Chickpea Soup

Sometimes, we need a big bowl of warm comfort and this chickpea soup fits the bill. With smoked pork shanks, vegetables and spices, this chickpea soup is flavorful, hearty and delicious. For this delicious soup we use canned chickpeas instead of fresh. Before you judge too harshly, let me plead my case.

I love cooking with fresh beans, I do. Just check out my Cuban style red beans, Cuban white bean soup, and navy bean soup recipes. But, when it comes to chickpeas, it’s a love-hate relationship. I love to eat them, I hate that they’re super hard, even after soaking and long cooking times.

I’ve even asked my wise aunts, who are experienced and prolific cooks, for advice on how to get chickpeas to soften. They all came back with the same advice “use a pressure cooker”. I don’t use pressure cookers so there goes that idea.

I really didn’t want to give up, but a change of course was definitely needed. I decided to go with canned chickpeas. Finally, a chickpea soup with fantastic flavor and a creamy texture!

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 Celery Rib, diced
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Cumin
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 pound Smoked Pork Shanks, or ham hocks
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 4 cups Water
• 3 (16 ounce) cans Chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed
• 1 medium Potato, diced into bite sized pieces (we used a russet potato)

Prep work

Just because we’re using canned beans that doesn’t mean we skimp on the process. There are plenty of vegetables to create a flavor base and smoked pork shanks to add amazing flavor to this soup.

Things will move quickly at the start of this chickpea soup recipe. It’s best to have everything ready to go before you start cooking.

• Dice the onions, carrots and celery. Mince the garlic, measure out the tomato paste and the spices.
• The salt, dried oregano, cumin and black pepper are all going in at the same time so keep them in the same bowl. I like using glass nesting bowls to organize all my ingredients. They make prep work a snap!
• Next, peel and dice the potatoes. Keep them in a bowl covered with cold water so they don’t start to brown.
• Rinse the pork shanks with cold water and pat them dry with a paper towel. They tend to be salty so we can control some of the salt.
• Finally, drain and rinse the chickpeas. The easiest way to do this is to add them to a large strainer and give them a good rinse with cold water.

Alright, now we’re ready to make chickpea soup!

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Next, add the garlic, tomato paste, salt, dried oregano, cumin and black pepper to the pot. Stir the mixture well to combine. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.

Add the pork shanks, chicken broth and the water to the pot and stir well, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot.

Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook the broth with the pork shanks for 30 minutes.

Since we’re using canned chickpeas there’s no need to add them yet. Instead we’ll use the time to make a flavorful broth with the vegetables and pork.

We may be cheating with the canned chickpeas but this soup will still have that homemade, cooked-from-scratch taste.

Chop the smoked pork

Remove the pork shanks from the pot. Set them on a cutting board and allow them to cool a bit. Lower the heat on the broth to low, cover the pot and continue gently cooking the broth.

When the pork shanks are cool enough to handle, take the meat off the bone and chop it into small pieces. Discard the bone and any fatty pieces.

Finish the chickpea soup

Raise the heat to medium and add the chickpeas and the chopped pork to the pot, stir well. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the broth comes to a simmer. Raise the heat a touch if you need to.

Finally, add the potatoes to the pot. If you were keeping your potatoes in water, remember to drain them before adding them in. Yes, I have forgotten.

Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook the soup for 25-30 minutes. We want the potatoes to be fall-apart tender and the chickpeas to be nice and creamy in the center.

Keep the soup boiling, so that the liquid thickens. The starchy potatoes and the chickpeas will break down some and thicken the soup nicely. Give the soup a stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, especially as the soup starts to thicken.

Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference, we did not add extra salt to our chickpea soup.

What to do if the chickpea soup isn’t thickening

If your chickpea soup is not thickening there’s an easy fix for that.

• First, uncover the pot and let the soup continue simmering for a few minutes. Some of the liquid will cook out and the soup will start to thicken.
• Then, use a small strainer to remove 2-3 tablespoons of the chickpeas and potatoes from the pot.
• Mash them up really well. Use a fork, kind of like making smashed potatoes.
• Finally, add that chickpea paste back to the soup and stir well. Let it simmer a little while longer and that should do it.
• This thickening method works really well with other bean soups as well.

Serve the chickpea soup with white rice or a nice piece of crusty bread for dipping. Enjoy!

You may also like these bean soups

• Lentil and Andouille Sausage Soup
• Bacon and Lentil Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Sausage and White Bean Soup
• Cuban Split Pea Soup

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Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Chickpea Soup

Sometimes, we need a big bowl of warm comfort and this chickpea soup fits the bill. With smoked pork shanks, vegetables and spices, this chickpea soup is flavorful, hearty and delicious.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bean soups, chickpeas

Servings: 6

Calories: 554.46kcal

Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 medium Yellow Onion finely diced
• 2 Carrots diced
• 1 Celery Rib diced
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Cumin
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 pound Smoked Pork Shanks or ham hocks, rinsed with cold water and patted dry
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 4 cups Water
• 3 (16 ounce) cans Chickpeas (garbanzos) drained and rinsed
• 1 medium Potato diced into bite sized pieces (we used a russet potato)

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• When the oil is hot, but not smoking add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic, tomato paste, salt, dried oregano, cumin and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
• Add the pork shanks, chicken broth and the water to the pot and stir well, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot.
• Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook the broth with the ham shanks for 30 minutes.
• Remove the pork shanks from the pot. Set them on a cutting board and allow them to cool a bit.
• Lower the heat on the broth to low, cover the pot and continue gently cooking the broth.
• When the pork shanks are cool enough to handle, take the meat off the bone and chop it into small pieces. Discard the bone and any fatty pieces.
• Raise the heat to medium and add the chickpeas and the chopped pork to the pot, stir well.
• Cover and cook the soup for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the broth comes to a simmer, raise the heat if needed.
• Add the potatoes to the chickpea soup.
• Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook the soup for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chickpeas are soft and creamy in the center. Stir the soup occasionally, especially as it starts to thicken.
• Taste the soup and add salt if needed. As a reference, we did not add extra salt to our chickpea soup.
• Serve the chickpea soup with white rice or a nice piece of crusty bread for dipping.

Notes

Keep the peeled potatoes in a bowl covered with cold water so they don’t start to brown.

If your chickpea soup is not thickening, uncover the pot and let the soup continue simmering for a few minutes. Use a strainer to remove 2-3 tablespoons of the chickpeas and potatoes from the pot. Mash them using a fork and return the chickpea paste back to the soup, stir well. Let it simmer a little while longer and that should do it.

Nutrition

Calories: 554.46kcal | Carbohydrates: 72.5g | Protein: 38.77g | Fat: 13.29g | Saturated Fat: 2.04g | Cholesterol: 49.9mg | Sodium: 1098.67mg | Potassium: 1322.87mg | Fiber: 19.36g | Sugar: 13.1g | Vitamin A: 3528.72IU | Vitamin C: 21.78mg | Calcium: 166.88mg | Iron: 9.01mg

The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate.This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.