Healthy Freezer Meals: Curried Chicken and Chickpea Stew

I answered my daughter’s desperate call. Erin is a busy grad student with a job and a long-distance boyfriend. Her hectic life doesn’t leave much time for planning and cooking healthy meals, but she doesn’t allow busy to keep her from being healthy. (You go, girl!)

For most of the last school year whenever Erin visited, she and I prepared dozens of healthy meals for the freezer. A hungry girl called a few weeks ago because her supply of freezer meals was running low. So how did mom answer? Yep! I created and prepared a healthy make ahead meal. She recently visited for a 2-day fall break from school. Lucky Erin took back the Curried Chicken and Chickpea Stew that I made and froze and the Turkey Taco Soup that we prepared together. Check back for that recipe.

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Curried Chicken and Chickpea Stew

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

Don't worry about the long ingredient list. This freezer-friendly meal comes together quickly. Don't need 12 servings? No problem. You can easily cut this recipe in half.

Author: Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, FAND

Recipe type: Main dish stew/soup; healthy freezer meal

Serves: 12

Ingredients

2 large yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons ginger root (either freshly grated or jarred)
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons canola oil
1¾ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
6 carrots, sliced or chopped
½ medium head green cabbage, cut in quarters, then sliced in ¼-inch pieces
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes, no salt added, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups water
1 lime
Cilantro, for topping

Instructions

Mix the onions, garlic, tomato paste, curry powder, ginger root, black pepper and canola oil in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring about halfway.
Place the chicken, broth and onion mixture in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently boil until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and shred with two forks.
Return the chicken to the pot with the broth and onion mixture. Add the carrots, cabbage, canned tomatoes, chickpeas and water. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Squeeze the lime over the hot stew and stir.
Garnish each serving with freshly chopped cilantro.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: about 1⅔ cups Calories: 230 Fat: 5 g Saturated fat: < 1 g Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 27 g Sodium: 438 mg Fiber: 8 g Protein: 20 g Cholesterol: 42 mg