This simple chickpea soup is a more pared down offering from me! I typically love to load up my vegan soup recipes with every add-in imaginable, but I’ve been in a bit of a different mood lately and am enjoying some more simplified/streamlined flavours. Sometimes less is more! I had chickpeas that I cooked over the weekend and delicious homemade stock on hand, so I wasn’t in the mood to mess around too much.
How I cook and store dried chickpeas:
- Once I got an Instant Pot, I stopped cooking chickpeas any other way. I soak them in water overnight and then drain and rinse them the next day. I then transfer the chickpeas to the Instant Pot and cover them by about 2 inches of water. I set the the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” on high for 26 minutes. Once that’s up, I let them sit for another 10-12 minutes before manually releasing the pressure. From here, I throw in a good amount of salt and stir.
- Storing chickpeas in the fridge: I let the chickpeas cool completely in their seasoned cooking liquid and then pack them into jars, topping them up with the cooking liquid before putting a lid on top. This setup will keep in the fridge for a week.
- Freezing chickpeas: To freeze, I drain the chickpeas once they’re cool and transfer them in 2 cup increments to a Stasher bag or other reusable bag/container. Once they’re sealed up, I place them in the freezer where they’re good to go for 6 months. Thaw the chickpeas overnight in the fridge when you plan to use them!
This simple chickpea soup really does taste like autumn to me. The smokiness of the paprika, the unmistakable tree-like quality of rosemary, and all of those earthy-savoury chickpeas. I go in with a lot of my usuals like garlic, miso, Tamari, red wine vinegar, and tomato paste as well. This is definitely a pantry-friendly recipe! Fans of this might also enjoy my brothy beans recipe.
Normally I really stress homemade vegetable stock, but lately I’ve been more flexible on that in my own kitchen. I find that the pastes and stock concentrates sold in stores have great flavour, and they’re so easy. Just use what works for you and what will help you enjoy the cooking process :)
What to serve with this simple chickpea soup:
- Apple Kale Salad with Miso Mustard Dressing
- Kale & Brussels Sprout Caesar Slaw
- Smoky Grilled Beets with Mint & Parsley Pistachio Pesto
- I think it goes without saying, but: lots of crusty bread!
I hope that you give this recipe a try the next time you’re craving some chickpea goodness. The soup does a nice slow cook on the stovetop that allows for a little salad to be made up (or a beverage to be enjoyed) while you wait. A couple cups of the soup take a quick detour to the blender, and then back in before stirring all together. This soup also freezes really nicely if you’re looking to prep ahead.
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Simple Chickpea Soup with Rosemary & Garlic
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, small dice (about 2 heaped cups diced onion)
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 sticks celery, chopped (about 1 cup diced celery)
- 2 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 cup diced carrot)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (about 1 really full sprig)
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 cups cooked chickpeas
- 6 cups vegetable stock (plus extra, see notes)
- 2 tablespoons light miso
- 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Tamari
- chili oil or chili crisp, for serving
- extra coarsely ground black pepper, for serving
Equipment
Notes
- This soup is minimal on the ingredient side, so I went in with chickpeas that I cooked from their dried state as well as homemade vegetable stock. If you’re going store bought on stock, I find that the concentrated stocks or pastes (that you dilute in water before cooking) are usually a good bet
- I know that up to 12 minutes sounds like a long time to sauté onions, but it really pays off and if I can, I start most of my soups this way. It helps the fine cuts of onion to almost “dissolve” into the soup.
- I’m putting Momofuku chili crunch on top of everything these days, and it really is delightful on this soup along with lots of black pepper. Something spicy/tingly on top just hits nicely with the earthy flavours.
Instructions
- Set a large, heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Once it's nice and hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the onions and sauté, stirring here and there for about 10-12 minutes. You want them super soft and quite transparent. If the onions are browning too quickly, lower the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the celery and carrots to the pot and sauté for another 8-9 minutes, or until the edges of the carrots and celery are softened. Season again with salt and pepper.
- Add the rosemary, paprika, and garlic to the pot and stir. Keep stirring and sautéing until spices are very fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir. Keep stirring and mixing it up into the vegetables until the raw, tin-like flavour is cooked out, about 1 minute.
- Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir to coat in the seasoning and vegetables. Then, pour in the vegetable stock. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Bring the chickpea soup to a boil. Then, lower the heat to a light simmer.
- Place the lid ajar on top of the pot and simmer the soup for about 40 minutes, stirring here and there.
- Remove about 2 cups of the soup and transfer it to an upright, vented blender. To the blender, add the miso. Blend this mixture on high until creamy. Add the puréed portion of the soup back to the pot and stir. Bring the soup back up to a strong boil for about 5 minutes. At this point, if you would like to thin out the soup a bit, add more vegetable stock.
- Stir the red wine vinegar and the Tamari into the soup. Give the chickpea soup a taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary (more salt, pepper, vinegar, Tamari etc). Serve the soup hot with chili oil and extra black pepper.
This looks amazing!! But, I am allergic to soy. Is there anything you would suggest subbing for the miso? and Tamari?
Thank you :)
Hi Lindsey,
You can find alternative miso at some grocery stores! Ones made with rice, aduki beans, and chickpeas instead of soy beans. To replace the Tamari, I recommend coconut aminos.
-L
Thanks for this recipe! I often use smoked paprika, rosemary, and miso, but I’d never combined any two of them together, much less all 3. We really liked the combination, and will make this soup again.
I happened to have red miso, not white at the moment, and it worked great. I also had no celery (husband hates it) so I substituted veggies I did have — carrots, a red pepper, and partial packages of corn and green beans. Also a potato. It was really good. Thank you!
Dear reader – make this soup! You won’t regret it! I followed the recipe exactly, and with good-quality olive oil drizzled on top and a couple slices of crusty bread on the side, it was the perfect cozy dinner. I’m usually a canned chickpea kind of person out of convenience, but cooking the dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot made a big difference for flavor. Will definitely make this again. Thank you, Laura!
I love Laura’s recipes year round but her fall and winter game is just crazy strong. Every soup, stew, skillet, and casserole is just so wholesome and warming and happy-making. This soup is no exception. Perfect as is, follow the recipe and you’ll be happy too.
I made this tonight and it was one of the best soups I’ve had! The perfect combo of ingredients resulting in a comforting soup that still maintains a brightness to it. I didn’t have celery or red wine vinegar (used balsamic). Paired so well with fresh bread and vegan butter – yum! Everyone go make this. :)
Looks delicious! Can I freeze this recipe or can I make it a day ahead and reheat for a party ? Thank you!
Hi Gayathri!
You could make this a day ahead or freeze well ahead of time. Both options will work :)
-L
Just made this tonight, it was delicious. Super comforting and my house smells amazing from the rosemary. Highly recommend.
Hi! Would it be possible to use rice wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar? Thanks!
Hi Jane!
Either one of those would work well.
-L
Thank you! I used balsamic vinegar. Very tasty recipe. I threw in some kale and also used ketchup instead of tomato paste cause I don’t often have tomato paste on hand. Cringe worthy perhaps, but the soup turned out delicious!
Not cringe worthy at all! I love ketchup :)
-L
The title does not do this recipe justice! For so few ingredients, the flavor is so layered. And basically all pantry goods! This is absolutely delicious. Laura, you did it again. I thought about halving the recipe since I live alone but I’m glad I made the full thing so I can squirrel some away in my freezer and delight my future self.
I like this soup. I think it’s a little generous to call it “simple” but it’s not very intricate either. I followed the recipe to the T except for one thing: I added 1 tbsp of vegemite after I added the veggie stock for more umami flavour. I do this to almost all my soups and even if you don’t like vegemite/promite/marmite, I suggest you consider it in your kitchen as a flavour enhancer. If it’s too much for you on toast it has other uses.
I’ve made 2 batches of this soup for my friends and I, and it is so easy to make and so yummy. Very easy to make and tastes like fall. Highly recommend
Making this again for the second week in a row! My kids who normally only eat the broth of soup (soaked into French bread) actually ate this one and my six year old declared it her favorite soup! Music to my ears. I like a giant bowl of soup, so I make this four hearty servings. I don’t salt til the very end and found the miso and a couple pinches of sea salt sufficient. Wonderful and filling!
This soup was soooo flavorful and had so many delicious layers! I subbed thyme for rosemary because I never have rosemary on hand – not exactly the same but I still really enjoyed the flavor profile :-) I also added some kale at the end. Yum! This was perfect with crusty ciabatta on the side.
Delicious
This is like gravy as a soup, LOVE!
It’s been a week and I already made this twice x
Holy smokes! This soup is a delicious flavor bomb. I wish I had doubled the recipe so I could freeze some but I’m sure I’ll finish the pot by tomorrow. It’s very good without chili crisp but superb with it! I used a brand with big slivers of garlic in it and that crunch really sealed the deal! Super friendly pantry ingredients too!
So many of your recipes are my tried and true favorites, and so happy to have another one to add to the list!
This is so good! I made it as written except skipped the celery (I don’t love it and never seem to use it all up when I buy it!). It is so flavorful even though it has very few ingredients. And it was super easy! I made rosemary sourdough focaccia to go with it. I might try adding spinach or kale at the very end next time. I will definitely be keeping this one in the rotation!
Dear Laura, this soup is amazing! Easy to make from pantry staples, but unbelievably delicious! Both me and my hubby went for seconds haha! But like everything you post, so thanks!
Legit delicious perfection! I worked on bits of this throughout the day and the long simmer bright out such delicious savory flavours! I had to sub regular paprika for the smoked variety due to a picky toddler but it was still a flavour bomb! Loved by all, this is an easy weeknight hit!! Thanks Laura
Loved this soup! I added a little fresh spinach towards the end for a little veg. Next time, I won’t add salt throughout. The miso and tamari have plenty and now I’m drinking water like it’s going out of style
Soooooo delicious! Added maybe an extra cup of chickpeas and some chopped spinach at the end, finished with smoked salt and First Mess sunflower parm. Subbed pumpkin purée for tomato paste (I’m nightshade free) – it was fall soup perfection. So excited about this soup!
I made this soup today. I hope you don’t find this sacrilege, but I didn’t have tomato paste, so I used ketchup instead. :|
Soup was friggin’ BOMB. Thank you from Cobourg!
Delish! I replaced the celery with cabbage because I had extra, and cooked in the Instant Pot rather than the traditional long simmer. It’s still good with these variations :)
Perfect cozy, hearty soup for a rainy day! The layers of flavor here are so fun – smoky, savory, zingy. Impossible to have just one serving!
Really good! I almost wanted to eat it before adding the miso and tamari + vinegar but I am glad I added them. Very flavorful. Great broth. I drizzled lemon infused olive oil on top and added some chili flakes. Great recipe.
This looks SO GOOD. I cannot wait to make it – I can never get enough chickpeas.
A interesting combination of ingredients produced the most delicious soup!
Another winner Laura! I didn’t have fresh rosemary so I used dried and I think it’s still great!
As a rule of thumb, when you’re using dried herbs instead of fresh, would use more of the dried variety or less? I used about 3 tbsp of dried (I also love rosemary.)
Thanks!
This soup is a serious flavor bomb! I used 1 1/4 t smoked paprika; otherwise I made it according to the recipe. My husband, who I think misses meat sometimes now that he is vegan, really loved this soup. I (of course) served with crusty bread and a crunchy, leafy green salad. Yummy dinner! Thank you, Laura!
would dried rosemary be a HUGE no..??
Hi Jill!
I don’t know if it’s a HUGE no, but the fresh rosemary does contribute the bulk of the flavour here. But if you have really nice dried rosemary that you absolutely love the flavour of, I think it would be mostly fine!
-L
I love your book and use it all the time. Can’t wait until the next one!
Could the white miso be subbed for red? i have a tub of red already in my fridge …
Hi Tracy!
Yes, red miso will also work great here. Really, any kind would work.
-L
This sounds like a perfect meal. As soon as our weather cools down a bit I can’t wait to try. I appreciate your suggestions for pairing as well as IP instructions for chickpeas. Love your food!