Chickpea and Quinoa Stew
This Chickpea and Quinoa Stew is loaded with spices and delicious flavors of paprika and chipotle peppers. It can be prepared in an Instant Pot or Crockpot for an easy weeknight meal!
Chickpeas and quinoa are two of my favorite pantry staples because they’re healthy, filling, and versatile. Chickpeas have plenty of protein and fiber to help you feel full and satisfied. Quinoa is also a good source of protein and it’s actually a “complete” protein meaning it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs. This stew is not only delicious, but it’s also healthy! If you’re looking for more ways to use quinoa, check out my quinoa vegetable soup!
Tips for Making Chickpea and Quinoa Stew
- Use low sodium vegetable broth so you can control the saltiness of the final dish. I like Edward and Son’s “Not-Chick’n” bouillon.
- This recipe serves two to three people as a main dish but you can double the recipe in the recipe card below if you want to make a larger serving.
- Rinse your quinoa before using it. It can have a bit of a soapy flavor if it’s not rinsed properly. I put mine in a fine-mesh strainer and run cold water on it for a few seconds.
Substitutions For Adobo Sauce
If you don’t have any adobo sauce, you can make a substitution using more tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, and a few spices. Check out the substitution recipe here.
How to Make Chickpea Quinoa Stew in an Instant Pot
Set the pressure cooker to saute, then add the olive oil and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and paprika and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the adobo sauce, vegetable broth, quinoa, and chickpeas. Set to manual cooking and cook for 4 minutes.
Quick release pressure and remove lid when depressurized.
How To Prepare in a Slow Cooker
Since most slow cookers don’t have a saute option, you can soften the onion in the microwave. Heating the spices helps bring out their flavor so after just a few minutes in the microwave, you can dump everything in the slow cooker. I like this method because I don’t have to dirty more pots and pans and while the onion is cooking in the microwave, I can prepare the rest of the ingredients. I like to reduce the vegetable broth to 3 cups when cooking in a slow cooker, for a slightly thicker consistency.
How to Store Chickpea and Quinoa Stew
This recipe reheats well, so you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 1 month. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Print
Chickpea and Quinoa Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
- Category: Stew
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Spanish
Description
This Chickpea and Quinoa Stew is loaded with spices and delicious flavors of paprika and chipotle peppers. It can be prepared in an Instant Pot or slow cooker, for an easy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (see note)
- 4 cups vegetable broth (see note)
- ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Optional toppings: avocado, red pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, tortilla chips
Instructions
Pressure Cooker Instructions
- Turn the pressure cooker to saute
- Add the olive oil and onion and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, and paprika and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the adobo sauce, vegetable broth, quinoa, and chickpeas.
- Set to manual cooking and cook for 4 minutes.
- Quick release pressure and remove lid when depressurized.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Microwave the olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, and paprika for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Transfer the softened onion mixture to the slow cooker and add adobo sauce, 3 cups vegetable broth, quinoa, and chickpeas.
- Stir, cover, and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours until the quinoa is fluffy.
Notes
For the adobo sauce, look for a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you like things spicy, add 1 chopped chipotle pepper. To keep the recipe more mild, add just 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce.
If using a slow cooker, reduce broth to 3 cups.
Easy Side Dish Ideas
Looking for other ways to use your Instant Pot or pressure cooker? Here are a few of my favorites!
I also have a huge list of vegan Instant Pot recipes! No matter what you’re craving, I’ve got you covered.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below!
My husband just made this for me in our instant pot, and he had the same issue one of the other commenters had. It came out a little soupy and not like a thick  stew. I feel like 3 cups would be enough for an instant pot as well. Tastes great though!
Just an FYI- when you click to change from 1x to 2x or 3x, the number of cups chicken broth for the slow cooker recipe does not change… it stays at 3 cups, though based on the 1x recipe, it should 9 cups. Hopefully people would realize that and not try to cook a triple recipe with just 3 cups broth.
Thank you so much for flagging that!
Mine didn’t turn out very thick. I used the pressure cooker with 4 cups of broth. I would of liked it to be thicker. Your picture looks nice and thick…wonder what happened to mine?
Hmm that’s a good question! Did you drain the chickpeas? What type of pressure cooker do you have?
Very flavorful! Thanks for sharing.
Would this work in a 3 quart size insta pot?
I don’t use quinoa enough, it is so good in this stew! Love the flavors in this!
It seems that this is a new option to alternate with our family recipes. I love to experiment with new cuisines, new flavors and tastes. Will give it a try! I might have questions while cooking:)
The perfect vegan recipe.
Such a a filling vegan option – love this!
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!