This recipe carries a bit of nostalgia for me. Not only is it one of the first dishes I made when I started cooking, but it brings me back to my vacations in Tuscany – where the inspiration for this soup comes from.
The first time I made this recipe, I remember how apprehensive I was making soup from scratch (which I had never done before), and how my husband had to be my cheerleader pushing me along.
I also remember the disasters along the way:
…Putting hot soup into a blender (filling it all the way up), not knowing that the hot soup expands when you turn on the blender, and having chickpea soup explode all over my kitchen – that was a funny (and also mortifying) moment.
…Using a pot that was too small for the soup to begin with, causing soup to splash all over the newly cleaned stove – that my husband had literally cleaned an hour before
…Thinking that dinner would be ready by 8pm, but after the disasters and being somewhat of an inexperienced cook, eating dinner around 9:30pm.
Fast forward 3 years later, and how times have changed 🙂
Soup from scratch is one of my go-to recipes for quick and healthy meals, and thanks to my immersion blender, that blending accident is a distant memory. This dish is actually not a difficult recipe at all, I think my nerves and inexperience just got the better of me that first time around.
Oh and did I mention, even with the first-timer cooking accidents, this soup was absolutely delicious. It is tasty, warming and has a great mediterranean flavor. It also packs a nutritional punch with the fiber and protein from the chickpeas, and lycopene from the tomatoes. My slightly modified version of the original recipe (which I found on myrecipes.com) is below.
The Ingredients
Adapted from myrecipes.com
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups finely chopped onion
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
The Directions
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven (or a large pot) over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
Step 2: Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. (Note: the other alternative here is to use an immersion blender – it works a lot more quickly and is a lot less messy!)
Step 3: If using a blender, return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.
This recipe makes 6 HUGE servings. It is super filling and I love that it’s a one-pot meal! The husband absolutely loves this soup, and we always end up with leftovers that taste great the next day or a couple days later.
To all those new cooks out there – I encourage you to try this recipe. It might seem a little daunting at first but once you make it and it turns out to be delicious (and I promise, it will), you’ll have a newfound confidence in the kitchen 🙂
Nutritional Info Per Serving: 373 Calories, 9.1g Fat, 955mg Sodium, 59.7g Carbs, 11.4g Fiber, 15g Protein
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups finely chopped onion
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven (or a large pot) over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
- Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. (Note: the other alternative here is to use a hand blender - it works a lot more quickly and is a lot less messy!)
- If using a blender, return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.
Notes
Adapted from MyRecipes
TAGS: appetizers, entrees, gluten-free, kid friendly recipes, quick meals, soups, vegetarian
I saw this on foodbuzz the other day and made it last night! (With what I had on hand of course.. but still, delicious!) I’m blogging about it right now, and hope you don’t mind me linking to your blog, and recipe. 🙂
So glad you liked it! And yes – absolutely – feel free to link to my blog anytime 🙂 Happy cooking!
I thought I commented, but I can’t tell if it went through.. so I’ll try it again. 🙂
Love this recipe- tried it yesterday and blogged about it! I hope you don’t mind, I tagged your blog and recipe.
When I saw this recipe I knew it would be what I would make for dinner tonight! It combines two of my favourite ‘flavours’…I guess you would say ‘flavours’ – Chickpeas and Tuscan. My Tuscan Artichokes are one of my favourite recipes on my blog.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. hope to get more delicious recipes from your site.
i’ve had that soup before – my aunt made it. it’s seriously yummy!
haha nice! yeah I’m a big fan – it’s a nice one-pot meal and the leftovers taste great too!
This soup looks delicious and I love that it incorporates one of my favorite fiber-licious foods – chickpeas! I’m always looking for creative ways to boost my daily fiber intake and I think this recipe fits that bill. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Let me know how you like it! Definitely agree – this soup is packed with fiber. If you’re looking for another fiber-packed dish – try this – it’s one of my favorite fiber-packed pastas! 🙂
Thanks for sharing another fiber-rich recipe with me – it looks delicious and colorful. I think even my kids would try the baked penne. I’ll let you know what everyone thinks of the soup once we give it a go. I’m hoping to add it to my meal plan this week.
no problem at all! would love to hear how the recipes go over with your family. and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any more fiber-packed recipes – happy to help! 🙂
This was the first recipe I tried from your blog, and it’s a winner. It’s one of those great soups that you can make anytime because you don’t have to have veggie stock on hand and the rest of the ingredients are staples, at least in my pantry.
So glad you liked it and I totally agree! Most of the ingredients are staples in my pantry too.
I love chickpea’s and i love soup! This is a match made in heaven.
Thanks!
My aunt makes this soup! It’s stellar.
Oh awesome!! I know right? It’s the best 🙂
This looks decadent and delicious! I always have a big bag of frozen chick pea’s that I had soaked earlier. This combined with my fresh garden tomato’s means I have no excuse to not try this soup! Will be on the menu this week for sure.
Woohoo! This is a great way to use up extra chickpeas for sure 🙂 Let me know how this recipe turns out Ken!
The recipe sounds wonderful and I will definitely try. I have a question however. I haven’t used canned chickpeas or tomatoes before and would like to avoid them if I can. How different do you think it would be if I just soaked and pressure cooked the chickpeas and used fresh tomatoes? Do the canned ones have additional/different flavor?
Hi VJ! You can absolutely use non-canned chickpeas and tomatoes for this recipe. But for the tomatoes — they are canned in their juices, which adds a level of flavor/complexity to this soup. So if you are using fresh tomato, I’d recommend adding just a splash of whole tomato juice as well to the soup just to make sure you get all the tomato flavor into this dish. Hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out!
For those of you who cook dried beans, 2.5 cups of dried beans appears to be about the right amount to yield 46.5 oz. of cooked chickpeas.
Super helpful, thanks for the tip Kraig!
[…] the day I got back from my trip, I made this Tuscan Chickpea Soup – and I added an entire box of baby spinach to it – which Layla and I ate for another […]