Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup
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This warming, satisfying lentil and vegetable soup comes together in just 30 minutes.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
For a vegetarian recipe made almost entirely from pantry staples (and I mean true staples, not staples from some well-stocked dream kitchen), this vegetable soup is surprisingly delicious. It’s thickened by puréeing a portion of the soup and then stirring it back into the pot (a technique I also use in other veggie and bean soups like pasta e fagioli and mulligatawny). This method gives the soup a wonderfully rich and hearty texture without relying on heavy cream or flour. The soup takes just 30 minutes to come together, start to finish, yet tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen, and it’s good for you, too. For the cooked vegetables, feel free to use any quick-cooking, frozen, or leftover vegetables you have on hand. The recipe is extremely flexible and very hearty!
Table of Contents
“Super simple and delicicious. It’s a keeper.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chickpea, Lentil and Vegetable Soup
- Olive Oil: Used to sauté the onions, garlic, carrots, and spices, adding richness and helping to develop a deep flavor base for the soup.
- Onion and Garlic: Provide a savory foundation and depth, essential for building the soup’s overall flavor.
- Carrot: Adds a subtle sweetness and contributes to the hearty texture of the soup.
- Paprika and Cumin: Infuse the soup with smoky and earthy flavors, enhancing the overall warmth and complexity.
- Vegetable or Chicken Broth: Acts as the soup’s liquid base, balancing flavors and providing a rich, savory undertone. Opt for low-sodium broth here.
- Diced Tomatoes: Contribute acidity and a subtle sweetness, adding depth to the broth.
- Red Lentils: Thicken the soup and add protein, creating a hearty texture. It’s important to stick with red lentils here due to their quick cooking time. Use 1/3 cup as specified in the recipe, as using more can make the soup too thick.
- Dried Thyme: Adds an aromatic, earthy note that complements the soup’s savory elements.
- Bay Leaves: Infuse the soup with a mild herbal flavor, enhancing its overall complexity.
- Chickpeas: Add texture, protein, and a nutty flavor, making the soup more substantial.
- Cooked Vegetables: Provide additional texture and nutrients, rounding out the soup with a variety of flavors and colors. I like to use frozen peas and green beans but you can use any quick cooking, frozen, or leftover vegetables you have on hand. The recipe is very flexible!
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the onions in olive oil until soft. Add the carrots, garlic, smoked paprika and cumin and cook until fragrant, a few minutes.
Add the broth, tomatoes, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and continue cooking 10 minutes more.
Remove a few cups of the soup and place in a blender or food processor.
Purée until smooth.
Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Stir and taste; if you want the soup to be thicker, purée a bit more. Add the vegetables.
Bring the soup back to a simmer and serve.
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Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce (411-g) can diced tomatoes
- ⅓ cup red lentils
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15.5-ounce (439-g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked vegetables, such as frozen peas or chopped green beans
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, smoked paprika and cumin; cook, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't brown, about 2 minutes more.
- Add the broth, diced tomatoes, red lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer; cook for ten minutes. Add the chickpeas, cover the pot and cook 10 minutes more. Fish out the bay leaves, then transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender and purée until smooth (be sure to remove the center knob on the blender and cover with a dishtowel to avoid splatters). Add the puréed soup back to the pot and stir. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary; if you want the soup to be thicker, purée a bit more soup. Add the cooked vegetables and simmer until the soup is hot and the vegetables are warmed through. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Comments
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I made this tonight and it was delicious and full of flavour. I will definitely be making this again.
Once again, really easy to make and comforting to the heart soup. I love the smoky notes while not being too overwhelming for my 16 month old’s taste buds 🙂
My husband loved taking this soup for lunch to work.
Thank you again for sharing such great and easy recipes.
What would be a good substitution for the Lentils? They do not agree with me or my boyfriend. Loved the soup otherwise.
Hi Maegan, You could just omit the lentils and/or substitute with more chickpeas or frozen vegetables.
Just made a pot of this yesterday. Wow! So easy and so quick! Hearty and filling. I love the unique blend of spices. I will be making this again. Yummy!
Awesome soup. Love the unique flavor with the smoked paprika and cumin. Super healthy, full of fridge and pantry staples, loaded with fiber and protein and is quick to make. Added in kale at the end and puréed most of it before.
I made this soup last night – it was sooooo delicious and easy to make. My husband and I loved it. I am always on the look out for easy, healthy, nutritious good food. This recipe fits my criteria . Thank you. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
I made the French Lentil & Vegetable soup yesterday & tonight it’s the Smoky chickpea & red Lentil & vegetable soup, it’s going to be very difficult to choose a favourite….they are both amazing…thank you for the wonderful recipes….Bonnie
Oh my goodness. This is fabulous. What a delicious soup.
I am not a big fan of using canned or boxed stock, so I started by boiling the veggies that I was planning to use and then I used the water from boiling in the recipe, along with some extra water. There is so much flavor in this soup that I think using plain water would be just fine.
Love the technique of pureeing some but not all of the soup. I’m going to try that with some of my other soups.
I admit I was a bit skeptical to try this, but the fact that I have yet to be dissapointed by any of the recipes from OUC (and i have tried quite a few) made me just try it. A couple of things I did differently, I had everything but the diced tomatoes so I diced up a medium sized tomato and added a teaspoon of tomato paste. Also, I added curly kale as the green veggie. It was delicious! Only thing that I may omit next time or wont worry about if I dont have it on hand is the addition of the red lentils, they kinda disappeared in the soup anyhow. But, I loved the flavor, nothing was overbearing and the fact that its a healthy low cal , high fiber option is wonderful! Making a batch on Sunday for Monday’s lunch to get me back on track after eating junk since Thanksgiving!
This was my first recipe that I tried from your website. It turned out to be a success. My brother who is very critical said it was a nine out of 10. He said it’s very tasty. I agree. For fresh veggies, I used white mushrooms, zucchini and broccoli. Very glad to have found your website. I’m going to post a picture on my Instagram.