This vegan chickpea and pumpkin stew is full of flavour and warmly spiced. It's a great vegetarian one-pot meal that freezes well and is easy to prepare.
What to do with leftover pumpkin?
A few weeks ago I picked a pumpkin. It wasn't a small pumpkin and it wasn't a huge pumpkin, but it felt like it was by the end! It was too big to fit in the fridge but I didn't want to waste any of it.
First I made pumpkin muffins. Then I made it into soup. I roasted it in slices to go with a roast dinner and even snacked on the cold roasted pumpkin slices afterwards. But it wasn't enough. I needed to do something else with the leftover pumpkin. But what?
How about some freezer meals?
Even small supermarket pumpkins are pretty big and if you buy a pumpkin for one recipe, the chances are you'll have lots of leftovers. With my huge pumpkin I really had no choice but to make freezer meals!
This spicy pumpkin and chickpea stew was just perfect for making ahead and keeping in the freezer. By the way, do check out my Cook Once Eat Twice page if you'd like more ideas for meals you can make and reheat or freeze.
How to flavour pumpkin?
I love Moroccan recipes and Moroccan spices go really well with pumpkin. Plus, I wanted a family-friendly meal that the children would happily eat too.
I decided to make a mildly spiced chickpea and pumpkin stew. By itself, pumpkin can be a little bland but with a few warming Moroccan spices and some fresh coriander, it really comes alive.
What ingredients do you need for this spicy Moroccan stew?
Do check out the full recipe card further down the page but basically to make this vegan pumpkin stew you'll need:
- Onions - red or brown onions are fine
- Garlic - I usually use fresh crushed garlic cloves but you can use a paste or even garlic powder if you don't have any.
- Spices - cayenne pepper, cumin and coriander. These warming spices are a perfect match with the pumpkin. You could even add some cinnamon.
- Red peppers - Yellow or orange peppers also work and you could even use a mix of colours.
- Pumpkin - I also make this stew with butternut squash and other kinds of squash when I don't have pumpkin.
- Chickpeas - I find tinned chickpeas are the easiest to use.
- Chopped tinned tomatoes - You could replace this with passata or even fresh tomatoes if you don't have tinned ones. I then often add a little tomato puree.
- Black pepper
- Coriander (cilantro) - A sprinkling of fresh coriander really finishes this stew off. However, you could use parsley if you are not a fan of coriander.
- Lemon - I love to serve this with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top of the stew.
How to make Morcoccan pumpkin stew?
This vegetarian pumpkin stew is really simple to make. I heat a little oil in a large saucepan and then gently cook the onion for about 5 minutes until soft. Then add the garlic. Stir fry briefly and then add the spices followed by all the vegetables and a little water or stock.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for about half an hour until the pumpkin is cooked through. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh coriander.
Can you adapt this pumpkin stew recipe?
This spicy pumpkin stew is a very easy recipe to adapt. It is essentially a dish made of leftovers so don't feel the recipe is set in stone. Feel free to adapt it and use whatever squash or root vegetables you have a glut of.
Butternut squash would be an ideal substitute but also parsnips, carrots or sweet potatoes would work. After all, pumpkins tend to disappear from the shops completely after Halloween! Unless you grow your own it can be very difficult to get them once it gets to November.
One way of bringing out the flavour and sweetness of the pumpkin and the peppers is by roasting them before putting them in the soup. If you roast the vegetables first you can then reduce the simmering time to about ten minutes.
You can of course increase the spices to taste too. And why not roast the pumpkin seeds and then sprinkle them on top of the stew too? These simple salt and pepper roasted pumpkin seeds are our favourite.
You don't have to stick rigidly to the quantities in the recipe. If you have more pumpkin to use up then just add extra tins of chickpeas and more chopped tomatoes too.
What to serve with it?
I often eat this stew just as it is for a healthy vegetarian lunch or light dinner. However, it's also lovely with some bread to mop up all the liquid in the stew. You can even serve it over rice or pasta to make it into a more hearty filling meal.
What can you do with the leftovers?
This pumpkin stew is a brilliant batch cooking recipe. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. Just reheat in a saucepan on the hob or in the microwave.
You can also freeze any leftovers. I usually freeze it in individual portions so it's easier to defrost and reheat.
When you want to eat it you can either defrost it first (ideally overnight in the fridge) or cook it from frozen in either the oven or the microwave. It's a great way of having your own healthy homemade ready meals any time you want.
More Pumpkin Recipes
Whether you're looking for sweet or savoury pumpkin recipes then I've got something for you!
- Spiced pumpkin cookies
- Chocolate chip pumpkin cereal bars
- Creamy pumpkin spinach and feta quiche
- Salt and pepper pumpkin seeds
If you're looking for more soup recipes then why not try my tomato and couscous soup?
Recipe
Chickpea and Pumpkin Stew
Ingredients
- 1 onions finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 red peppers sliced
- 400 g pumpkin cut into large cubes
- 400 g tin of chickpeas
- 400 g chopped tinned tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 15 g coriander cilantro
- 1 lemon optional
Instructions
- Gently cook the onions in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes until they are soft, then stir in the garlic.
- Cook for another minute then add the cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper.
- Stir well then add the red pepper, pumpkin, chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and a little black pepper. Add a little water so the pan isn't too dry.
- Bring to the boil then simmer gently for half an hour.
- Stir in most of the fresh coriander at the end but reserve a little to put on top of each plate. Serve the stew with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top.
Video
Nutrition
More recipes you might like
If you like this stew, why not try one of these pumpkin recipes:
Keep in touch
Do let me know if you make this recipe or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.
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Andy Bishop
This looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Corina Blum
Thanks Andy!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
I think I 'may' have said this before on here but: this recipe is so up y street. Exactly the sort of midweek meal I like to make and such a lovely way to use up leftover pumpkin. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare 😀 Eb x
Corina Blum
Thanks Eb! I can just imagine you'd enjoy this recipe too x
Geetha Priyanka
Perfect fall recipe. Pumpkin and chickpea combo sounds scrumptious!!!! How beautiful and bright this dish looks. #cookblogshare
Corina Blum
Thanks Geetha! I'm so pleased you like it and the combination of the pumpkin and chickpeas means it's quite a filling soup too!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food
I love all the things you can do with a single pumpkin, and freezer meals are the best! This soup looks fabulous. I can't wait to try it!
Corina Blum
I hope you like it Michelle!
Cat | Curly's Cooking
What a colourful and tasty looking dish that's perfect for the colder weather.
Corina Blum
Thanks Cat! It's the type of dish I love to make a big batch of at the beginning of the week as it lasts me a few days for lunch.
Balvinder
What a delicious looking stew for chilly autumn day!
Elizabeth
I'm a big fan of pumpkin and look forward to receiving a third of one in my weekly veg box this time of year. This sounds like a great recipe - thank you for sharing it with the no waste food challenge!
Corina
I'd love to have pumpkin every week. It's a good idea to just get a third of one as it is really hard to use a whole one up - and it wouldn't fit in the fridge!
Foodie Quine (@foodiequine)
This is the perfect recipe to bookmark for Halloween. Thanks for linking up to the #NoWasteFoodChallenge
Corina
You're welcome! I'll have to make a few more pumpkin recipes soon I think.
fabfood4all
Love the pure clean flavours here, a dish you would feel good after eating I'm sure! Thank you for a great #CreditCrunchMunch entry:-)
Corina
You're welcome!
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
This is such a beautiful and seasonal dish, just the type of food that I love to eat, especially when I have been over indulging and need to get back on track. Thanks for sharing with #ExtraVeg
Corina
I'm trying hard not to overindulge at the moment and yes, this is perfect for times like this!
Farrah
This is the perfect fall recipe! 😀 Can't wait to try it out! <3
Corina
Thank you.
Katie Bryson (@cookingkt)
The perfect autumnal supper - how lovely! Thanks for hooking up with ExtraVeg this month 🙂
Corina
You're welcome!
Cindy Kerschner
What beautiful fall colors! So inviting!
Corina
Thank you Cindy!
Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe
I love pumpkin but my daughter will not touch it - I live in hope she will come back to it as she loved it as a baby - but I would happily eat a bowl of this stew
Corina
I have the same problem with my 3 year old! I'm glad you like it though.
Culinary Flavors
This is a lovely stew perfect for the cooler days we have now!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
What a delicious sounding combination! Perfect for fall!
Corina
Thank you!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living
What a beautiful fall stew - love anything pumpkin!
Corina
Me too - It's great at taking on different flavours in a stew.
Ally @OmNomAlly
The colours in this dish are amazing and I love that not only is this a great freezer meal, but also a great meal for using up leftovers 😀 Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Corina
Thank you. I couldn't agree more; I love colourful veggie dishes - they definitely make you want to eat them!