Easy Chickpea Soup
on Mar 03, 2022, Updated Sep 17, 2026
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Ready in 30 minutes, this easy chickpea soup recipe is another reason why canned chickpeas are one of the best pantry ingredients. Each spoonful is creamy with chunks of carrots and potatoes. I puree half of it, so the soup cozy and satisfying.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s a soup that’s creamy without any actual cream. That’s what pureeing half of what’s in the pot does. I take the same approach with this pumpkin white bean soup.
This chickpea soup is more than just broth with vegetables in it, but it’s not a completely smooth soup that has been fully blended either. It lands somewhere in the middle, and it’s nice having another consistency for a vegetable soup recipe that isn’t tomato broth. No offense to canned tomatoes, but it’s always great to have variety.
Like so many soups, this one is a good choice for meal prep and it’s freezer friendly. Chickpea soup is hearty enough to be the main dish soup for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is what you need:
- Chickpeas (a.k.a garbanzo beans) are great in soups and more. I always use canned ones to take advantage of their convenience.
- Onions: Sauteeing them is a must when it comes to starting most of soups. It is the foundation for the rest of the ingredients.
- Carrots add a touch of vegetable sweetness, and they also deserve credit for the beautiful golden color.
- Garlic: I include a few minced garlic cloves, which may sound like a lot, but it balances out with all the chickpeas, potatoes and kale
- Potatoes thicken the soup, but since I only puree half of it, tender chunks of potato end up in each spoonful. Russet or yukon gold hold their shape in chunks, and also puree well. Don’t substitute with sweet potatoes.
- Rosemary: A couple sprigs of fresh rosemary simmer in the soup with the potatoes and veggies, making it fragrant.
- Kale: The heat of the soup quickly softens the chopped kale leaves, making it a simple way to add greens. You can substitute with spinach.
- Parmesan cheese melts into the creamy pureed broth leaving behind umami flavor. I also sprinkle Parmesan on top each bowl before serving.
- Lemon juice adds a wonderful citrusy brightness to the soup for a last touch.
- Parsley: I stir fresh herbs into the soup when it’s done.
- Vegetable broth: I prefer low-sodium broth, so I can control the seasonings. If you don’t need the soup to be vegetarian, you can substitute with chicken broth.
- Olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper are the pantry ingredients needed for sauteing the onions and carrots.
How To Make Chickpea Soup
1. Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions. Give them 5 minutes to turn soft and translucent.
2. Add the carrots and continue sautéing for a couple minutes.
3. Stir in the minced garlic, salt and pepper. After 30 seconds or so, the vegetables will become fragrant.
4. Add the veggie broth, chickpeas, potatoes and rosemary. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid partially on the pot until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Carefully transfer half the soup to a blender and puree it. Make sure to remove the rosemary sprig before pureeing. Then pour the pureed soup back into the pot.
6. Stir in the kale and simmer for a couple minutes. The leafy greens will wilt slightly. Divide the soup into bowls and finish with Parmesan, lemon juice and parsley.
Serving
This vegetarian soup is very filling for lunch or dinner. You can serve with a hunk of focaccia or crusty bread. If you’re feeling more hungry, make an Italian-style grilled cheese with mozzarella to go with it. For salads, try this arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette or this classic house salad.
Recipe Tips
- You can simmer the soup with a Parmesan rind. I keep a stash of rinds in a bag in my fridge. They add even more umami when you throw one into Italian soups and homemade tomato sauces.
- Transfer the soup to a blender to puree it instead of doing it in the pot with an immersion blender. Since you want half of the chickpeas, carrots and potatoes to stay whole, the only way to do this is ladle out the other half to puree it. Otherwise you will miss out on those chunks of vegetables.
More Chickpea Soup Recipes
Roasted Eggplant Stew
Harissa Chickpea Vegetable Soup
Red Lentil Soup
Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chickpea Stew
This dish is featured in my chickpea recipe collection with ideas for meatless mains, cozy stews, and salads for every season.
Easy Chickpea Soup with Potatoes, Carrots & Kale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup diced peeled potatoes (either russet or Yukon gold potatoes)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 cup chopped curly kale
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley plus more for serving
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Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions until they turn soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Then stir in the garlic, salt and pepper, sautéing for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the vegetable broth, chickpeas, potatoes and rosemary. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer with the lid partially covering the pot for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the rosemary sprigs. Carefully transfer half the soup to a blender and puree.
- Pour the pureed soup back into the soup in the pot. Add the kale and simmer on low for a couple minutes to wilt the greens.
- Stir in the Parmesan, lemon juice and parsley.
- Top each bowl with additional Parmesan and parsley before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is there a reason why an immersion blender shouldn’t be used?
When you take half the soup out of the pot and puree it in a blender, you can get it completely smooth. That gives the soup a good creamy base with whole chickpeas and diced carrots & potatoes. If you use an immersion blender to partially puree it, the soup will have more chopped up chickpeas, carrots and potatoes.
Delicious. Hearty. Flavorful. A keeper!
This soup was delicious!
My family and I enjoyed the flavors, colors and textures of this soup. I made it in my Instant Pot and if you want to do that – follow steps 1-4 and at the part in step 4 where it says to boil and then simmer – just cover & set the instant pot to “soup” setting and pressure cook, then manual release before continuing on with the blending step. I also added some ingredients – 1/4 c red lentils, a bay leaf, a dried chili pepper and a 1/4 tsp each cumin and turmeric.
I have made this soup twice. It’s a wonderful recipe. Full of goodness and comfort. The rosemary, parmesan, and lemon juice & parsley make it extra tasty.
This recipe will be on our menu at least monthly in Fall and Winter.
Thank you!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
The Chickpea soup recipe was right on point,easy to follow and make the most delicious Chickpea soup.
Delicious! Swapped veg for chicken broth and really enjoyed it!
This was really delicious 😊
When printing the recipe, two 15 oz cans of chickpeas turns into a 17 oz can of chickpeas on your document!
Thanks for letting me know. I just fixed the glitch.