Ras el Hanout Chickpea and Spinach Stew Recipe • 5★

Updated September 11, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

This warming one-pot stew delivers the depth and comfort of a long-simmered meal in a fraction of the time. Chickpeas and spinach braise in a richly spiced tomato base, creating layers of warmth and complexity. Ras el hanout, a fragrant Moroccan spice blend, gives the dish its signature aromatic depth; gently toasted tomato paste intensifies its flavor even further. A splash of soy sauce provides an unexpected but welcome hit of umami, rounding out the dish with a richness that mimics a stew that's been bubbling away for hours. Served with a generous spoonful of yogurt (or a squeeze of lemon) and a drizzle of harissa oil to cut through the richness, it's perfect with crusty bread or spooned over grains like rice, barley, bulgur or quinoa.

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2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to serve

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ¼ teaspoons ras el hanout (see Tip)

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup vegetable stock, plus more if needed

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed

5 cups/5 ounces packed spinach leaves (stemmed and roughly torn if large)

½ cup Greek yogurt or lemon wedges (optional), for serving

Crusty bread, couscous, bulgur or rice, for serving

FOR THE HARISSA OIL (OPTIONAL)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon harissa paste

Step 1Prepare the stew: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add the garlic and ras el hanout and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until the tomato paste darkens slightly in color, about 2 minutes.

Prepare the stew: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add the garlic and ras el hanout and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until the tomato paste darkens slightly in color, about 2 minutes.

Step 2Add the stock, soy sauce and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce slightly darkens in color and its flavors have melded.

Add the stock, soy sauce and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce slightly darkens in color and its flavors have melded.

Step 3Add the chickpeas and simmer until they are warm and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until wilted and fully incorporated into the stew, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. If the stew starts getting too thick, feel free to add a few more spoonfuls of stock or water.

Add the chickpeas and simmer until they are warm and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until wilted and fully incorporated into the stew, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. If the stew starts getting too thick, feel free to add a few more spoonfuls of stock or water.

Step 4If using, make the harissa oil: In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and harissa until well incorporated.

If using, make the harissa oil: In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and harissa until well incorporated.

Step 5Serve the stew warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or lemon wedges on the side, and a drizzle of olive oil (or harissa oil), if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread or over grains like couscous, bulgur or rice.

Serve the stew warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or lemon wedges on the side, and a drizzle of olive oil (or harissa oil), if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread or over grains like couscous, bulgur or rice.

Ras el hanout is widely available online and in larger grocery stores. If you’d like to make your own, stir together the following ingredients: 1 teaspoon each ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground ginger, ground cumin, ground cardamom and ground nutmeg, plus ½ teaspoon each ground aniseed, ground caraway seeds, ground fennel, ground cloves and ground black pepper. (This blend makes about 3 tablespoons ras el hanout.)

@Breece Hall vegetarian good, carnivore less so, but cannibalism not really acceptable.

Doubled the stock and Ras El Hanout but will triple when making again. Easy recipe with layers of flavor. This will be a regular vegetarian comfort dish in our household.

Pretty easy and quick. Pretty tasty too. It needed more than a cup of stock, and it needed a larger dose of ras el hanout. I added some shredded leftover rotisserie chicken to my pot, which helped it considerably.

How long does this last in the refrigerator?

This is shockingly bland. I followed the commenters’ suggested edits: more than doubled the spice, more than doubled the stock. Still no flavor. To the contributor, please add instructions for removing the skin from the chickpeas. As is, I ended up with bland, brown broth and bean skins for dinner. Do not recommend!

@Augustus McCrae if it tasted bland, chances are your spice blend is bland (or has expired). The quality of your spices will determine the final outcome, make sure you get good ones.

Delicious!! Tons of flavor and not a lot of effort. However, as I read the recipe I realized it was crying out for an onion. So I sautéed a thinly sliced onion first, then did everything else. Only other change- I used chicken broth, and added pepper flakes for a kick. Will definitely add this to my recipe arsenal!

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027119-ras-el-hanout-chickpea-and-spinach-stew