Turkish-Style Chickpea Stew Recipe: Hearty Beef and Spice Bowl 2026

This hearty chickpea and beef stew takes its cues from nohut yemeği, a home-style favorite that shows up on family tables and traditional restaurant menus all over Turkey. Our version keeps that same deep, aromatic character while leaning on ingredients you can find in any supermarket.

There is nothing exotic or fussy here: good chickpeas, beef or lamb for stewing, and a handful of warm spices are all it takes to get started. The pot does the rest of the work while you go about your day.

A quick note on one ingredient: we use jarred choricero pepper pulp, but ñora pepper pulp works just as well, and sweet paprika is a fine substitute. If you want to pull the pulp from a whole dried pepper, soak it in hot water and scrape the flesh out with a spoon, leaving the skin behind. And if you like heat, drop a dried chili into the sofrito.

As for serving, you have two good options, just as they do in Turkey: spoon the chickpeas over white rice so the broth soaks in, or serve them on their own. Either way, keep plenty of crusty bread on the table.

Ingredients for Turkish-Style Chickpea Stew

This makes 4 generous main-course servings.

• 300 g dried chickpeas (soaked 12 hours beforehand), or 600 g cooked jarred chickpeas
• 500 g stewing beef (shank or shin) or lamb
• Salt
• 1 large onion
• 1 Italian-style green pepper
• 1 medium red pepper
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves
• 3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 liter beef broth (chicken or vegetable broth also works)
• 250 g crushed tomato (or 4 tablespoons tomato frito)
• 1 heaping teaspoon choricero pepper pulp
• 1 teaspoon dried spearmint or mint
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil
• Ground black pepper

How to Make Turkish-Style Chickpea Stew Step by Step

1. Soak the Chickpeas

Start by putting about 300 g of dried chickpeas in a large bowl, cover them with room-temperature water, and let them soak for about 12 hours so they hydrate properly. If you are using already-cooked chickpeas, you can skip this step entirely.

2. Cut and Season the Meat

Cut 500 g of stewing beef (shank or shin) or lamb into medium pieces and season with salt. While you are at it, trim away any bits of fat you would rather not use.

3. Chop the Vegetables

Now for the sofrito vegetables. Peel and chop 1 large onion. Wash, core and seed 1 Italian-style green pepper and 1 medium red pepper, then chop both into small pieces. Finish by peeling and chopping 3 or 4 garlic cloves.

4. Sear the Meat

With all the vegetables chopped, heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Once the oil is good and hot but not smoking, add the meat and let it brown over medium-high heat until it takes on good color on the outside. You only want to sear it, not cook it through.

5. Add the Onion and Peppers

Once the meat is browned on all sides, leave it in the pot and stir in the onion and peppers. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook everything down for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing burns.

6. Stir in the Garlic

When the vegetables have softened, add the chopped garlic, mix it in well, and let it cook for just 1 minute, long enough for it to release all of its aroma.

7. Add the Tomato and Pepper Pulp

Right after that, add 250 g of crushed tomato, or 4 tablespoons of tomato frito if you prefer. Stir in 1 heaping teaspoon of choricero pepper pulp at the same time and mix everything together well.

8. Reduce the Tomato

Over medium heat and stirring often, let the stew cook until the tomato has reduced and all of its water has evaporated. This takes about 10 minutes with crushed tomato, a little less if you used tomato frito.

9. Pour in the Broth and Add the Spices

With the tomato reduced, cover the meat with 1 liter of beef broth, though chicken or vegetable broth works too, whatever you have or like best. Turn up the heat and add the spices: 1 teaspoon of dried spearmint or mint, 1 teaspoon of thyme and 1 teaspoon of basil. Feel free to adjust the amounts to your taste, and leave out anything you do not care for.

10. Add the Chickpeas and Simmer

Finally, once the liquid comes to a boil, add the drained soaked chickpeas and stir. Let everything cook over low heat for about 90 minutes, covered, at a gentle simmer. Both the meat and the chickpeas should end up tender. If you are using cooked jarred chickpeas, simmer the meat for the same 90 minutes and add 600 g of drained, rinsed chickpeas during the last 15 to 20 minutes so they soak up the flavor of the stew.

11. Adjust the Seasoning and Rest

During the last 10 minutes, taste and adjust the salt, pepper and remaining spices if needed. Once everything is ready, let the stew rest a while before serving. If you can leave it overnight, it will taste even better, as all good stews do.

Tips for the Best Turkish-Style Chickpea Stew

Pick the Right Pepper Pulp

Jarred choricero pepper pulp gives this stew its gentle, fruity depth, but ñora pulp is a fine stand-in and sweet paprika works in a pinch. To make pulp from a whole dried pepper, soak it in hot water, then scrape the flesh out with a spoon and leave the skin behind.

Swap in Jarred Chickpeas Without Losing Flavor

If you go with cooked jarred chickpeas, still give the meat the full 90 minutes of simmering, then add 600 g of drained and rinsed chickpeas for just the last 15 to 20 minutes. That way they soak up the broth without turning to mush.

Serve It the Turkish Way

Ladle the chickpeas over a bed of white rice so the broth soaks in, or serve them on their own with plenty of crusty bread. And like any good stew, it rewards patience: a night in the fridge makes the flavors even richer.

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