Vegan Chickpea Soup with Chard

Nothing beats soup in the winter! And there's nothing like a chickpea soup that can be a complete, protein-rich meal made with love.

This soup is made from chickpeas—rich, spicy, and full of goodness. It is very high in protein and low in calories.

This soup is a slightly different version of the beloved, familiar Harira soup. This time, I’ve omitted the other legumes and focused solely on chickpeas (which I absolutely love). Because there’s nothing more satisfying than soft, melt-in-your-mouth chickpeas.

My advice: Add 2 tablespoons of rice or a slice of fresh, crunchy whole-wheat bread to the soup, along with a vegetable salad, for a wonderful and nutritious dinner.

Note that no vegetable stock is used here because the chickpea cooking water serves as the broth. In case you didn't know, it is very rich in protein. You can use canned chickpeas, but I don't recommend it, both in terms of flavor and the substances released from the metal can.

Each serving contains:

125 kcal

6.7g protein

1.25g fat

162mg calcium

45mg Vitamin C

Written in collaboration with nutrition consultant and fitness instructor Noam Bechar

Vegan Chickpea Soup with Chard

A wonderful, protein-rich chickpea soup—pure joy in a bowl for dinner with fresh bread and salad, or as a host's starter.

Prep time 1 minute

Total time 1 minute

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup Chickpeas soaked overnight in plenty of water
• 1 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 cup Grated carrots
• 1 bunch Swiss chard leaves, chopped (including the white stems) 7-8 leaves
• 2 Medium onions, chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup Lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Red paprika
• 1 tsp Hot paprika for those who like it spicy
• 1/2 tsp Hawaij for soup (Yemeni spice blend)

Instructions

1. Drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse thoroughly.
2. Place the chickpeas in a pot and add 5 cups of water and a teaspoon of baking soda. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam or impurities, and simmer for about an hour on low heat. (Be careful, it can boil over).
3. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion in a wide pot with oil until golden. Add the chopped chard leaves and grated carrot and continue to cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat until the chard completely loses its volume and changes to a very dark green color.
4. Add the spices, garlic, and lemon, and pour everything into the chickpea pot (the chickpea cooking water is your soup base).
5. Cook everything together on low heat for another 10 minutes and serve hot.