Garbanzo Bean Soup
Submitted by nichelle
Hearty garbanzo bean soup with carrots, celery, onion, and lemon juice, finished with a swirl of sour cream and fresh dill. A creamy Mediterranean-leaning bowl.
YIELD
9 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
3 hrsGarbanzo bean soup is the kind of pantry-driven recipe that feels like a hug in a bowl. Dried chickpeas get a quick boil and rest before joining a sweat of onion, carrot, and celery (a classic mirepoix base) and simmer in stock until everything turns silky and rich.
A hit of lemon juice at the end is the secret. Chickpeas are mild and slightly chalky on their own, and acid wakes the entire pot up the way salt does for everything else.
This recipe gives you the option to purée the beans for a creamy finish or leave them whole for a brothier, more rustic bowl. The purée gets brightened with extra stock and that lemon juice before being stirred back into the soup, which is a clever trick for thickening without flour.
Fresh dill and a dollop of cool sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) at the table cuts the richness and gives a Mediterranean lift.
Pro Tips
- The boil-and-rest hour replaces the usual overnight soak, but you can also use the traditional cold soak if you plan ahead.
- Don’t add salt until the beans are nearly tender. Salting too early can keep dried chickpeas from softening fully.
- Use a stick blender to part-purée the soup in the pot if you want texture variety without dirtying a separate blender.
- This soup freezes for up to six months, but freeze it without the dairy garnish. Add fresh sour cream and dill when reheating.
Variations
- Stir in a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne for a Spanish-style version.
- Add a cinnamon stick and a pinch of cumin while simmering for a North African lean.
- Throw in a handful of baby spinach or kale at the end for extra greens.
Ingredients
Directions
Cover beans with boiling water and set aside to cook for 1 hour, then continue with the recipe.
Place oil in a 2 qt soup pot over med heat add onions and cook for 5 min, Add carrots and celery and cook another 5 minutes.
Add the drained beans and 6 cup broth. Cover, raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cook covered for 1½ hours.
Combine the purée, remaining 3 cup broth and lemon juice in a 1 qt pot, Cover, bring to boil;l then reduce the heat.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Place a dollop of sour cream ( I’d use non fat plain yoghurt but one could use fat free sour cream, I suppose) in each soup bowl, sprinkle with dill and pour hot soup into the bowls.
To freeze: Allow the puréed beans to cool to room temp.
Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled then freeze up to 6 months.
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