Turkish Beef and Chickpea Stew Recipe
Turkish beef and chickpea stew is a hearty, home-style dish fragrant with spices and tomatoes. Tender pieces of meat simmer together with chickpeas, creating a thick sauce that’s perfect with rice or bread. In Turkey, similar one-pot dishes are often cooked for Sunday lunch for the whole family.
This stew combines tender beef, creamy chickpeas and aromatic spices in a single pot, giving you a comforting, Turkish-inspired meal with minimal effort and maximum flavor. It tastes even better the next day, making it perfect for cooking ahead.
Chef's tips
Take your time browning the meat well at the beginning – this step builds a deep, rich flavor in the sauce. If you have time, let the stew rest for 10–15 minutes off the heat before serving so the flavors can meld. You can also skim off excess fat from the surface if you prefer a lighter dish.
How to serve
Serve the stew in deep bowls with plenty of rice, bulgur or warm flatbread. Add a spoonful of natural yogurt and a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion with lemon juice for a complete meal.
Ingredients
- beef - 500 g
- chickpeas cooked - 300 g
- onion - 2 pieces
- garlic - 3 cloves
- tomatoes canned - 400 g
- bell pepper - 1 piece
- oil - 3 tablespoons
- sweet paprika - 1 teaspoon
- hot paprika - 0.5 teaspoons
- cumin ground - 0.5 teaspoons
- bay leaf - 2 pieces
- beef stock - 400 ml
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
Preparation
- Cut the beef into cubes about 2 cm on each side, trimming off excess fat and sinew. Peel the onions and dice them finely. Peel and chop the garlic. Remove the seeds and core from the bell pepper, then cut it into strips and into smaller pieces.
- Heat the oil over fairly high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the beef in a single layer and fry for 6–8 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the meat is browned on all sides. If your pot is small, brown the meat in batches.
- Add the onion to the browned beef, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5–7 minutes, until the onion softens and starts to brown lightly. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Add the sweet paprika, hot paprika and cumin, stir quickly and fry for about 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the spices.
- Add the bell pepper, canned tomatoes, bay leaves and stock. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 45–50 minutes, until the meat is tender.
- Add the cooked chickpeas, stir and cook uncovered for another 10–15 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. If needed, add a little water or stock.
- Finally, season the stew with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This recipe is inspired by simple Turkish home cooking, where a pot of slowly simmered meat and legumes often feeds the whole family. It’s a great dish for weekends or batch cooking – it reheats beautifully and is very forgiving if you adjust the spices to your own taste.
