Ground turkey and chickpeas are slow cooked with turmeric, paprika, coriander and lots of vegetables for a cozy dish that only gets better with time – so leftovers make a delicious lunch. This is also freezer friendly and naturally gluten-free.
It’s so strange how addicted I am to chickpeas these days – a legume I once stayed far away from. Now I can’ get enough of them, and since they are high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, I’m glad I’ve learned to love them. One bowl is very satisfying, and it has a touch of spice. If you prefer to keep it mild, you can leave out the red pepper flakes.
And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!
Slow Cooker Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1.3 lb package 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, light
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tbsp poblano pepper, chopped
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 15 oz cans chick peas, drained
- 2 cups low sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth*
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp coarse salt
- 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley or spearmint, chopped
Instructions
- Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and over medium high heat cook ground turkey for 10-12 minutes.
- Break up the ground meat and mix so meat cooks evenly; place in the slow cooker.
- To the skillet add the olive oil, onions, pepper, carrots, and celery and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes.
- Add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer to slow cooker along with diced tomatoes, chick peas, spices, broth and gently mix well.
- Cover and cook on LOW heat 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove bay leaves and serve; garnish with fresh herbs.
One of me and my husbands favorite! I add more meat and a little more of some ingredients to accommodate because my husband loves a really meaty soup. But this is so unique and flavorful!
This is one of the few recipes on my shared Recipes To Always Make List. It is so satisfying and filling without being heavy, and it couldn’t be easier to come together. I usually swap the peppers for two Serrano peppers because I like mine a little extra hot. It also freezes great, so if you need to have something ready to go for next week or in a pinch this is your girl!
I have made this several times now and it is now my favorite broth-based soup (as opposed to a creamy soup). I would give this 6 stars if I could! So full of flavor! Most broth based soups hurt my stomach and aggravate my acid reflux. This does not bother at all! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I make many soups and stews with chickpeas with sometimes ground turkey and my family have grown to love this recipe as well!
Hi there I love this recipe and made it many times last fall when I had a crockpot. I’ve since gotten rid of my crockpot and have an instant pot. Has anyone tried this in a crockpot? Would love to get some tips around that.
This recipe was fantastic. Making it again 2 weeks in a row. I did use ancho chili powder in replace of the poblano pepper. I used about 2 tbsp. Also doubled the red pepper.
I was thrilled to click on WW Personal Points and have this load into my WW plan!!!!! This is the best. Stew is cooking now. Will post review once complete and tasted. I’m sure it will be as good as all of you other recipes. Gosh, you made my day, my week!
I made this on the stovetop with the following modifications: 4 cups of broth instead of 2, a small can of mild green chiles instead of poblano (I’d cut down on the red pepper flakes if you do this), a 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder and cooked covered for 35 min.—it was delish!
Excellent recipe! I added 1/2c of frozen corn and used Fire Roasted Tomatoes (2 cans) in place of the petite diced tomatoes. My husband and I both love it! Thank you Gina!
2012 Jan 24
Absolutely delicious. And easy to make too…win, win!
I didn’t have any Poblano Peppers but this is a recipe I’ll make often and I’ll use poblanos next time. My husband loved it too and said we need to keep this recipe! I’d already texted it to our daughter lol
Try it, you’ll love it!
Oops…that date should be 2021 Jan 24 in my review.
This stew was OUTSTANDING! So glad I found it on the site. Husband doesn’t like tomato chunks so substituted 28z crushed tomatoes otherwise made exactly as written. I’m new to chickpeas and I loved the texture they provided. I also appreciated that although it’s tomato based it’s not overly acidic. There were plenty of leftovers for lunches. We’ll be adding to our regular rotation!
I’ve made this recipe several times and LOVE it. Will ground turkey thigh meat work too, or would it be too oily/gamey?
I don’t understand the sauteing of meat and veggies before adding to crock pot? It seems to defeat the use of a slow cooker and possibly (?) add an extra step and more mess in the kitchen.
The cook time is certainly long enough to cook the meat and soften all the veggies. I’m going to try to make this within the next week or so and just dump and mix everything in at the same time, including fresh parsley. I’ll add the mint at the end. Anyone else try this without cooking everything first?
I’m sure you’ve tested it by now and have your answer, but I’ve done this recipe both ways and sautéing the meat and veggies first yields more flavor. The crockpot boils everything slowly which yields a mild flavor while sautéing with high heat first causes a little browning of the meat & veggies (Maillard reaction), thus deepening the flavor. Also I like to ‘bloom’ the powdered spices for a few seconds in the oil leftover in the pan after sautéing the meat & veggies, to enhance their flavor. I first made this recipe by just dumping everything in to be easy, and felt it was bland. I made it again according to instruction (and bloomed my spices), and it was delicious and flavorful.
Thought the exact same thing! Will try to do that as well.
Hello, Vivian.
When you sauté onions, celery, and carrots in, for example, olive oil, you are creating what is known as a mirepoix. It is used as a flavor base in recipes to create delicious soups, stews and meat dishes. I hope this clarifies your question and that you continue to enjoy cooking.
Vivian, by sautéing the onions, carrots, and celery first, you are making a mirepoix.
I was looking for something to make with ground turkey that wasn’t another chill recipe. This fit the bill and was delicious! I subbed a sweet potato for the carrots (what I had in the pantry) and added 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Great flavor. Made a lot! Staying in the rotation.
It’s delicious, hearty, and not difficult to make. You can even choose to eat it more like a soup or more like a stew.
My husband found this recipe and I’m so glad he did, absolutely delicious it was even better for lunch the next day. This recipe is a keeper!!
Adjustment for the Instant Pot – 25 min and then manual release. Came out perfect =)
I made this in pressure cooker. Cooked turkey on stove top, then put all ingredients in pressure cooker for 25 minutes. Delicious!!
Wow! So delicious and filling! I was a bit skeptical because sometimes canned tomatoes smell like canned soup to me. When it was done cooking, it smelled good, but kinda smelled like canned soup so I wasn’t ready to be blown away. BOY WAS I WRONG…this tastes NOTHING like canned soup…the spices are amazing and it is soooo filling!! Will definitely be making this again!!!
What is the serving size? 1 1/3 cup ish? Thanks!
1 1/2 cups
I made this in my InstaPot last night for lunches this week, it is delicious! Great flavor & fits perfectly into my macros!
How long did you cook it in the instant pot? Thanks!
My favorite soup so far!
I LOVE this stew. My husband doesn’t like Chickpeas, so it gives me over a week’s worth of filling and satisfying lunches. I have added cumin the last few times I’ve made it because I love it and it works really well. The only thing is that I can’t always find a poblano pepper at the store, so I sub it for another type of pepper and maybe add a little more of the crushed red pepper flakes for the heat. I’ve also made this stove top, and it’s been good, but it’s seriously flavorful when you let it cook in the crockpot for 8 hours. This is a go-to for me!