Tuscan Chickpea Soup

This creamy and hearty chickpea soup is incredibly good and warming. Made with chickpeas, fresh rosemary and garlic it's packed with flavour and better yet ready in only 20 minutes! When it comes to staying cosy you can't beat a big bowl of soup!

We love recipes with chickpeas, they have so much flavour and creaminess and you don't need much to make them into a satisfying and filling meal.

Take this chickpea flatbread recipe for example, it's a classic Tuscan recipe that's only chickpea flour, water and a tiny splash of oil yet it's the most good, crispy but creamy flatbread.

This simple, rustic soup recipe is another example of a flavour packed meal using chickpeas and a few simple but powerful flavours!

Are Chickpeas the Same as Garbanzo Beans?

Yes. Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are exactly the same fibre and protein-rich legume.

In Italy, they are known as Ceci and in Spain, they are referred to as garbanzos either way if you see or hear garbanzo beans being used in a recipe know it is referring to chickpeas.

For this soup try to use the highest quality chickpeas possible, we like to use the ones that come in glass jars rather than cans. The higher the quality the more flavour you'll get with this soup.

Should You Use Dried Chickpeas or Canned?

For this chickpea soup we use canned or jarred chickpeas.

If you can get high-quality chickpeas often sold in glass jars you'll find that they're extra creamy and good.

If you prefer to use dried then you can soak and boil them in advance before starting this soup.

How to Make Tuscan Chickpea Soup

Finely chop the garlic and add it to a large pot with a large sprig of rosemary and 1 tbsp of olive oil (photo 1).

Fry the garlic and rosemary for a few seconds until the garlic starts to take on colour.

Add the chickpeas to the pot, stir to combine then add the stock with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and simmer (photo 2).

Remove the sprigs of rosemary and discard. Using a hand-held blender blitz the soup to a smooth consistency (photo 3).

Adjust it to Your Liking

This chickpea soup is fairly thick and creamy and we love it that way but if you'd prefer a thinner consistency add more stock or water.

Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

This Tuscan chickpea soup is the kinda soup we crave on chilly days and evenings. It's thick, warming and comforting and solid with some fresh crusty bread for dunking.

Serve it with

We love to serve this soup with fresh crusty bread for dunking or a freshly baked rosemary focaccia.

If you're looking for a side salad then Tuna PanzanellaFennel, Courgette Salad with Smoked Scamorza or Zucchini Ribbon Salad would all work great!

Top Tips for Making Tuscan Chickpea Soup

• Use the highest quality chickpeas you can get your hands on. We love to use chickpeas sold in glass jars (that's what we always used in Italy) because they have a good creaminess and flavour.
• When choosing chicken stock go for a low sodium brand so you can control the amount of salt that goes into the soup. If you can use homemade then even better!
• The soup will thicken quite quickly as it cools so you may need to add more water or stock to loosen it if you make it in advance or want to reheat leftovers.
• This soup will last for up to 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen in suitable containers. Thaw and reheat as needed.

More Italian Soups You Might Like

• Pasta Fagioli Soup – Pasta & Beans
• Pastina Soup (Italian Chicken Noodle Soup)
• Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup
• Roasted Tomato Soup – Creamy and Healthy

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cups (1.5 litres) chicken stock (, low sodium)
• 3.5 lbs (4 cans/1.6 kg) cooked chickpeas (, canned)
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 6 cloves garlic (, chopped)
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the garlic and add to a large pot with the rosemary and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Fry the garlic until it starts to take on colour but not browned.

2. Add the chickpeas, stock with a pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3. Remove the sprigs of rosemary and set aside. Using a hand-held blender blitz the soup to a smooth consistency then add the lemon juice. Adjust the thickness by adding extra water or stock to your liking.

4. Add extra seasoning if required, serve with crusty bread and a drizzle of olive oil.

Kitchen notes

• Use the highest quality chickpeas you can get your hands on. We love to use chickpeas sold in glass jars (that's what we always used in Italy) because they have a good creaminess and flavour.
• When choosing chicken stock go for a low sodium brand so you can control the amount of salt that goes into the soup. If you can use homemade then even better!
• The soup will thicken quite quickly as it cools so you may need to add more water or stock to loosen it if you make it in advance or want to reheat leftovers.
• This soup will last for up to 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen in suitable containers. Thaw and reheat as needed.