Vegan Chickpea soup with Noodles and Vegetables

Chickpea soup is rich and savory, made with fresh vegetables, noodles, and of course, chickpeas! Ladle up some delicious, flavorful, vegan chickpea noodle soup for a comforting plant-based meal.

Gosh, I love the comfort and flavor of a good soup. As they say: Soup is good food! This chickpea noodle soup is everything you’ll want or need in a nutritious, delicious vegan soup.

For all of my delicious vegan soups, stews, and chowders – click here! You’ll find comforting, warm, and heartwarming vegan soup served with bread, sandwiches, or salads for a complete hearty meal.

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Ingredients and substitutions to make this homemade chickpea soup recipe

•  extra virgin olive oil – I like the robust flavored olive oil. If you want to make this recipe oil-free then saute in a little extra veggie broth instead of the oil.
• carrots – You will be peeling and slicing the carrots. For a shortcut, I sometimes use baby carrots and quickly cut them. If I’m really feeling short on time, I will use sliced peeled carrots found in the produce department.
• celery
• onion – white or yellow onion works best for this recipe.
• garlic cloves – You will need two to three cloves of garlic, chopped. You can also use jarred chopped garlic for a shortcut.
• fresh dill chopped – You will need one tablespoon. Use one teaspoon if using dried dill.
• bay leaves – You will need 2-3 bay leaves depending on how large they are. Do you have to use bay leaves? No…but should you? Yes! Bay leaves add a subtle depth of flavor.
• spices and seasonings: ground coriander, ground cumin, ground ginger, salt, and pepper.
• 8 cups vegetable broth – Use two 32-ounce cartons. Sometimes I make my own and use chickenless chicken bouillon. You can also make your own vegetable stock in the Instant Pot.
• canned chickpeas– You will need two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas. If you want to make your soup from dry chickpeas, follow the package directions. You will need about three cups total of cooked chickpeas.
• 8 ounces dried fettuccine pasta or other similar noodle or pasta of choice- Cook according to package directions and add at the end.
• optional: crushed red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, or more dill for garnish.

How to make this vegetarian chickpea soup recipe

The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.

Step 1: Prepare and saute the vegetables

To make chickpea soup, you first need to get everything prepared, chopped and measured. Then, it is simply a matter of throwing everything togethter.

Chop the onion, slice the celery and carrots, and mince the garlic. Chop the fresh dill. If you are using dried dill rather than fresh dill, then use one teaspoon.

Add the olive oil in a large pot and heat it up. You will want to use a large soup pot for this recipe with a large surface bottom to saute the vegetables.

After you heat oil, add in the sliced carrots, sliced celery, diced onion, chopped garlic, dill, bay leaves, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper to a large pot. Heat over medium heat stirring often until the carrots and celery soften (around 10 minutes). 

Step 2: Add the chickpeas and vegetable Broth

Open, drain, and rinse the canned chickpeas. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the vegetable mixture and continue cooking for two minutes, stirring often. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Can I use dried chickpeas (dry garbanzo beans)?

Of course, you can always use dried chickpeas to substitute for canned chickpeas if you know how to prepare them! Many will argue that chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), made from dried garbanzos will produce creamier cooked chickpeas.

Keep in mind that you will definitely need to adjust the prep time. You will need a total of three cups of cooked chickpeas for this recipe – which is just about what you will find in two 15-ounce cans.

Do I need to peel the cooked chickpeas for the best chickpea soup recipe?

Only if you want to! I do not because the skins don’t bother me. If they bother you then go ahead and peel your cooked chickpeas. Read more about how and why you might want to peel the chickpeas on Midwest Living.

Step 3: Cook the Pasta

While the chickpea soup is cooking you can cook the pasta. Cook whichever pasta you use according to package directions. I cook to al dente because it will cook a tiny bit more when you add the pasta to the hot liquid.

I like using linguini noodles for a classic “chicken noodle soup” vibe; but really, you can use any noodle or pasta of choice.

Garnish and serve your garbanzo bean soup

First, make sure to fish out the bay leaves! Bay leaves won’t soften when cooking and trust me, nobody wants to chomp down on a crunchy bay leaf!

Garnish with red pepper flakes, fresh parsley or more chopped dill. Add your favorite cracker or top with some homemade vegan parmesan cheese. Give it a taste and add a little more salt and pepper if desired.

Put any leftover chickpea soup into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days. You might need to refresh with a little extra vegetable broth when reheating. I store leftovers in these round glass containers. I can store, heat, and eat in the same container.

The printable recipe card