This Chickpea Potato Curry Soup is such a delicious, nutritious, frugal meal in a bowl! Filled with plant-based goodness, this soup just so happens to be vegan, if that’s your thing. It’s packed with warming spices like curry powder, cinnamon, and cumin, and finished with fresh lime juice. You’ll love this curry soup for an easy one-pot cozy weeknight meal!
You may have made my recipe for chickpea curry before – it’s a staple in our household. The other night I made it and added potatoes and thought, “this would make a great soup!” So here we are, with the latest Bowl of Delicious… curry soup with chickpeas and potatoes!
This soup has a wonderful spice blend of curry powder, cinnamon, and cumin (though you can get by with just curry powder if you want). The base is broth (chicken, vegetable, your pick) and coconut milk. With potatoes and chickpeas for bulk and protein, and carrots for some color and sweetness.
Just like with the chickpea curry recipe, this soup is finished off with fresh lime juice. Don’t skip this step! It adds a ton of flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chickpeas – you could also use something like red lentils or another legume.
- Gold Potatoes – I prefer small gold potatoes here so I don’t have to peel them! You can use another potato, like red, white, or russet. If using russet, I do recommend peeling them, since their skins can be tough.
- Carrots – I like the color and flavor they add but you can leave them out if you want.
- Onion and garlic
- Spices: Curry powder, cinnamon, and cumin. Feel free to only use curry powder if you want, or add to the mix (turmeric, ground coriander, cardamon, ground ginger, etc. would all be delicious here).
- Crushed red pepper – optional, if you like it a bit spicy. You can use cayenne pepper or another spicy pepper if you want.
- Coconut oil – or another fat of choice for sautéing the onion, like ghee or butter.
- Broth – I used homemade chicken broth, but any chicken or vegetable broth will do.
- Coconut milk – the kind that comes in the can, preferably full-fat (be sure not to use the coconut milk sold near the cow’s milk alternatives – that’s something different!).
- Lime Juice – this adds tons of flavor! In a pinch, add another acid, like lemon juice or a little bit of apple cider vinegar if you don’t have fresh lime.
- Cilantro – optional. Leave it out if it tastes like soap to you :-)
How to make Curry Soup with Chickpeas and Potatoes
First, sauté the onion in a large pot until soft and deeply brown and beginning to caramelize. This may take 10 or so minutes, so it’s a great time to prep your other ingredients!
Then add the garlic and spices and stir to coat, toasting the spices a bit. Add the potatoes, chickpeas, and carrots, then add the broth and coconut milk. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
At this point, if you want, you can thicken the soup with a few pulses from an immersion blender. Finally, stir in the fresh lime juice and cilantro and serve!
Tips and Tricks:
- Before you prep all your ingredients, like dicing the carrots and potatoes or draining and rinsing the chickpeas, start the onions sautéing over low or medium-low heat. This will allow them plenty of time to brown and develop sweet flavor, and you’ll be able to multitask to save time.
- To thicken the soup, use an immersion blender to pulse a few times directly in the pot, before stirring in the lime juice and cilantro, to blend the soup just a little bit. This will puree some of the potatoes and chickpeas but leave most of them whole. Alternatively, you can do a few passes with a potato masher to achieve a similar result.
- You may want to wait until the end to add any salt. Depending on how much salt is in the broth you are using, plus the canned chickpeas, you may not need much, or any added salt. In addition, the lime juice brings out flavors similarly to salt, meaning you may need to use less than usual. If you are unsure about the salt content in your broth, just wait until the end to add it.
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Curry Soup with Chickpeas and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, or ghee
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 carrots peeled and finely diced
- 1-1½ lb. gold potatoes diced (see notes)
- 30 oz. canned chickpeas drained and rinsed (two cans, about 3 cups)
- 14 oz. canned coconut milk preferably full-fat (one can, see notes)
- 4 cups broth chicken or vegetable
- kosher salt to taste (see notes)
- juice of one lime
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot with a lid, such as a Dutch oven, melt the coconut oil (2 tablespoons) over medium heat. Add the diced onions and sauté over medium-low to low heat for 5-10 minutes, until softened and browned and starting to caramelize. (This is a great time to prep the rest of your ingredients)
- Add the minced garlic (3 cloves), ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon), ground cumin (1 teaspoon), curry powder (1 tablespoon), and crushed red pepper, if using (½ teaspoon). Stir to coat the onions and heat for about 1 minute, until spices are toasted and garlic is fragrant.
- Add the diced potatoes, carrots, and drained and rinsed chickpeas. Stir to coat in the spices. Pour in the broth (4 cups) and canned coconut milk. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes have fully cooked (when pierced with a fork they are very tender). Turn off heat.
- Optional: To thicken the soup a bit, you can use your immersion blender to blend the soup with a few pulses directly in the pot, or a potato masher to mash some of the ingredients up a bit. Be careful not to do too much, as you still want whole potatoes and chickpeas in there.
- Stir in the fresh lime juice and the chopped fresh cilantro, if using. Add salt to taste. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Mark D
Loved it. Light, bright and flavorful.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Devon
Soooo delicious! Subbed out coconut milk (personal dislike) for cashew cream and topped with chili oil. Will absolutely be making this again and adding to my recipe box!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lauren Linder
This came out great! I halved the cinnamon and grated in some fresh ginger along with the garlic. Delish
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kim
Fantastic recipe! So simple, flavorful and comforting!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Veronica
Can you omit the coconut milk? Or opt for almond milk?
Elizabeth Lindemann
The coconut milk adds a creamy texture. And the canned kind is very creamy and thick. Almond milk won’t be quite the same and I don’t think would be great here. If you’re not averse to dairy, whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream is probably the best substitute for canned coconut milk. Hope that helps!
Ceci
This soup is delicious! I actually made it more creamy and less ‘soupy’ and added parsley on top.
Yummy!
Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Karen Metcalf
iloved this soup. i am vegetarian but this soup tasted very much like it had meat in it. very tasty
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sarah Lamb
Absolutely fabulous! While family loved it! It’s a keeper
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Veronica
Thank you! I tried this without the mik and it was perfect. While coconut milk has some benefits just like everything else it’s isn’t good for some health things. So I omitted it as personal preference and it still turned out amazing. Thank you again!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jennifer
Love this soup! I think it’s even better the second day. Very much agree with the addition of freshly squeezed lime and I’d like to add some Thai basil next time I make this. Being sans immersion blender, I might throw a cup or two in the blender to puree and add back to the rest instead of using a potato masher.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding Thai basil.
Courtney
This soup as quickly become a staple favorite in my home. The blend of ingredients and spices are absolutely perfectly balanced. Thank you so much for sharing. I highly recommend this!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Catherine
This is a wonderful, easy, and very customizable recipe. The spice level is perfect for my house! We added chicken cut in small 1″ pieces just after heating the spices then tossed in a couple handfuls of spinach about 10 minutes before serving. Didn’t bother mashing any of the chickpeas, thought it was wonderful as is. Even better the second day!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding chicken to it.