Easy Curry Chickpea Soup with Spinach
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This easy Moroccan-inspired Curry Chickpea Soup is filled with savory flavors and healthy, nourishing ingredients like greens, fresh herbs, and legumes. And while it packs a punch nutritionally, it’s also utterly delicious… and ready in 30 minutes or less with little prep.
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Curry is a flavor I often crave, especially during the cold months, but, truly, almost always. It’s comforting, robust, and delicious.
Curry Flavors
This loved curry spice blend is a balance of earthy, spicy, warming, or even sometimes sweet flavors. It’s almost addictive; it’s just that delicious. If you’re wondering which spices contribute to curry, it is often a mix of deeply savory flavors of turmeric, coriander, cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon, and cloves.
In this Curry Chickpea Soup, I’m using traditional curry powder to make the recipe easy. But in the “notes” section of the recipe card at the bottom of this post, you can also make your own simple curry blend with cumin, coriander, and sweet paprika. It’s also delicious!
Chickpea Health Benefits
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are legumes in the same family as kidney beans and peanuts. They are a healthy and delicious addition to our diet with a buttery, nutty flavor and creamy texture.
The earliest known use of chickpeas dates to Turkey in 3500 B.C. and France in 6970 B.C. Fun fact: India produces more chickpeas than any other country.
5 Chickpea Health Benefits
WebMD and other sources detail the health benefits of this delicious legume. Here are a few reasons we should all add them to our diet.
- Blood sugar: Both canned and dried chickpeas have a low glycemic index. This means your body absorbs and digests them slowly.
- Digestion: Chickpeas are high in dietary fiber, especially a soluble fiber called raffinose.
- Lower Cholesterol: Soluble fiber is good for more than gut health. It can lessen your total cholesterol and your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
- Stronger Bones: Chickpeas and other legumes have calcium, magnesium, fiber, and other nutrients for strong bones.
- Mental Boost: Chickpeas have choline, a nutrient that helps make important chemicals for memory, mood, muscle control, and other brain and nervous system activity.
If this has made you hungry for chickpeas, you may love to try my 10-minute Mediterranean Chickpea Salad for a quick and healthy meal or Curry Roasted Chickpeas for a quick and healthy snack.
Curry Chickpea Soup Ingredients
This soup only contains a handful of ingredients that require very little prep. Here’s what you need to make this simple 30-minute soup recipe:
- Canned chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, this delicious legume is the centerpiece for the soup. While you can absolutely cook your own from dry chickpeas, I’m using canned for simplicity. Don’t drain all of the liquid, as we’ll be using some in the soup.
- Aromatics are ingredients that add aroma and flavor: We’re using a combination of curry powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, minced or pressed garlic, chopped onion, and parsley. Most of which will be sauteed in olive oil for enhanced flavor.
- Vegetable Broth: You can also substitute a low-sodium chicken broth if preferred.
- Greens: I’m using fresh baby spinach leaves, but choose your favorite green, like kale, mustard greens, or even chard leaves. Keep in mind that some greens will need a longer cooking time.
- Acidity: Lemon juice brings a delicious, bright note to this soup.
- Serving: Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
How to Make Curry Chickpea Soup
Soup Prep: Drain the canned chickpeas and reserve 1/2 cup of their liquid. Then, chop the onions and mince or press the garlic.
Step 1: Saute aromatics
Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and garlic, and season with salt (about 1/2 teaspoon). Saute, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add the curry powder (or seasoning) and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir to coat with spices. Mash some chickpeas to thicken the soup using a potato masher or a fork.
Step 2: Add broth and cook
Pour in the stock and reserved chickpea liquid. Increase heat to high, bring soup to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Wilt the greens
Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach and parsley. Let sit for 1 minute or until the spinach wilts. Juice half of the lemon and stir into the soup. To serve, top each serving with Parmesan cheese.
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Curry Chickpea Soup with Spinach
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (*see notes for substitutions)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups vegetable broth or low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 large lemon halved
- parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions
- Drain the chickpeas and reserve 1/2 cup of their liquid.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic, and season with salt (about 1/2 teaspoon). Saute, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add the curry powder (or seasoning) and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir to coat with spices. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash some of the chickpeas to thicken the soup.
- Pour in the stock and reserved chickpea liquid. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat, partially cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach and parsley. Let sit for 1 minute or until the spinach wilts. Juice half of the lemon and stir into the soup. To serve, top each serving with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.