Hearty Chickpea Soup {Stovetop or Crockpot}
The Hearty Chickpea Soup is the perfect vegetarian lunch for winter. It has pasta, parmesan, Italian seasoning and spinach in it.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use any neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also work.
- Celery stalks – swap out the celery for more carrots or leave it out altogether.
- Carrots – add in some more celery or substitute for leeks.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Italian seasoning – make your own using a blend of oregano, basil and thyme.
- Lemon zest – you can leave this out if you don’t have any on hand.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Parmesan cheese wedge – a Romano cheese wedge would also be good here.
- Chickpeas – you can try making this soup with another legume of your choice like cannellini beans or lentils.
- Vegetable broth – chicken broth is the best substitute here but it will make the dish non-vegetarian. You can also use a vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in boiling water.
- Ditalini pasta – or another small sized pasta like tubettini or macaroni.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great substitute for parmesan.
- Spinach – swap out for another dark leafy green like kale or collard greens.
- Fresh parsley – fresh chervil or tarragon will provide a similar flavour.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is preferred but bottled lemon juice will also work.
- Loaf crusty bread – you could also serve your soup with crackers.
How to make chickpea soup
Step 1: Sauté the veggies.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots, sauteeing for 3-4 minutes until veggies soften.
Step 2: Add the seasonings.
Add garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon zest, salt and pepper, sauteeing another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step 3: Stir in the chickpeas and pasta.
Add in parmesan wedge, chickpeas, vegetable broth and pasta, cooking for 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
Step 4: Mix in the spinach and cheese.
Stir in parmesan cheese, spinach, parsley and lemon juice.
Step 5: Cook then remove from heat.
Cook another minute before removing from heat.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Serve in large bowls with crusty bread on the side. Enjoy!
Making it in the crockpot
This soup also works well as a crockpot meal! Just dump everything but the parmesan cheese, spinach, parsley and lemon juice into the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. In the last few minutes of cooking, stir in the remaining ingredients then serve and dig in! It’s a great recipe for those chilly winter nights where you need something comforting but hands-off.
Frequently Asked Questions
While this hearty chickpea soup contains cheese and pasta, it also contains lots of healthy ingredients like chickpeas and spinach. Chickpeas are high in nutrients like manganese and folate, and are a great source of fibre and plant-based protein. One bowl of this delicious soup contains just 323 calories per serving, so all in all, it’s a fairly healthy dish.
Nope! There’s no need to remove the skin from the chickpeas before adding them to the soup. If you do, the chickpeas will likely fall apart and get all mushy, which definitely isn’t what you want.
This soup recipe is a great way to cook chickpeas. You’re still getting all the amazing nutritional benefits, with all the soup’s delicious added flavour. For this recipe, the chickpeas will cook alongside the rest of the ingredients, so you don't have to worry about pre-cooking them.
Storing and reheating
This chickpea soup is great for meal prep and will last in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I recommend storing individual serving sizes in glass containers. That way, when you’re ready to enjoy your soup, all you have to do is pull a container out of the fridge and stick it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. If you have a bit more time, you can also reheat this soup in a pot on the stovetop.
Freezing this recipe
If you plan on freezing this soup, you'll want to freeze it without the pasta, as the pasta will get mushy when it defrosts. You can freeze your cooked chickpea soup without the pasta for up to 3 months in airtight glass containers or Ziploc bags.
Let the soup defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal. You can also reheat the soup directly from frozen in the microwave for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring halfway through. Stir in the cooked pasta and some extra parmesan after reheating and dig in!
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Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this soup into leftovers.
- Try making this recipe in a crock pot.
Hearty Chickpea Soup {Stovetop or Crockpot}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp lemon zest optional but highly recommended
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 parmesan cheese wedge
- 1 (540mL) can chickpeas
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup ditalini pasta
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice preferably fresh squeezed
- 1 loaf crusty bread optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots, sauteeing for 3-4 minutes until veggies soften.
- Add garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon zest, salt and pepper, sauteeing another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add in parmesan wedge, chickpeas, vegetable broth and pasta, cooking for 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
- Stir in parmesan cheese, spinach, parsley and lemon juice, cooking another minute before removing from heat.
- Serve in large bowls with crusty bread on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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