Chickpea soup, 20 minutes

After making it again recently, we can confirm this is THE chickpea soup recipe you’ll want for lunch every day. Especially when it’s cold. That’s how we felt two weeks ago. Packed with Mediterranean flavors, cozy, high-protein, and simple to prepare, this hearty chickpea soup is made with simple ingredients like canned chickpeas, vegetables, herbs and spices.

It’s one of our favorite Mediterranean diet recipes for winter, and gets bonus points for (almost) making itself in about 20 minutes, even on a budget. In case you have any dietary restrictions, you can relax as the soup is vegan, gluten-, grain-, soy- and nut-free. Don’t forget to add some toppings like jalapenos, avocado, or even croutons for added crunch.

Chickpea Soup

To be honest with you, we haven’t left the house in a while (what else is new?), so we don’t need a soup to warm us up right now. We're doing pretty well, wearing our 10 layers of clothing that resemble Santa’s gift sack. But in grey and no presents inside.

If we did need some warming, we'd definitely be making this chickpea soup right now. It’s simple, it doesn’t call for a ton of ingredients, it’s cozy, it’s satisfying and we can make it in less than 30 minutes.

Why do we always say we don’t want to eat the recipes we made right now…Is that called self-sabotage? Like it’s great for our past and future self, but our present self? No thanks, we'll have coffee with a dash of acid reflux. Maybe it’s also because it’s 9 am right now.

In case you want to join future us in making this tasty soup, here are the ingredients.

What You Need To Make Chickpea Soup

• canned chickpeas (or pre-cooked)
• onion
• garlic
• tomato – you can also use a little bit of tomato paste or canned tomatoes
• red pepper
• mint – can also use oregano, dried or fresh
• cumin
• olive oil
• spinach (optional) – can also use kale
• lemon juice
• salt
• pepper

The secret to making irresistible flavor-packed chickpea soup in 20 minutes is using canned chickpeas. Listen, we also love slow-cooked food, but sometimes you’re just hungry and in a hurry. In that case, you work with canned or pre-cooked food. It works.

For the flavor part, you do not want to skip the garlic and onion. Garlic, onion, some fresh herbs, olive oil make a great base for a healthy flavorful soups or dishes in general.

How it comes together

Chop the onion, grate the tomato and the red pepper. Then freshen up your fingers by mincing some garlic.

Add all to a heated cooking pot with olive oil, mint and cumin and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Go back in time and rinse and drain the chickpeas. Then, add them in and saute for 2 more minutes. Add water, a good amount of salt and cover with a lid. Cook at medium for around 8‐10 minutes. You can also use stock instead of the salty water.

Add in the spinach, taste and add salt or water if needed.

Blend half of the soup using a hand blender and stir. Cook for 2 more minutes and remove from the stove.

How To Store & Reheat

This soup stores well in an airtight container in the fridge. Sometimes we use a Tupperware, sometimes a huge recycled jar to store it. Whatever you have, it will be good for 3-4 days.

For reheating, we like to use the stove, but the microwave will also work if you only have that option at work.

How To Serve

Serve as is! We usually don’t need anything added to the soup, because it’s flavorful on its own.

But in case you want something extra, serve with toasted bread or with croutons. Or if you’re in the mood to absorb some extra iron and beta carotene – add jalapenos and avocado. They have a great flavor too.