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25 Minute Chickpeas and Chorizo Stew

 This quick and easy Chickpeas and Chorizo Strew might just become your go-to weeknight dinner! It's super flavorful, cozy, loaded with healthy, filling chickpeas and a couple of hidden veggies, and best of all, it's super easy to make.

This simple chorizo stew is gluten-free, and is amazing served as a soup or over rice, quinoa, polenta, or even tossed with pasta.

Chorizo chickpea stew over rice in a bowl.

Quick and easy chorizo dinner

I am a huge fan of quick, flavorful, and easy dinners that are on the healthier side.

No need to take out your whole spice cabinet for this easy chorizo stew - all the flavor comes from spicy, bold chorizo and the humble onion and garlic. Sauteed together happily to create loads of flavor, and the combined with canned diced tomatoes, and chickpeas and simmered briefly. This stew tastes like it's been simmering for hours, but it really needs only a couple of minutes of simmering to heat everything through and make sure the chorizo is cooked. 

Oh, and there is a sneaky little ingredient in this dish: baby spinach! I like to add baby spinach to saucy dinners to sneak in extra nutrition (see my Veggie-loaded Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta, or my Ethiopian Chicken Stew). Baby spinach cooks downs so much that it's barely noticeable in this dish, but makes it so much more nutritious. Besides, the gorgeous green color goes so well with the rich color of the tomat0 based-sauce.

Chickpea chorizo stew in a skillet.

Ready to make this?

Ingredients

  • 1 lb uncooked ground chorizo (it will look like seasoned ground meat, not like a log of salami, see photo below, or use Italian sausage meat and this chorizo seasoning)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, (but feel free to use more if you're a rebel!)
  • 14-oz can chickpeas, drained
  • 28-oz can diced tomatoes (see notes below on variations)
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
  • 4-6 cups fresh baby spinach
  • Salt and pepper

Of course, you can always grab a few spices to add more flavor to this dish, such as cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, or ground coriander or cumin, but honestly, I find it good enough without any spices, if you find a flavorful chorizo!

Ingredients to make chickpea chorizo stew with tomatoes.

Related recipe: Instant Pot Sausage Jambalaya

Instructions

Step 1: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok, and add the chorizo, diced onion, and minced garlic. Break up the chorizo with a spatula and brown over high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The chorizo does not have to be fully cooked yet.

Cooking ground chorizo sausage in a skillet.

Related recipe: Chicken Sausage Veggie Skillet

Step 2: Add the drained chickpeas and the whole can of diced tomatoes with the juices, and give it a stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the tomato sauce has reduced and thickened to your liking (leave it more saucy if you plan on serving it over pasta!)

Chickpeas and chorizo stewing in a skillet with tomato sauce.

Related recipe: Slow Cooker Cassoulet

Step 3: Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the fresh spinach and parsley, gently pushing the greens into the cooking liquid until wilted. Remove from heat and garnish more fresh parsley or chopped green onions. Serve over rice, polenta, pasta, or with a side dish of your choice.

Chickpea chorizo stew in a skillet.

Try this other meaty stew: Easy Beef Stew

What kind of chorizo to use

For this recipe, you'll want to find uncooked ground chorizo sausage meat, or Cajun sausage meat. It will most likely be packaged like ground beef, or like Italian sausage, and will be sold in the refrigerated meat section of the store. Johnsonville is a good brand to use because they don't use nitrites/nitrates and it is generally available in large grocery stores.

If you find chorizo that is packaged in individual casings, like Italian sausage, you will need to squeeze it out of the sausage before putting it in the skillet to cook.

Do not use the kind of chorizo that looks like salami or summer sausage, since that is already to cooked and will not break up nicely in a skillet when being browned. 

Related recipe: Chorizo Veggie Skillet

Chorizo substitute

If you can't find uncooked chorizo sausage, you can always use sweet or spicy Italian sausage, and season it with this awesome chorizo seasoning. It is sodium-free and MSG-free, so you can control the salt level in your dish and still add loads of flavor. 

Related recipe: Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tomato-based sauce

Canned tomatoes are one of the few vegetables that are actually more nutritious than fresh, in some ways: canned tomatoes contain more lycopene than fresh tomatoes!

So go ahead, use this sneaky little shortcut to make the most delicious, light sauce for this chorizo recipe.

I LOVE using fire-roasted diced tomatoes because they have a little bit of a smoky flavor and that gorgeous char (use two 14-oz cans). Regular diced tomatoes will work just fine. If you want to add a little spice or more smokiness, you can use a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (use three 10-oz cans), or chili-ready diced tomatoes (use two cans).

Related recipe: Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

How to serve this chorizo stew

This chickpea chorizo stew is saucy enough to be served on its own as a super satisfying stew (maybe grab a few pieces of homemade baguette for dipping??), or can be served over rice, quinoa, amaranth, polenta, or bulgur, or tossed with pasta.

You cannot go wrong either way!!

If you end up making this delicious dinner, please take a picture and tag me on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!

Other comfort-food flavor-loaded dishes:

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

Chickpea chorizo stew in a skillet.
Print Recipe
4.93 from 13 votes

25 Minute Chickpea Chorizo Stew

This delicious dish of Chickpeas and Chorizo in a flavorful tomato sauce is ready in less than 25 minutes! Serve on its own or over rice or polenta for an amazing dinner.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Spanish
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Kate

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion - diced
  • 3 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 lb uncooked chorizo sausage - , removed from casing
  • 14 oz can chickpeas - , drained and rinsed
  • 28 oz can diced tomatoes - with juices (see notes)
  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley - or cilantro
  • Salt & pepper - to taste
  • Optional: chopped cilantro or scallions for garnish

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok, and add the chorizo, diced onion, and minced garlic. Break up the chorizo with a spatula and brown over high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The chorizo does not have to be fully cooked yet.
  • Add the drained chickpeas and the whole can of diced tomatoes with the juices, and give it a stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the tomato sauce has reduced and thickened to your liking.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste (if needed - chorizo is sometimes pretty salty), then stir in the fresh spinach and parsley, gently pushing the greens into the cooking liquid until wilted. Remove from heat, and garnish more fresh parsley or chopped green onions. Serve over rice, polenta, pasta, or with a side dish of your choice.

Notes

What kind of chorizo to use: Use uncooked, ground chorizo, the kind that looks like ground beef or uncooked Italian sausage. If you can't find chorizo, you can use sweet or spicy Italian sausage, and season it with this awesome chorizo seasoning
What kind of diced tomatoes to use: I LOVE using fire-roasted diced tomatoes because they have a little bit of a smoky flavor and that gorgeous char (use two 14-oz cans). Regular diced tomatoes will work just fine. If you want to add a little spice or more smokiness, you can use a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (use three 10-oz cans), or chili-ready diced tomatoes (use two cans).

Nutrition

Calories: 567kcal (28%) | Carbohydrates: 27g (9%) | Protein: 24g (48%) | Fat: 41g (63%) | Saturated Fat: 14g (70%) | Cholesterol: 86mg (29%) | Sodium: 1416mg (59%) | Potassium: 1040mg (30%) | Fiber: 8g (32%) | Sugar: 6g (7%) | Vitamin A: 3377IU (68%) | Vitamin C: 37mg (45%) | Calcium: 162mg (16%) | Iron: 6mg (33%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.

Chickpeas and chorizo served over brown rice. Chickpea chorizo stew in a bowl. Chickpeas chorizo stew with tomato sauce.

Karen - 2Teaspoons

Friday 29th of April 2016

Yummy! I love chickpeas slow cooked in tomato sauce and I bet the chorizo adds a wonderful flavor. Thanks for sharing such a super delicious and super easy recipe - it's my favorite combination :-)

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