Easy Chickpea Soup
Transform a couple cans of chickpeas into this easy, velvety smooth chickpea soup, with garlic, spices, celery, carrots, and onion, finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. A delicious, healthy soup in only 20 minutes!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 300kcal
Equipment
- Large Pot with a lid or Dutch Oven
- Immersion Blender or standing blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 carrots peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 ribs celery diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional, more or less depending on preference
- 30 oz. canned chickpeas drained and rinsed (2 small or 1 large can, or 3 cups cooked chickpeas)
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- juice of one lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- extra olive oil, pepper, and roasted chickpeas optional, to top soup for serving
Instructions
- Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Sauté the diced 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 ribs celery until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the minced 2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper to the pot and stir to coat, cooking until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the drained and rinsed 30 oz. canned chickpeas and stir to coat. Pour in the 4 cups vegetable broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 10 minutes (or longer, this part isn't fussy!).
- Use your immersion blender (or standing blender, if you don't have one) to purée the soup to your preference. I blend mine to a completely smooth purée, but feel free to leave some texture if you want.
- Make a slurry with the 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, mixing together well until smooth. Stir into the soup and continue heating until soup is thickened.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the juice of one lemon and season to taste with salt and pepper (be liberal with the salt, especially if you used a low sodium broth). Serve, topped with extra olive oil, pepper, and roasted chickpeas, if desired.
Notes
- If you want roasted chickpeas to top the soup, here's how to make them. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and mix with 2 tablespoon olive oils, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon each cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder in a bowl. Spread on a parchment-covered baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes at 425 degrees F, stirring around once halfway through cooking. Double to make extra for munching! Here's more information on how to make roasted chickpeas.
- Time saving tip: If you don't want to chop veggies, look for pre-chopped celery, carrots, and onions, often called "mirepoix," in the produce or frozen veggie section of your grocery store. You can also chop up these veggies yourself and freeze them in a large zip-top bag in bulk, so they're at the ready when you need them!
- Draining and rinsing the chickpeas helps make them more digestible by getting rid of the cooking liquid, which has some of the indigestible fibers legumes are known for. Depending on the brand of chickpeas used, it can also reduce the salt content and any extra extra ingredients that may have been added to the can of chickpeas to maintain freshness. If you aren't sensitive to bean liquid, you can keep the liquid in if you prefer, especially with a low-sodium/organic brand! The chickpea liquid will add body to the soup and negate the need for adding all or some of the cornstarch.
- Adding the cornstarch is optional, if you don't mind a thinner soup. Or you can leave out 1 cup of the broth, which will also result in a thicker soup (though with less volume!). You can add more cornstarch if you want a really thick soup, but keep in mind it will thicken a bit as it cools.
- You can do a flour thickener if you prefer by adding 1-2 tablespoons flour to the veggies and spices after sautéing, then slowly stirring in the broth before adding the chickpeas.
- The leftovers are great to freeze and will last for months in your freezer.
- A potato masher is a good alternative to both an immersion blender and standing blender - just mash the soup directly in the pot for a more rustic, textured consistency.
Nutrition
Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1561mg | Potassium: 486mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5725IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 4mg