Lemony Roasted Garlic Chickpea Soup

Garlic lovers unite! This creamy, yet light Chickpea Soup is packed with flavours of caramelized garlic and zesty lemon juice. It’s finished with crispy onions and chickpeas that add colour, texture, and even more flavour. Substitute vegetable stock to make this naturally Gluten-free and Dairy-free soup vegan.

As the daylight hours shorten and the air turns crisp and cool, soups and stews begin to appear on our table. There are days when I’ll spend hours making a classic like French Onion Soup from scratch and days when I just want a bowl of quick Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup. The great thing is, no matter how much time I have for cooking, there’s always time for a great bowl of soup.

Disclosure: This post is made possible by Alberta Pulse Growers. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Lemony Roasted Garlic Chickpea Soup

What I love about this soup is how unassuming it looks. However, appearances are often deceiving. What this soup lacks in colour, it makes up for in flavour. It contains not one, but two whole bulbs of roasted garlic, tahini, sumac, and an entire juiced lemon.

Let’s talk garnish. You can choose to add a whole clove of roasted garlic, or not. However, I highly recommend topping the soup with crispy fried onions and crispy sumac chickpeas. The fried onions support the allium forward flavours of this soup while the air fried chickpeas enhance the lemon flavours. Both garnishes add an interesting textural crunch to the soup.

Suffice it to say, if you love hummus, you will love this soup. It has the same flavours as my favourite roasted garlic hummus but is creamier and accented with a generous amount of lemon juice. This is simple comfort food, hearty and nourishing.

Ingredients For This Chickpea Soup

This chickpea soup recipe is packed full of immunity boosters and healthy ingredients, making it perfect for cold and flu season. It is a hearty, filling soup packed with plant based protein and nutrients.

• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Onion
• Chickpeas
• Tahini
• Stock
• Potatoes
• Lemon
• Sumac
• Fried Onions
• Parsley

Alliums such as onion, garlic, and leeks have a lot of immunity boosting ‘anti’ qualities. These include antioxidants, antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Onions and garlic appear two ways in this recipe. Both are sautéed to start out the soup, while roasted garlic becomes part of the broth and crispy fried onions serve as garnish.

You can use turkey, chicken, or vegetable broth for this recipe. However, the quality of the stock is very important because of how few ingredients there are in this soup recipe. Homemade stock is always best so be sure to purchase a high-quality stock if you are unable to make your own. Be aware of the sodium level in store bought stock and adjust the amount of Sea salt (or kosher salt) accordingly.

Lemon and sumac are very similar in flavour. There is approximately 1/4 cup of juice in one large lemon, which adds a lot of lemon flavour to this soup. The sumac is primarily used as a garnish and coating for the chickpeas. While there are no substitutes for sumac, you can use paprika to spice the chickpeas and garnish the soup. Be aware that using paprika will change the flavour profile of the soup.

Tahini is roasted sesame seeds ground together to make a paste. It brings an enjoyable nutty flavour to the soup but can be omitted altogether.

I highly recommend buying the fried onions, but they can be omitted if necessary. In fact, I keep a container of them in my pantry so I can use them as toppers for soups and casseroles.

Health Benefits of Chickpeas

Chickpeas are a key component in this soup, and they appear in two ways; blended into the stock and as an eye-catching soup topper. They provide a low fat, high fiber vegetable protein that makes this soup hearty and filling.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a rich source of minerals including Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Iron, and Phosphorous (all over 20% of the recommended daily value in one cup serving). Then, there are the vitamins including a healthy amount of B9 (Folate), among others.

While a 19 oz. (540 ml) can of chickpeas is convenient and contains approximately 2 cups of cooked chickpeas, dried chickpeas are economical and easy to cook. If you have the time to cook them yourself, replace the canned chickpeas with 3/4 cup – 1 cup dried chickpeas.

How to Make Lemony Roasted Garlic Chickpea Soup

This Chickpea Soup comes together quickly. The time in the recipe card is an approximation because several steps can be done simultaneously to save time. Other great ‘time savers’ in this recipe include an Air Fryer and high-speed blender, such as a Vitamix. You can make this recipe without them, though the cooking time will increase accordingly.

Roasting Garlic in An Air Fryer

To prepare the garlic, place one garlic bulb on its side and slice 1/2 inch off the top so the tops of the cloves are exposed. Repeat with second garlic bulb. Cut two squares of aluminum foil.

Next, preheat air fryer to 375 F. Place each garlic bulb in the middle of a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over each bulb. Season each bulb with sea salt and wrap them tightly in the foil.

Roast garlic in air fryer at 375 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow them to cool to room temperature, then remove the cloves from their skins.

How to Roast Chickpeas in An Air Fryer

While the garlic is roasting, remove half of the can (1 cup) of drained chickpeas and dry them with a paper towel. Place the dry chickpeas in a small bowl and drizzle them with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons sumac. Season with sea salt.

Add seasoned chickpeas to the hot air fryer basket and roast at 375 F. for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

Making the Chickpea Broth

Processing the chickpeas and roasted garlic together in a high-powered blender creates a creamy broth while diced potatoes and finishing garnishes add texture and visual interest.

While the chickpeas are roasting, peel and finely dice the onion. Drizzle olive oil in a large pot and add the diced onion. Sauté over low heat until it turns translucent and becomes soft. Add the minced garlic and sauté for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Place the remaining 1/2 can of chickpeas (1 cup), 2 cups stock, all the garlic cloves (leave some out if using for a garnish), lemon juice, 1/2 Tablespoon Sea salt, and sautéed onions into the pitcher of a blender. Blend on high speed until the mixture is creamy and has no remaining lumps.

Putting it All Together

Place the diced potatoes into the soup pot and add 2 cups stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender. About 15 minutes.

Next, stir the blended chickpea mixture into the tender potatoes and stock. Warm the soup over medium high heat but do not allow to boil. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup into four serving bowls. Garnish with crispy onions, chickpeas, roasted garlic cloves (if using), remaining sumac, and chopped parsley.

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within two days.

If you make this Lemony Roasted Garlic Chickpea Soup recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.