skins for dinner. Do not recommend!

NB

@Augustus McCrae if it tasted bland, chances are your spice blend is bland (or has expired). The quality of your spices will determine the final outcome, make sure you get good ones.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.