Italian Chickpea Soup – Nora Cooks

This Italian chickpea soup is made with a handful of simple, budget-friendly ingredients and is loaded with hearty and comforting flavor! Ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.

You’ll always find a can of chickpeas in my cupboard because they’re one of my many vegan pantry staples! They come in handy for all kinds of recipes, from veggie burgers to homemade hummus, adding protein and fiber to every bite.

They’re the main source of protein in this vegetarian Italian chickpea soup, ensuring every batch is hearty, filling and delicious! You’ll love its simplicity; Cook together a handful of vegetables and spices in one pot and fill the 30-minute soup with delicious Italian-inspired flavors.

The ingredients are all budget-friendly and easy to find. Make a batch for a quick weeknight dinner or use it as a filling meal prep option! It’s super easy and will become a new staple in your weekly meal rotation.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make: A quick, easy and filling dinner idea.
• Budget-friendly and flexible: The handful of ingredients in this recipe are all budget-friendly, making it a perfect recipe for family dinners and vegetarian meals. Follow the recipe to a tee or shake up the flavors using your favorite veggies or what you already have at home.
• Pleasant and nutritious: Much like vegan minestrone or vegan chicken noodle soup, chickpea soup is made with natural, nutritious ingredients that help you feel great. The texture is naturally creamy, making this healthy soup feel extra indulgent.

Required components (including substitutions)

• olive oil
• onion
• garlic
• Yukon Gold Potatoes – This creamy and starchy potato acts as a natural thickener in soups and helps to “creamify” the texture, especially when blended. Red, russet and sweet potatoes can all be used as substitutes. Butternut squash works too! Make sure you use 2 cups total when substituting.
• chickpeas – Canned chickpeas are perfect and convenient!
• tomato – Use a can of diced tomatoes to keep this recipe as hands-free as possible.
• Smoked paprika – or regular paprika.
• Dried basil and oregano – If you want to upgrade the Italian flavors here, replace these dried herbs with a pre-blended Italian seasoning blend.
• Red chili flakes – A hint of spice balances the other flavors.
• Vegetable broth
• the pasta – Use small shell pasta as you like. Sometimes, I like to use chickpea pasta or bean pasta for extra protein.
• salt

How to Make Italian Chickpea Soup

Find the full recipe with measurements on the recipe card below.

To start, saute onion in oiled soup pot over medium heat. When it becomes translucent, add the garlic and cook for another 1 minute.

Stir in the potatoes, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, smoked paprika, basil, oregano, chili flakes and the rest of the broth.

Turn on the flame and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and cook till the potatoes turn tender.

Cook the pasta in a separate pot while you wait for the soup*. Drain the water, then set aside.

*You can cook the pasta with the soup, but only if you plan to eat the whole batch that day. Pasta soaks up liquid as it sits in the soup and eventually becomes soggy.

Now that it’s simmered, use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup. This will help thicken it and give it a creamy consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, blend a quarter of the soup in a regular blender, then pour it back into the pot. Or don’t blend at all for a chunkier soup.

Stir in the cooked pasta to finish. Ladle the chickpea soup into bowls and top with vegan Parmesan (I used Violife Dairy Free Parmesan) or chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Serving advice

Garnish each bowl of soup with vegan parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper, fresh parsley or homemade croutons. Serve with a slice of homemade artisan bread or vegan garlic bread on the side and enjoy!

variety

• gluten free – Use your favorite gluten free pasta to make gluten free chickpea soup.
• Add more vegetables – Like diced celery, carrots, zucchini, green beans, squash, leafy greens, or any other vegetable you like.
• Add vegan parmesan – Stir melted vegan parmesan (such as Violife Dairy Free Parmesan) or ¼ cup nutritional yeast directly into the soup for a subtle cheesy flavor.
• Instead of tomatoes – You can make a creamier soup without the tomatoes by substituting a can of full-fat coconut milk for the shredded coconut.
• Finish with vegetables – When the soup is 5 minutes away from being ready, stir in a handful of chopped kale leaves or baby spinach and cook until they wilt.

to save

I recommend storing leftover soup and cooked pasta in separate containers because the pasta noodles will get soggy if they sit in the liquid.

Wait for the soup to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days. It can be frozen (except the pasta) for about 3 months.

Want more easy soup recipes?