Easy Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe

This easy Garbanzo Bean Soup gets all its flavour from the freshly cooked chickpeas. Infused with garlic and spices, this delicious soup will bubble on your stove all winter long. Comfort food at its best!

I absolutely love chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). However, I have to admit that I only recently started to cook them from scratch. Until now I used tinned chickpeas and was very happy with that. This was before I cooked them for the first time! The chickpeas soaked and cooked from scratch are absolutely game changers.

But I don't have time to cook chickpeas! - I hear you say. This is exactly how I felt, but cooking chickpeas is easy. Keep reading, I will show you how.

Why should you try this recipe:

Delicious and nutritious. It is packed with vitamins and minerals from veggies and spices.
Great source of protein, both animal- and plant-based protein.
Simple recipe. Even beginner cooks can make it.
Help to heal and prevent the common cold, thanks to all the antioxidants in veggies and chicken stock.
It is creamy. This is a great way to feed your kids some vegetables without many questions. Serve with some crusty bread so they can dip it in.
Kid and family-friendly.
Budget-friendly, only simple ingredients.
Gluten-free and dairy-free.
A great choice for an anti-inflammatory diet.

Jump to:

Ingredients
Instructions
How to serve
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
How to cook chickpeas
Easy Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe
More delicious and healthy weeknight dinners:

Ingredients

Only simple ingredients from your local grocery store are needed for this simple garbanzo soup.

Dry chickpeas. The chickpeas will need to be cooked in advance. Alternatively use 1 cup of tinned chickpeas.
Baking soda (to soften the dry chickpeas).
Extra virgin olive oil.
Carrot, peeled and diced.
Celery, diced.
Potato, peeled and thinly sliced.
Onion, finely diced. You can use any onion, white, brown or even leek.
Garlic cloves, minced.
Chicken stock or chicken broth.
Bay leaves (optional)
Salt and black pepper to season.
Fresh herbs, such as cilantro, parsley, or dill.
Red pepper flakes (optional).

All quantities in the recipe card.

Instructions

Heat some olive oil in a large pot (or a dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the leek, and saute for a couple of minutes until the leek has softened.
Add the garlic, carrots, and celery and continue cooking over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add potatoes and stir for a minute or two.
Now add ground coriander and cumin and cook for a couple of minutes until the spices are fragrant.
Mix in the cooked chickpeas and cook for a couple of minutes with spices and vegetables.
Add chicken stock (and bay leave if using) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately lower the heat down to low and simmer the soup for 10 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. Take the bay leave out.
Using a kitchen blender or immersion blender, blend all the ingredients into a cream soup. I use a Thermomix, 20 seconds on speed 7. (If you don't like the texture of the cream soup, you can serve it without blending. Just skip this step and serve.)
Serve with fresh herbs and black pepper.

How to serve

This soup is a complete dish on its own. It is filled with fibre and plant-based protein. It is very comforting and satisfying. But you can serve it with some fresh salad or fresh or BRAZILIAN CHEESE BREAD - PAO DE QUEIJO if you like.

Serve with some fresh herbs, such as fresh parsley or cilantro (coriander).

Substitutions

If you are in a real hurry you can use tinned chickpeas.

Use beef or vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Not a fan of chickpeas but still reading this recipe? 🙂 Use quinoa or white beans instead of chickpeas.

Variations

Vegan chickpea soup. Following a vegan or vegetarian diet? Swap the chicken stock for the vegetable stock.

If you don't like the texture of the cream soup, you can serve it without blending. Just skip this step and serve.

Spice it up. Sprinkle some chilli flakes and add a splash of lemon juice, to add a little hit.

Equipment

Large saucepan or dutch oven

Large bowl for soaking chickpeas

Kitchen blender

Storage

This soup will taste even better the next day.

To store the cooked soup, make sure it has cooled down to room temperature first. Transfer the soup to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

If the soup got a little thicker simply add a splash of chicken stock or water and stir.

It also can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Keep in mind the soup will expand when frozen, choose a container big enough to hold another 1-2 cm of liquid. Make a big batch and freeze it for a quick weeknight dinner.

To defrost, take the soup out the night before and let it defrost naturally in the fridge. Heat it up in a soup pot until the soup has started to boil. Take off the heat immediately, mix and enjoy!

How to cook chickpeas

On the stove

Rinse 1 cup of chickpeas in a mesh colander.
Place beans in a large glass bowl. Chickpeas will swell so make sure your bowl is big enough.
Add 3-4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Baking soda will help the soaking process and make the chickpeas extra smooth. Let them soak overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Once the soaking process is done, rinse the chickpeas under running water. Place them in a saucepan and add cold water, so the water is at least 10 cm above the chickpea level. Add a half teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat down to low and simmer them for 45-50 minutes. The chickpeas are tender when cooked. Do not drain them, they keep better in the liquid.

Pressure cooker.

Chickpeas can be cooked in a pressure-cooker from dry in 40 minutes, plus the time it takes for the pressure to rise and fall.

Slow cooker.

Place 500 grams of dried chickpeas and 7 cups of water in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

This simple soup is great for the whole family and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Happy cooking!