Quick, easy and packed with delicious Spanish flavours, this Easy Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew is going to be your new favourite midweek meal! Plus it’s a fab ‘fill the freezer’ recipe (and once you’ve tasted it, you’re definitely going to want to batch cook this – in BIG batches!)
A family favourite
I am often asked what my favourite recipe is… now I find that question impossible to answer… it’s like asking me which is my favourite child! But this recipe is definitely top 10. It’s a real Gargano family favourite.
With my ridiculous back catalogue of 450+ recipes, not to mention all the recipe testing I do for future recipes, it’s rare we have the same recipe more than once a month… but this delicious Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew happens much more often than that… it’s THAT good.
Quick and easy to make
Not only does this Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew taste AMAZING… it’s also super quick and easy to make. I always love it when I look at my meal plan and see that this is on the menu… Mentally I’m like ‘YES! Super easy one tonight!’
All you need to do is fry off the onions and peppers with the chorizo, add some chilli, garlic and paprika, tip in a tin of tomatoes and a tin of chickpeas, add the diced chicken and simmer. It’s that simple!
What to serve with Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew?
I like to serve this easy Spanish inspired chicken and chorizo stew with brown rice. You can absolutely serve it with white rice, but to me brown rice just goes better. Either way is good, though! You could also serve it with mashed potatoes, pasta or a big hunk of crusty white bread, if that’s more your thing.
Veg-wise, for me it’s got to be greens… I’ve tried out a few options, but there’s something about that dark green, flavour-packed, loose headed cabbage that just goes so well with the piquant tomato sauce and especially the chorizo… but other good options would be: any kind of cabbage, green beans, kale, cavalo nero, broccoli, peas… anything green basically!
What to drink with Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew?
With all the Spanish flavours in this stew, a Spanish wine is an obvious choice and this stew works very well with Rioja and other similar Spanish reds. However, it’s also great with Syrah/Grenache blends from the South of France, such as Cotes du Rhone. And an Argentinian Malbec works well too.
Make it your own
I have spent a lot of time tinkering with this Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew to make it just perfect. So I would definitely recommend you make it ‘as is’, if you possibly can – at least the first time round. But of course it’s wonderfully easy to adapt and make it your own, if you want to (or if you don’t have quite the right ingredients in your kitchen!)
You could:
- Use diced bacon instead of chorizo
- Use chicken breast instead of chicken thigh fillets
- Use cannellini beans, butter beans or haricot beans instead of the chickpeas
- Use a brown onion instead of the red onion
- Use a green, orange or yellow pepper instead of the red pepper
- Use leftover cooked chicken, pork or beef instead of the chicken
- Use diced white fish or prawns instead of (or as well as) the chicken
(If you are using leftover meats, fish or prawns, add this 5 minutes before the end of the simmering time to make sure you don’t overcook it.)
Can you reheat Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew?
This Easy Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew makes great leftovers. In fact, reheated Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew is one of my favourite lunches! Simply put any leftovers in a plastic lidded container and place in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply tip into a saucepan and add a splash of water. Bring to the boil then turn down low, clamp a lid on and simmer for 10 minutes until it’s piping hot all the way through. Alternatively reheat in the microwave until piping hot all the way through.
Can you freeze Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew?
Absolutely. This Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew is a brilliant ‘fill the freezer’ recipe. And once you’ve tasted it once, you are going to want to make a big batch of this to fill your freezer! I like to freeze it in one person portions so I can take out as much or as little as I need. (Again, I love this for midweek lunches when I’m on my own!)
Simply place in a plastic lidded container and put it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 130 g diced chorizo (you should be able to buy it ready-diced, which saves a lot of time!)
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400 g tin chickpeas (including the liquid)
- 1 chicken stock cube (I use Kallo Organic)
- 400 g skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets diced
- Black pepper to taste (I usually find there’s no need to add salt as the stock cube is salty enough)
To serve
- Brown rice, white rice, mashed potatoes, pasta or crusty white bread
- Greens or any green vegetable of your choice, such as cabbage, green beans, kale, cavalo nero, broccoli, peas…
Instructions
- Place the oil, onion and pepper in a wide and fairly deep saucepan. Fry over a low heat, with the lid on, for 3-5 minutes, until the onions and peppers have softened. Stir occasionally.
- Add the chorizo and cook for 1 more minute with the lid off. Stir occasionally.
- Add the garlic, chilli flakes and smoked paprika. Cook for 1 more minute with the lid off. Stir occasionally.
- Tip in the tomatoes and chickpeas. Then add the diced chicken, stock cube and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down low and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid off, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally.
- Serve with brown rice, greens and a glass of Rioja… or whatever accompaniments you prefer!
Video
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Karen says
All my favourite ingredients in one pot! I love chicken with chorizo, and chickpeas add a wonderful nuttiness and texture.
Thank you for linking up this week with Cook Blog Share
Karen
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Karen. Glad you like it 😀
Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes says
Thanks for sharing, this stew looks an amazing supper dish 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Nic. It really is 🙂
Corina Blum says
This looks delicious Eb! I love Spanish flavours and often make something very similar as I always find chicken and chorizo meals go down really well with my family!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Corina. Yes – chicken and chorizo meals go down very well here too! Eb 🙂
Lesley says
What a lovely stew, containing all of my favourite ingredients, a great quick mid week dinner dish.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Lesley! Eb 🙂
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
Love the flavours! If something has chorizo in it, I’m there. Such a delicious and quick midweek meal.
Eb Gargano says
Aw thanks Cat, glad you like it! Eb 🙂
Louise says
Looks yum I am so keen to try this! Can you recommend something I can replace the Chorizo with?
Louise says
I mean instead of bacon too – no pork in our family 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Thanks! Hmmm – good question. Chorizo is a hard one to substitute. You could just simply omit the chorizo and add a little extra smoked paprika and garlic to the dish… and / or you could sub in a different type of sausage (a non-pork sausage, obviously 🙂 ) But if it were me, I think I might do something completely different and sub in aubergine/eggplant… I know it’s nothing like chorizo, but I think it would really compliment the flavours in this dish and be a good contrast to the other textures. Hope one of those answers is a good one for you! Eb 🙂
Aileen Leslie says
Wow! I’ve just finished eating and have to report that this recipe is fabulous-thanks so much Eb for sharing it with us!
I used cannellini beans instead of chickpeas for my first attempt because I didn’t have any in the cupboard and my garlic was the frozen type as I realised the fresh bulb sitting in the fridge was well past its sell-by date.
I can’t get over how quick and easy it was to make such a delicious meal and I’ll definitely be adding this dish to my weekday dinners menu without a doubt. I chose a jacket potato and kale to have as accompaniments which worked well but can also see how brown rice and salad would be lovely.
One thing I did differently was to lightly fry the diced chicken thighs for a very short while before adding them to simmer in the stew but that’s because I always do and can’t break the habit 🙂
Next time I’ll make sure I have a glass of red to hand as well as that would have been a lovely end to a tasty dinner.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay – I am so happy you liked my recipe so much! Thanks for taking the time to let me know… and especially for the 5* rating!! Eb 🙂
Ann Flynn says
Eb!
This is a winner for me! Chicken thighs are so much more full of flavour & with chorizo it really is wonderful! Thanks
Ann
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay! I am so pleased to hear that 😀 Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review… and especially for the 5* rating! Eb 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Eb. This stew is lovely. After I announced I was making it, hubby said he didn’t like Chorizo (fussy bugger) so me and son had a portion each and froze the rest. Just had the second batch yesterday and it was still as lovely as the the original. Thank you for the suggestion of serving with brown rice and green veg as it is quite spicy (for me) and I needed something to take the heat out a little. Will be making this one again x
Linda says
Winner winner chicken dinner , tried this after my success with the chicken stroganoff and I was equally impressed. I cannot recommend these recipes highly enough. I have now signed up for the 4 week meal planner. Not only has cooking become a lot easier, tastier and more exciting but the supermarket shop is a doddle. The little tips , alternative suggestions and drink pairings can turn a daily chore into something special every night. Thank you
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay – I am delighted to hear this. So happy you like my tips and recipe plans too! Eb 🙂
Sl Nicholls says
Delicious 😋 served with broccoli and mini roasties
Eb Gargano says
Aw yay – that’s so great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review and 5* rating! 😀
Amy says
Looks lovely, going to make tomorrow, just wondering if I can bung it all in the slow cooker and leave it all day? Thanks x
Eb Gargano says
Hi Amy, sorry – I’m currently away on holiday and I’ve only just seen this! The answer is probably yes, but I’ve not tried it so I can’t say for certain if it will work. Let me know if you did try it in the slow cooker and if it came out well!