Slow Cooker Chickpea, Red Pepper and Tomato Stew

By Sarah DiGregorio

Slow Cooker Chickpea, Red Pepper and Tomato Stew
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
About 6 hours
Rating
4(680)
Notes
Read community notes

This easy vegan stew is inspired by romesco, the Spanish sauce made from roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Here, those flavors come together in a stew that pulls from the pantry, with fast prep and little waste. Instead of stock, this stew relies on the thick liquid from the canned chickpeas, sometimes called aquafaba. And the marinating oil in jarred sun-dried tomatoes is often delicious, augmented with herbs and vinegar. Give yours a little taste to make sure you like it, and then throw that in, too. (If you don’t like it, make up the difference with regular olive oil.) The smoked almonds on top are key, adding necessary crunch and richness, so be generous with them. (If you would like to make this stew on the stovetop, just sauté the onion then add the remaining stew ingredients and simmer until the flavors are blended, about 30 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, you can use this pressure-cooker version of the recipe.)

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 3(15-ounce) cans chickpeas, with liquid (or about 4½ cups cooked chickpeas and 1 cup cooking liquid)
  • 2(12-ounce) jars roasted red peppers, drained and finely chopped (2 cups)
  • 1(14-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1(6- to 7-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (about 1 cup), oil reserved (about 3 tablespoons)
  • 1red onion, finely chopped
  • 5garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
  • 1tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
  • 1tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving
  • ½teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • Red-pepper flakes, for serving
  • Chopped smoked almonds, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

557 calories; 33 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 760 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 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the chickpeas and their liquid, roasted red peppers, canned tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, onion, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and several generous grinds of pepper. Cook on low until the flavors are blended, 6 to 8 hours.

  2. Step 2

    Taste before serving and add more salt, pepper or vinegar if necessary. Divide among bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil, red-pepper flakes and smoked almonds.

Ratings

4 out of 5
680 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Diane

Must cook onions first or else it tastes awful.

Liv T

There was something slightly off about this recipe - I would recommend reducing the sundried tomato quantity and maybe adding a fresh red pepper into the mix instead. The taste of the sundried tomato overwhelmed the entire flavour of the soup and made it quite salty!

Christina

This was a great winter dish. Super simple to make. Served it on top of couscous.

Sara

For the love of god --- add a parmesan rind! (Unless vegan) This was a delicious and filling meal, served with crusty bread over a bit of couscous. Added sausage as suggested because YUM. Kudos to GBBS for teaching me the versatility of aqua faba

Christa

This recipe turned out all right to pretty good, and I generally am enthusiastic about Spanish food and anything with pimenton. I used sherry vinegar, and smoked almonds would have been great, but I did not have them. Roasted my wn peppers and used crushed tomatoes. A fair amount of prep work so do make allowance for that.

Lauren L.

I'm not sure where 1/ 2 teaspoon smoked paprika came from. It needs WAY more.

Joey

We loved this. Served over couscous with acorn squash on the side cuz we just can't get enough veggies.

Amy

I didn't read the notes on cooking the onions first so I was worried about that but they came out fine. I diced them very small so that might have helped. Flavors are very good, a nice easy winter stew.

jk

I halved all ingredients and added a touch of fish sauce at the end - served over lemon pearl couscous... blue diamond salted smoked almonds worked beautifully, but a smoked almond with less salt might balance better - regardless, a really nice meal

BMYS

Cooked on low for eight hours in an instant pot. At the end it was NOT cooked. Onions and garlic still crunchy.

Catherine

This was delicious! We grow our own veggies, and I used some peppers I had roasted and frozen last summer. I thought they were bell peppers, but realized after I taste tested that they were giant marconi peppers I had chopped before freezing. Brought a bit of heat but excellent flavor. Interesting twist. I’ll make this again.

Vickibma

I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes and I felt that this caused a certain lack of depth to the flavor. So I added one of those little cans of sliced black olives, juice included. Perfect! I also agree that a teaspoon of smoked paprika is way too little. Great recipe!

carol

1.5 cups dried beans equals 3 cans of

Amanda

I've only ever made this on the stovetop, but the flavors are solid and the recipe is pretty flexible. I love that it's basically entirely made from pantry ingredients, so we can make it on a whim! I use one jar of peppers, which seems ample, sub sun-dried tomatoes for the jarred kind, and usually roast one of the cans of chickpeas. Sauté the aromatics, add the rest, let it simmer until delicious. I have no doubt that I'm using more smoked paprika than called for!

Ron

I had high hopes for this as we had vegetarians over for dinner. I tend to agree with those who said there were too many sun-dried tomatoes. I also thought it was way too oily between the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and extra added olive oil.

Alex

Everybody in the family liked it, which includes two teenagers. I served it over egg noodles, but I think pearled couscous would have been better. We sprinkled feta on top of it for serving. Super easy to make.

JWilson

Made this last night and after 2 bites had to throw it away as it was inedible. I assume it was the salt from the liquid of the 3 cans of chickpeas (and I was concerned about this). New to vegan cooking/eating and had high hopes.

Elizabeth Gonzales

This is so delicious! And very easy. I didn't include the onions.

Julie BC

Cooked onions first with garlic and added spices with and sauted briefly spices. Added 1 tsp ras al hanout, pinch of umami powder, .5 tsp cumin. Skipped red peppers, used diced roasted tomato’s with green chillies. Red pepper flakes in the cooking. Super easy to make and delicious. Serve w lemon juice, Greek yogurt, cheese, rice or noodles.

cathandco

I found the stove top method resulted in a slightly too brothy soup. Stirred in 3/4 cup of Grandmas Hummus -(very garlicky) and presto!! Creamy and flavorful and more-ish with crusty bread. Yummy!!

jenny skehan

This was easy and so delicious! We added a dollop of goat cheese with each serving and served with crusty bread. Fantastic!

Stephanie

Great recipe, I added two handfuls of spinach as well before the end and it matched beautifully.

sabrina

Not a bad recipe as written, but a little one-note. I made this soup on the stove and added a generous half teaspoon of MSG and the juice of one lemon which vastly improved it.

CA Dude

Presure cooker works well and cuts time to minutes.

Adrienne

I should have listened to the other reviewers. The onions were not done after six hours. It was also incredibly thick and goopy. I don’t think there were enough liquid ingredients to turn it into a proper stew.

Patty

I’m glad I read the notes! I cooked the onions, garlic and peppers in olive oil first. I went a little easier on the dried tomatoes. I added the parmesan rind. We didn’t have time to do the slow cooker, so it was done stovetop for about two hours. So good.

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