Mediterranean Chickpea Soup
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This hearty chickpea soup is full of flavor, it comes together in less than 30 minutes and makes a quick yet delicious dinner. Plus, it’s made from scratch with cupboard staples and spinach from the freezer.
This easy, nourishing, one-pot meal is perfect for warming up in colder months and is super tasty: garlic, olive oil, paprika, oregano add a depth of flavor to the chickpeas and the tomatoes. The end result is a creamy filling soup that really packs a nutritional punch with plenty of protein and your five-a-day.
Plus, you can cook a big batch and put it in the fridge or freezer and be done for the week.
What’s not to like?
What ingredients you need
- Canned chickpeas
- Canned tomatoes
- Frozen spinach
- Onion, carrots, celery (soffritto)
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Spices (oregano and paprika)
- Flour
- Salt & pepper
- Bay leaves and lemon (optional)
How to make this chickpea soup
(Note: the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Saute’ onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaves in olive oil
- Add garlic, paprika, and oregano
- Stir in chickpeas and mix well
- Add frozen spinach, tomato sauce, broth and salt
- Cook for 10 minutes
- Then stir in a mix of water and flour
- Cook for a further 5 minutes
- Taste and adjust the seasoning
- Serve with whole-grain bread, black pepper, or chili flakes. Done.
EASY, HEALTHY AND BUDGET-FRIENDLY
You can make this pretty much anytime you want because you need only and few cupboard essentials, dried stuff, a handful of frozen spinach and 25 minutes of prep time. Plus, this protein-packed soup makes a balanced and super cheap meal (less than $ 1.50 per portion!).
ARE CHICKPEAS HEALTHY?
YES. Chickpeas are nutrient-dense food rich in protein and fiber. According to this study published in the journal Nutrients, people who regularly consume chickpeas have higher intakes of fiber, vitamins A, E and C, folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, and antioxidants. Fiber is an important part of your diet, as it prevents constipation, helps control blood sugar, and reduces the appetite.
RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
WHY DOES THIS MEDITERRANEAN CHICKPEA SOUP TASTE GOOD?
Firstly, let’s start making some soffritto.
In Italy, this is a classic base for almost anything cooked on the stove. Basically, “soffritto“ is a mix of diced carrots, onion, celery that can be slowly sautéed in a bit of olive oil until golden and sweet, which creates a flavorsome base. Please, do not to skip this step : )
When you add paprika and oregano to the soffritto base, the heated oil helps these ingredients to release beautiful aromas, deep color, and flavor.
However, make sure the dried oregano has still his intense flavor, since stale oregano leaves make everything taste kind of dusty (It happened to me a few times!).
HOW TO MAKE A CREAMY SOUP?
This is a simple step, totally optional, but it helps to make a creamy soup without adding any cream or fat.
Simply whisk a small amount of flour in cold water before whisking it into the main pot. Give a good stir, that helps to dissolve the flour into the soup evenly. The end result is a creamy and filling soup.
MORE CHICKPEA RECIPES?
If you enjoy this protein-packed soup, be sure to check out these healthy and quick soup recipes.
Or, if you are looking for more chickpea recipes, have a look at my:
Chickpea Bruschetta
Creamy chickpea soup
Roasted root vegetable and chickpea salad
Beetroot and chickpea hummus
Spicy chickpea salad
If you make this Mediterranean chickpea soup or if you have a question, let me know! Leave a comment or rate it : )
I would love to hear from you! x
Mediterranean chickpea soup
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained (28oz – 800 grams)
- 1 can canned tomatoes, diced (14 oz- 400 grams)
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (600 ml)
- 1 cup frozen spinach (7 oz – 200 grams from frozen)*
- 1 cup celery, diced (1 big celery stalk)
- 1 cup onion, diced (1 large onion)
- 1 cup carrots, diced (about 2 medium carrots)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2-3 bay leaves (optional)
- 1/2 Tbsp flour (heaped)
- 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 lemon, juice (optional)
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, paprika, oregano and bay leaves. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 1 minute.
- Add the chickpeas, and cook for another minute, stirring often.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, the frozen spinach, the broth and 1/2 tsp of salt. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat and cook gently for 10 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, dissolve 1/2 heaped Tbsp of flour into 1/2 cup of cold water, mix to a smooth consistency and stir in the soup. Srtir well and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, then remove the bay leaves. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and lemon juice until the flavors really sing. (You might need more salt, depending on your vegetable broth and your personal preferences.)
- Divide into bowls, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and some chili flakes if you’d like.
Notes
- I usually make my own vegetable broth cooking for about 5-10 minutes vegetable scraps and herbs. However, when I’m short on time I go for hot water and vegan low salt vegetable broth cubes.
- If you use a broth that tastes quite salty on its own, it’s important to adjust the seasoning at the end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the broth is. I would start only with 1/2 tsp, no more than that.
- Leftover: it keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. t’s also freezable: divide among airtight containers (leaving 1-inch space at the top), and freeze up to 2 months.
- Lemon juice: although is optional, a small amount of lemon juice added at the end of cooking brightens flavors, especially in tasty bean soups. Start with a little bit of acid, taste and adjust, until your soup tastes balanced and bright.
- Veggies: If you prefer, you could swap the spinach for other greens, such as chopped kale or chard.
- Frozen spinach: the weight is from frozen, but you can swap frozen spinach for a 10-oz bag of fresh spinach if you prefer.
Made for the first time today, it’s so good! I’ll be making again,
I’m very pleased to hear that, Leanne! Thanks for sharing. : )
If you use the immersion blender on 1 can of the chickpeas, it also makes it creamier.
Good tip, Marie!
I will make this soup, sounds so delicious. Do I need to add the flour paste?
Hi Carla! The flour mixture helps to thicken the broth, but you can leave it out, totally your call. : )
This is delicious as is. Halfway through we decided to top our bowls with a bit of crumbled feta and that sent it over the top. Will definitely make this again and I am looking forward to trying some of the other soup recipes on this site.
That’s great, Jennifer! I’m very glad you enjoyed this soup, thanks a lot for sharing your feedback. x
I’ve made this several times. I’m about to make it again now. Delicious!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you love the recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Sonja. x
Made this twice now- delicious. Didn’t have celery so substituted 1 leek which worked well. Also, used 2 cups fresh spinach which also worked a treat.Only had veggie stock cubes for broth so didn’t add any salt. Everyone loved it!
I’m so pleased it turned out delicious, Ange!
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and have a great day. x
Very good! Love the lemon at the end. Thank you!
I’m so pleased, thanks so much for sharing, Jane! : )
Have a great Sunday. x
This recipe didn’t have to be THIS GOOD lol! I didn’t want to go to the store at all so I used what I had, substituted frozen for fresh spinach and instead of tomato paste + all the lovely spices, I just used half a jar of medium salsa & whew, I’m so satisfied this is definitely gonna be a weekly meal for me. Had me full for the rest of the night! 10/10
Great, thanks so much for sharing your fantastic feedback!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it. : )
My adult autistic son is putting this soup together in the kitchen as we speak! The smells are already heavenly! His addition is a pack of tofu to add some protein. I can’t wait to try it out! Thanks for the inspiration! Love from chilly Maine where this will warm our tummies really well! 🥰
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Karen! Hope you guys loved this filling and warming soup. : )
Greetings from London. xx
This soup was the bomb! Can’t wait to make again. Added more veggies and used the whole 32 Oz vegetable broth. Yum!
I’m so glad you loved it, Roger.
Thanks so much for your feedback. xx
Love it! I gave some to my neighbor and she pureed it for her baby and he loves it!!
I’m so pleased, hope the baby loved it too! : )
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Heather.
Have a great weekend. x
Omgosh. Best soup !! We always rate our food before we are done … yes , we will eat this again
That’s brilliant, thanks so much for sharing, Leeanna! : )