If you are looking to make a comforting but delicious meal, then you should definitely consider this chickpea soup. It is full of nutritional goodness and takes just under 30 minutes to create.
If this soup sounds ideal for you, then you have come to the perfect place. In this article, we will provide you with simple to follow steps. This is a completely gluten-free and vegan recipe, that you need to give a go.
Read on to learn how to make chickpea soup in just 30 minutes.
Quick Answer
To make this 30 minute chickpea soup, onion, carrots, and celery are cooked for 3 to 4 minutes and herbs are added. After that, you can add your chickpeas and broth and simmer the soup for a further 15 minutes. Then all you need to do is blend the soup until you reach a consistency that you like.
Why Is This Chickpea Soup Worth A Try?
There are various reasons as to why you should give this chickpea soup a go. The main reason is that if you want a filling meal on the table in no time, then you should try this recipe, as it takes just 30 minutes to create.
In addition to this, this is a simple one pot dish. All you need to do is throw everything together and simmer it down.
You can even customize this recipe by adding more vegetables, herbs, or spices. Also, why not try adding some noodles to this soup for another texture to enjoy.
You can easily make this soup in advance and freeze any leftovers. The possibilities with this soup are endless. Everyone will want to try this dish, as you can easily create complex and real depth of flavor in no time.
It is important that you follow each step, as this allows you to achieve the most amount of flavor from these humble ingredients as possible.
Ingredients You Need To Collect
To make this chickpea soup, you need to collect the following items. You can easily add more vegetables, if you wish, and other herbs to customize this soup to suit your tastes.
15 ounce can of chickpeas (drained).
1 cup of kale (finely chopped).
2 tablespoons of either vegetable or avocado oil.
1 large carrot (chopped).
1 large celery stalk (chopped).
1 liter of vegetable broth.
1 medium onion (chopped).
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped).
2 bay leaves.
2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
½ teaspoon of dried thyme.
½ teaspoon of oregano.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Chickpea Soup Steps
Now you have collected everything you need to make this soup, you can follow these easy steps to make a delicious chickpea soup.
Step 1: Soften The Vegetables
In a large pot, heat either vegetable or avocado oil on a medium to high heat. Then add your onions, garlic, celery, and carrots and sautéed for 3 to 4 minutes. After that, combine the herbs with the vegetables.
Step 2: Add The Chickpeas In
Now you can in your can of drained chickpeas and mix everything together. At this point, add in the lemon juice and vegetable broth. Give everything a final stir and cover the pot with a lid.
Simmer the contents of the pot for around 15 minutes.
Step 3: Thicken The Soup
After this time, you can think about thickening the soup. Take 1/3 of the chickpea soup out and put it in the blender to thicken it. Blend this mixture until it is creamy and smooth. Then place the mixture back into your large pot and stir everything together.
Step 4: Season And Serve
Once your soup has thickened, you can add in your chopped kale. Now, sample the soup and add salt and pepper to taste. Then add some fresh parsley on top and serve the soup while it’s hot.
Possible Substitutions To Consider
It is quite easy to modify this recipe, to suit your taste and dietary needs. While this soup is already really tasty, you may wish to consider adding in these ingredients to take it a step further.
Vegetables – The main thing you could add to this dish is more vegetables. This can include potato, broccoli, sweet potato, spinach, cauliflower, and zucchini.
All of these vegetables are easy to throw in and cook at a similar time. However, you must ensure everything is cut to a similar size.
Noodles – If you wish to add more carbs to your dish, then you may want to add noodles or orzo pasta. This will provide the chickpea soup another texture to enjoy as well. Chickpea and noodle soup is a really popular comforting dish found all over the world.
Spices – In this recipe, we add a couple of different herbs to add more flavor out to the dish. Yet, if you like a bit of heat and spice in your meals you may want to consider adding ½ a teaspoon of spices like chili flakes, cayenne pepper and paprika.
All of these species can add a warmth to your soup, which is really enjoyable to eat on a cold winter’s day.
Canned Tomatoes – You could add a can of chopped tomatoes to this dish to create a richer soup. Half the amount of broth that you need for a can of chopped tomatoes.
By adding tomatoes, you will create a more Mediterranean inspired chickpea soup that has a deeper color and flavor profile.
Nutritional Information For Chickpea Soup
This recipe yields 4 servings of chickpea soup, per each serving this soup contains:
Calories: 200.
Sodium: 66 g.
Carbohydrates: 35 g.
Protein: 7.2 g.
Fat: 2.4 g.
Sugar: 4.2 g.
Overall, this recipe for chickpea soup is fairly healthy, and you can easily modify it to be healthier or contain more protein etc. For example, using avocado oil is seen as far healthier than vegetable oil.
While the protein levels are seen as low, you could add meat such as chicken to the dish, but that is only suitable for anyone who isn’t on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Also, thanks to using low sodium broth, this reduces the amount of sodium included. However, as you can add in extra salt yourself, this figure can fluctuate.
What Can You Serve Alongside Chickpea Soup?
This chickpea soup by itself is a really hearty meal to consume. Yet, you don’t have to serve it just by itself.
To create a full meal, you may wish to serve this chickpea soup with a slice of bread and butter. You will enjoy dunking a thick slice of crusty bread into this warming soup.
However, if you don’t want a large slice of bread, you could always add croutons, which are a common sight alongside any kind of soup. Croutons add a nice crunch when enjoying a mouthful of this soup.
If you wish to stay away from bread altogether, then you may want to serve this chickpea soup with a side salad. This side salad could include all kinds of leafy green, nuts, and vegetables.
As a result, you can easily make a healthy and nutritious complete meal when serving chickpea soup alongside any of the mentioned side dishes.
Other Ways To Make This Soup
Even though this recipe only takes 30 minutes from start to finish, not everyone may have the time to do it. As a result, you may wish to consider using a slow cooker.
If you are using a slow cooker, then you should sauté your vegetables as normal and then add your chickpeas and broth.
In a slow cooker, this soup will take around 8 to 10 hours to cook. Then, at the end, you just need to blend the soup until you reach your desired consistency.
Hence, if you are busy, you can easily throw this soup together in the morning. Then, when you come home after a long day at work, all you need to do is blend the soup and serve it.
Storing Leftover Soup
As mentioned above, this recipe for chickpea soup is a great thing to create when you are meal prepping for the week. You can make a large batch of this soup and store it for the upcoming days. However, if you make enough, then you could freeze the leftovers as well.
If you are making this soup in advance, then skip the final step when you add fresh parsley and store the soup straight away. Only when you are serving this soup should you add the parsley. This is because the parsley won’t stay fresh for very long.
Read on to learn how to store your leftover chickpea soup in the fridge or freezer.
Refrigerator – Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Freezer – Place the chickpea soup in an airtight container after allowing it to cool to room temperature. It can then be placed in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Then, when you wish to consume this soup, allow the soup time to defrost on top of a countertop, or in a microwave.
Reheating – To reheat, transfer your soup to a large pot and reheat on the stovetop. Or, you can add your soup to a microwaveable bowl and reheat in the microwave.
Tip: It is important to ensure that the soup is hot all the way through before eating. Once the soup is hot, then you can add any toppings you wish to serve alongside this soup.
It should only take 5 to 10 minutes for your chickpea soup to warm up completely. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water, to help get the consistency back to how you like it, if it is too thick.
Tips For Making Chickpea Soup
Overall, this recipe for chickpea soup is quite simple to follow, yet there are a few things to keep in mind when creating this dish. If you follow these tips, then this recipe will never fail you.
Always Sauté The Vegetables – While you may feel like sautéing the vegetable is a very time-consuming part of the recipe, it is essential to help you gain the most flavor possible.
By cooking the vegetables before the broth is added, this creates another layer of flavor for you to enjoy. Thus, the final outcome is much more delicious.
Low Sodium Broth – By using a low sodium vegetable broth, you can control how much salt is added to the soup. It is easier to add more salt if that is needed, but it is almost impossible to make a soup less salty if too much sodium has been added.
Consistency – In the recipe above, we only blend ⅓ of the soup. Thus, the end result is a soup that is both smooth, but there are lumps as well. The consistency of the soup is completely up to you.
If you prefer a smooth consistency, you can blend the whole soup. However, how much you blend the soup won’t affect the overall flavor.
Quantities – Since this soup is so delicious, we would also advise that you make more than you require and freeze the rest.
You could easily double this recipe so that you make twice as much and then freeze the rest so that you always have chickpea soup on hand when you have a craving.
Lemon Juice – This is seen as an optional step that you may wish to consider. At the end, just before you serve the soup, you may wish to add a squeeze of lemon.
A simple squeeze of lemon can help to brighten all the flavors inside the soup. That small bit of acidity can provide a major boost right at the end.
Cheese – Adding cheese, such as cheddar or Parmesan cheese, can provide you with another way to season your soup that doesn’t involve adding more salt.
Since cheese has a natural acidity and sharpness, it can help balance out the flavors of the soup. We would suggest sprinkling some shredded cheese on top alongside the fresh parsley just before serving.
Conclusion
Chickpea soup is a really comforting dish to make once the weather starts to turn older. Overall, this is a really simple recipe to follow and will provide you with a delicious and healthy meal every time.
This soup is full of nutritious vegetables and tasty herbs for you to enjoy. Alongside this, it is also suitable for vegans and gluten-free. Hence, everyone should definitely give this soup a go, to use up that can of chickpeas.
We hope you have found this article interesting. Now you know how to make this tasty chickpea soup in just 30 minutes. Serve this soup at your next dinner party or enjoy when you want something to warm you up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Chickpeas Good For You?
Chickpeas are often found in salads, but they taste amazing in soup form. Chickpeas lend the soup a thick and hearty texture because of their inherent creaminess.
Moreover, each meal contains 7.2 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber due to their high protein and fiber content. Thus keeping you full and satisfied for longer.
Can You Use Dried Chickpeas Instead?
The reason we use canned chickpea is that they are already cooked and this saves you time. With that being said, you can use dried chickpeas, but you will need to pre-cook them before you add them to the soup.
Otherwise, if you add dried chickpeas in as they are, they will take a very long time to cook and will absorb most of the liquids in the soup.
How Do You Thicken This Soup?
This soup is thickened by blending a portion of the soup and adding this blended portion back to the rest of the soup.
It is up to you how thick you like your soup and the kind of consistency you enjoy as well. You may only blend one portion, or you can blend the whole thing for a really smooth and creamy soup.
Is This Soup Suitable For Vegans?
Since there is no meat or dairy products used in this recipe, it is perfect for vegans. This is since chickpeas will naturally thicken up your soup without the need for milk or cream.
Furthermore, this soup highlights how tasty vegetables can be, so there is no need for other additions such as chicken or ham. Yet if you aren’t following a vegan diet, there is no reason why you couldn’t add these in.
Hey! I’m Lana, the original Soup Chick! I decided to create this website as I am a massive soup fan. I will literally make soup for every occasion. Whether a friend is under the weather, has the flu, or I just want to try out something new in my slow cooker!
I hope that you can find some really interesting and different soup recipes to try out with my site. I know I’ve had a lot of fun curating and trying them all, and I hope that you do too!
