The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.
As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.
Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.
Slow-cooker Middle Eastern chicken stew
This nourishing stew cooks low and slow, and it’s just the thing to boost your inner glow! Simply tip diced chicken breast, butternut squash, red pepper and chickpeas into your slow-cooker and stir up a harissa-spiced tomato broth. Six hours later, come back to a filling, fragrant feast – perfect with couscous and a sprinkle of coriander.
SWK: High protein
Plants 7
SWK: High fibre
slow cooker
Serving size
Ingredients
- 300g diced chicken breast
- 1 onion
- 1 pepper
- 1 small butternut squash
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 4 tsp ginger & garlic paste (Ginger, Garlic, Sea Salt, Citric Acid)
- 230g chickpeas (Rehydrated chick-peas, water, salt, antioxidant: ascorbic acid)
- 1 chicken stock cube (Celery) (sea salt, potato starch*, sustainable palm oil* , sugar*, chicken fat* 3.5%, yeast extract, natural flavour, chicken meat* 1%, herbs & spices* (turmeric*, black pepper*, parsley*, rosemary*), onion powder*. * Organic ingredient)
- 200g passata (tomatoes, salt, citric acid)
- 125g wholewheat couscous (Wheat) (100% Whole WHEAT semolina)
- 1 tbsp middle eastern spice (Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cassia, Cardamom, Kalonji Seeds, Galangal, Pimento, Mace, Nutmeg, Cumin, Black Pepper, Rose Petals, Chilli Powder, Cloves)
- 2 tbsp harissa paste (Red Chilli, Garlic, Tomato Puree, Sea Salt, Coriander, Acetic Acid, Paprika, Cumin, Caraway, Mint)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 734
Protein: 58g
Carbs: 103g
Fat: 8.4g
Ingredients
- 2 onion
- 2 pepper
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 600g diced chicken breast
- 8 tsp ginger & garlic paste (Ginger, Garlic, Sea Salt, Citric Acid)
- 4 tbsp harissa paste (Red Chilli, Garlic, Tomato Puree, Sea Salt, Coriander, Acetic Acid, Paprika, Cumin, Caraway, Mint)
- 400g passata (tomatoes, salt, citric acid)
- 2 tbsp middle eastern spice (Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cassia, Cardamom, Kalonji Seeds, Galangal, Pimento, Mace, Nutmeg, Cumin, Black Pepper, Rose Petals, Chilli Powder, Cloves)
- 460g chickpeas (Rehydrated chick-peas, water, salt, antioxidant: ascorbic acid)
- 1 chicken stock cube (Celery) (sea salt, potato starch*, sustainable palm oil* , sugar*, chicken fat* 3.5%, yeast extract, natural flavour, chicken meat* 1%, herbs & spices* (turmeric*, black pepper*, parsley*, rosemary*), onion powder*. * Organic ingredient)
- 250g wholewheat couscous (Wheat) (100% Whole WHEAT semolina)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 708
Protein: 57g
Carbs: 97g
Fat: 7.8g
Slow-cooker Middle Eastern chicken stew
This nourishing stew cooks low and slow, and it’s just the thing to boost your inner glow! Simply tip diced chicken breast, butternut squash, red pepper and chickpeas into your slow-cooker and stir up a harissa-spiced tomato broth. Six hours later, come back to a filling, fragrant feast – perfect with couscous and a sprinkle of coriander.
Cook time:
370 mins
Cuisine:
Middle Eastern
Food group:
Poultry
Allergens: Wheat
Cooking Instructions
Before you start
- Slow cooker.
Prep time
- Peel the onions and cut each into 8 wedges. Deseed the peppers and dice into 3cm squares. Peel and halve the squash lengthways, discard the seeds and cut into 2cm cubes. Finely chop the coriander.
Ready, steady... cook!
- Put the prepped veg, chicken, both pastes, passata, spice mix and chickpeas and their water into the slow cooker. Crumble in half the stock cube, pour in 200ml water (300ml for 4 portions) and stir well.
- Sprinkle in half the coriander and cook on high for 5-6 hours until the chicken is cooked through. (Bear in mind some slow cookers run hotter than others, so test the dish halfway through and add more water if it looks a bit dry. Towards the end, check everything is cooked thoroughly and just give it a bit longer if necessary.)
Sort the couscous
- When the stew is almost ready, put the couscous in a large bowl, crumble in the remaining half stock cube and pour in enough boiled water to just cover the couscous. Stir well, cover and leave for 5 mins, until the stock is absorbed.
Plate up
- Serve the stew with the couscous and the remaining coriander sprinkled on top.