Healthy Stew Recipes

This chicken stew, generously seasoned with the Ethiopian spice mix berbere, is loaded with tomato and red lentils. Depending on brand, berbere spice blend can be rather spicy. For a less spicy stew, start with 3 tablespoons spice blend rather than 5.

This hearty and healthy turkey stew recipe is just about the best use of Thanksgiving leftovers we can think of. And we don't just mean the turkey. The stew is packed with leftover roasted vegetables--use whatever vegetables you have on hand, such as Brussels sprouts, parsnips, sweet potatoes and green beans. And leftover gravy is used to add depth of flavor and body. Possibly the best part of this stew recipe? It comes together really quickly--because don't we all need a 20-minute dinner after the craziness of Thanksgiving? Add some leftover bread or rolls and dinner is done. This recipe is equally delicious with leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken, and we've included instructions for making a quick gravy in case you don't have leftovers, so you can serve this Thanksgiving-in-a-pot year-round.

This healthy chicken stew is full of warming, spicy flavor thanks to ras el hanout, an aromatic Moroccan spice blend. You can find it in well-stocked grocery stores--or substitute 1/2 tsp. each ground cumin and ginger and 1/4 tsp. each ground cinnamon, coriander and allspice.

This is a popular dish of the Yoruba, one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. In the Yoruba language, dodo means fried plantains, and efo means leafy green vegetables, commonly spinach—here, the sweet plantains are a foil to the spicy spinach stew. Essential to Nigerian cuisine, unrefined red palm oil gets its color from naturally occurring beta carotene. For a vegetarian version, substitute 1 pound sliced mushrooms for the beef and use vegetable bouillon cubes. In Step 3, simmer the mushrooms in the sauce for 5 minutes.

Turnips lend an earthy flavor and a texture that is similar to potatoes--but with fewer carbs--to this rich and flavorful beef stew.

This irresistibly hearty stew scented with cumin and oregano gets a touch of heat from Scotch bonnet chile pepper. Celebrated in Latin American and African cooking, yuca thickens the stew and makes it into a complete meal alongside the vegetables and cod.

For this light, brothy stew, use the vegetables of late spring and early summer from your CSA share: leeks, potatoes, garlic and spinach. Vary what's in the stew according to the weekly bounty. Serve with: Crusty whole-wheat baguette spread with goat cheese.

This hearty beer-spiked beef stew is served with creamy mashed potatoes for a shepherd's pie vibe.

If you're looking for a healthy beef stew recipe that delivers on comfort, look no further. This one-pot Irish beef stew is packed with veggies and rich meaty flavor. Make this Irish beef stew recipe with Guinness--a dark, malty Irish stout--to keep it authentic. Serve with a side of Irish soda bread to sop up the leftovers.

You won't miss the meat in this healthy jambalaya recipe. Vegan smoked sausage takes its place while the classic "trinity" of vegetables--onion, red bell pepper and celery--get a kick from jalapeño peppers. And everything is cooked in one skillet, which means cleanup is a breeze!

Chicken thighs can take plenty of cooking without getting tough or drying out, which makes them perfect for the slow cooker. Here we braise them in Guinness stout along with hearty vegetables, with just the right amount of bacon for added savoriness.

This simple vegetarian stew makes a hearty and inexpensive main course. It showcases fresh pigeon peas (gandules verdes), which are a staple in Puerto Rico. The small, round legume is similar in size to an English pea. Serve this with rice, tostones (fried plantains) or viandas (steamed or boiled root vegetables). Read more about this recipe.

This hearty coconut curry is warm and comforting, thanks to tender sweet potatoes and a hint of spice. This easy curry recipe can be on the table in less than an hour.

This recipe was inspired by a hearty lamb and chickpea soup from Turkey. Finishing it with a dollop of pistachio-mint pesto adds another layer of flavor.

Eggplant, cauliflower, chickpeas and tomatoes are the basis for this rich Indian-spiced curry. Make it a meal: Serve with brown basmati rice or whole-wheat couscous.

Sweet sautéed onions and a rich mixture of spices create a complex, flavorful base for this extraordinary vegetarian stew.

The slow cooker makes this veggie-packed beef stew super-easy and extra-savory.

A splash of vinegar is a long-standing chef's trick for soups. Added just before you serve the soup, vinegar brightens the taste considerably. Use your favorite style of chicken sausage to add variety to this dish.

This flavorful vegan dinner is a veggie version of the Louisiana classic. It's chock-full of butternut squash, tomatoes, poblano peppers and okra, to name just a few. This vegetarian gumbo is a quick dinner packed with flavor and spice that's done in only 30 minutes. To make it a meal, serve it with cornbread drizzled with olive oil.

Let your slow cooker work--while you're at work!--and come home to a delicious bowl of hearty stew for dinner. Full of potatoes, hominy, green chiles, and chunks of pork sirloin, this filling stew recipe takes just 25 minutes to prepare in the morning.

The chicken, sweet potato and chickpeas all contribute to the nice textured bite of this slow-cooker stew. And the tomato broth takes it to the next level. When eating, you'll want to have a toasted baguette at the ready to soak it all up.

Balti, a stew created by Pakistani chefs in Birmingham, England, is named after the metal pot it's cooked in. We found a large skillet works too. Topping with a dollop of yogurt adds a hint of creaminess. Serve with a side of sautéed spinach for a satisfying dinner.

This slow-cooker dal recipe has a range of pleasing textures: red lentils and millet break down as they cook, and the toor dal, which are split pigeon peas, stay toothsome. Look for all three ingredients at Indian markets or natural-foods stores. The crock pot does most of the work for this healthy vegetarian recipe, and a quick herbed yogurt added just before serving brightens up the flavors. Bonus: Both the dal and the yogurt can be made ahead and the leftovers are wonderful.

Topped with Asiago cheese, this bean ragout dinner for two is perfect for a cool fall night.