This chickpea soup is loaded with onions, tomatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes in vegetable broth seasoned with warm, smoky Mediterranean spices like cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and paprika. You will love this healthy, hearty, easy, and delicious vegetarian soup.
It’s always soup season at our house. Sometimes I think I would rather have a warm pot of soup than a New York strip steak or oven-baked beef brisket. But that’s just me, soup lover extraordinaire.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Carrots: Peel the carrots so the beautiful orange color is prominent. After all, food should be aesthetically pleasing.
- Ground cinnamon: I know when you think of this spice, you think of chocolate chip pumpkin bread or baked apples, but in this recipe, it really adds flavor dimension and depth, like in Cincinnati chili.
- Ginger: Use freshly grated ginger or ginger paste. Store opened ginger paste in the refrigerator. It will last up to a month. Use it in stir-fried green beans or pepper steak.
- Ground cayenne: The amount of ground cayenne will not add heat, but it will add flavor.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes: If you have trouble finding them, substitute diced tomatoes.
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans
- Sweet potato: Peel the sweet potato so the bright orange color comes through.
How to Make Chickpea Soup
This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Cook the onions, celery, and carrots in a little olive oil over medium heat until the onions and celery are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook the garlic and other spices for a minute while stirring.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and bay leaves.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Fish out the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Variations
- Use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup for a creamier texture.
- Serve this soup over small pasta like ditalini or orzo.
- Add more protein with chicken, lamb, or turkey sausage.
- Go green with a healthy helping of spinach or kale.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this tasty soup with angel biscuits, beer bread, or drop biscuits. For a healthier balance, serve with arugula salad, corn salad, or couscous salad.
Want More Soup Recipes?
- Chicken Poblano Soup
- Hamburger Potato Soup
- Sausage Soup
- Chicken and Dumpling Soup
- Crack Chicken Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Easy Chickpea Soup
This easy and healthy chickpea soup is loaded with onions, tomatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes in vegetable broth seasoned with warm, smoky Mediterranean spices like cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and paprika.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 125kcal
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger or ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (garbanzo beans)
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions and celery are soft. Stir frequently.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Cook for a minute while stirring.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Fish out the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave at reduced power.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 13384IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Mention @smalltownwomanfoodnut or tag #smalltownwomanfoodnut!
Lisa
Gosh, this soup was delicious and very hearty. It’s beginning to get really cold here in Mi and this soup fit right in. The kids loved it and hubby had seconds.
Beth Pierce
So glad that everyone loved it.
Nikki Wayne
I heard a lot of things about this chickpea soup that it is soothing and very relaxing to eat. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Nikki!