April 9, 2019
(last updated May 3, 2022) 
This creamy chickpea soup is creamy, filling, and rich in plant protein. It’s made from puréed chickpeas, broth, and roasted garlic. Think of it as hummus soup—in the best possible way!
My first boss used to joke that I’d probably be happy on a diet of mostly baby food. He said this because of my obvious love of mushy-textured foods, which I snacked on constantly at work: refried black bean dip, nut pate, and hummus. Especially hummus.
My love of mush hasn’t budged as the years go by. If anything, it’s gotten deeper. I love not just mushy dips, but also mushy porridge, soft/mushy grain dishes, smashed beans, and mushy soups and stews. This is especially true when it comes to puréed soups: the thicker the better, which means the texture sometimes walks a pretty fine line between soup and mush.
This creamy roasted garlic and chickpea soup isn’t offensively thick or mushy, and the addition of tender greens gives it some texture contrast. But it does have that thick, puréed texture that I love so much, and since the base is roasted garlic and chickpeas with a touch of lemon, it’s not so different from hummus soup. I’ve just given it a slightly fancier name 🙂
The soup begins with two whole heads of roasted garlic. It sounds like a ton, but the reason I’ve called for it is because the first time I made the soup, I only used one head of garlic. I liked the flavor, but I thought it could easily do with double the roasted garlic. Roasted garlic has none of the kick of the raw stuff, and in fact it gives this soup a mellow sweetness. If you’re very sensitive to garlic, of course, feel free to reduce the amount, but if your garlic heads are medium or small, I suspect you’ll find that two of them is just right.
Otherwise, the soup is super simple. Roasting the garlic is actually the most time-consuming step. Once that’s taken care of, you just sauté some chickpeas and onion, add broth and salt, and blend it all up. Here’s how it comes together.
Creamy Roasted Garlic Chickpea Soup
Author –Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic, top sliced off crosswise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (480g, or two 15-ounce / 425g cans, drained and rinsed)
- 4 cups vegetable broth (950mL)
- water
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 small bunch dark, leafy greens, such as spinach, Swiss chard, kale, broccoli rabe, or collard greens (about 4-5 cups chopped, tightly packed greens after preparation)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly drizzle the garlic heads with olive oil. Wrap each head in foil and roast for 45 minutes, or until the cloves are becoming caramelized and the garlic is very fragrant.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, or until the onion is tender and clear. Add the chickpeas, broth, 1 cup (240mL) water, salt, and pepper. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Transfer the mixture in the pot to a powerful blender. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from both heads of garlic into the blender. Blend the ingredients on high till the mixture is very smooth. Take precaution with blending, as the hot soup will splatter. You can also use an immersion blender for this step.
- Transfer the pureed soup back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the greens and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until the greens are very tender. Stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste (1-2 tablespoons) and add up to one extra cup water (240mL) if the soup is too thick for your liking. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Notes
If you like, you can roast the garlic 1-3 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to blend.
When I first made the soup, it was in the middle of a week of seasonal peaks and valleys temperature, sunny days and drizzle. I enjoyed it for many lunches with a hunk of homemade sourdough and a little salad. It felt like the perfect transition meal between winter and spring: still hearty enough to be warming and grounding, thanks to the chickpea base, but the puréed texture, spring greens, and burst of lemon made it feel fresh, too.
I could imagine making it again very soon, as New York continues to ride the customary April weather. And although I love the chickpeas here, I’m also eager to try it with some white beans.
Wishing you an easy transition between seasons this week, and I’ll see you back here for the usual roundup on Sunday.
xo
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Categories: Recipes,
Soups
Method: One Pot, Stovetop
Ingredients: Chickpeas
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Method: One Pot, Stovetop
Ingredients: Chickpeas
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Leave a Comment
This was so good! I used spinach for the greens, and it was a perfect accompaniment. I just polished off the last of it, and Iโm making more this weekend. This time, I will try 3 garlic bulbs, and maybe go 50/50 with spinach and one of the other greens listed.
So glad you enjoyed it, Vanessa!
Loved this soup. I put lemon wedges and spinach pieces and it was very tasty and smooth!
Smooth and Creamy Deliciosuness! Thank you for sharing this tasty soup.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
I used chicken broth with parsley and Italian seasoning, brought it to a slow boil while I roasted the chickpeas. I roasted them with bacon, white and red onion! Then added to the broth. It tastes amazing!
So glad it turned out nicely!
This looks so amazingly creamy!!
Hey! I just made this but mine came out very watery. (I havenโt added the spinach yet.) is this normal?
Hi
It seems to be very tasty and healthy. Thanks for it dear.
This soup is wildly good and SO easy. Just made today for meal prep after I had it saved on my computer since you posted ๐ I accidentally roasted my garlic naked, but was able to salvage a good bit of it. I used frozen spinach for the green and I can’t wait to eat more and more of this delicious stuff! Thank for a wonderful recipe. I’ve loved following your blog and this is great.
I’m delighted that you enjoyed it, Susanna!
A very simple and tasty soup! Thanks for the recipe Gena! My partner and I loved it!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Christine!
Yummy! I recently made โThe Stewโ and figured there would be turmeric in this as well. What a gorgeous color – canโt wait to make it.
No turmeric! And Iโm sure itโs no match for The Stew. But itโs simple and nice. Enjoy, Lynn!
Hi, did i miss/skip over how the soup got hot in Step 3? In Step 2, we put the beans&broth in the pot. Do we boil, simmer , covered? Thx.
Hey Bern,
Thatโs a good catch! The beans, onion and broth should be warmed through, or to a light simmer. Iโll edit accordingly. Thanks ๐
G
This looks great Gina! How many servings in this recipe please?
About 4. I’ll edit the recipe to reflect that!