This delicious Greek chickpea soup is so easy to make. It is creamy, lemony, and the perfect comfort soup with few ingredients.
If you love this chickpea soup recipe, you will also love this lentil and spinach soup with lemon, Fasolada – white bean soup or Greek lemon chicken soup!
Why this recipe sings
A Greek chickpea soup is on the list of unpretentious, simple foods that are delicious with a distinctive flavor. It has a rich, creamy broth and the addition of lemon juice adds brightness and sophistication.
In this chickpea soup recipe, you can tune up or down how much lemon you want to use. For example, my mother used one lemon; I felt I needed more acidity and added three lemons juiced. Admittedly the lemons I find in Hoboken might be different in potency than the greek lemons my mother used. My suggestion is to experiment and discover what you prefer.
This delicious soup is simple to make as long as you soak the chickpeas overnight and pre-cook them to help soften their texture.
Here is what you need
- Dried chickpeas. The chickpeas will need to soak in plenty of fresh water with salt for 24 hours. You could use canned chickpeas although the sauce will not thicken the same way and the broth will not be as rich in flavor. If you deside to use them, cook the soup in vegetable or chicken stock to add flavor.
- Red onion. White onions are also fine.
- Extra virgin olive live oil.
- Bay leaves, dried oregano, sea salt and freshly ground pepper*.
- All purpose flour. To thicken the broth.
- Lemons. It adds a bright freshness.
*This recipe is versatile. You can be creative and add some dried or fresh thyme, a teaspoon of ground cumin, and coriander, and serve topped with chili flakes, chopped dill, or chives.
How to make this soup
- Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water and a couple of tablespoons of coarse salt night.
- If you can’t soak the chickpeas for 24 hours, put them in a bowl, cover them with water and pour in two three tablespoons of coarse salt or a teaspoon of baking soda. Leave them for at least 8 hours until they rise and double in volume.
Put chickpeas into a large stockpot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Drain and add them back to the pot. Repeat the same process 2-3 times until they are half cooked. About 20 min each time. Drain chickpeas well and set them aside.
For a gluten-free soup. Instead of using flour, you can transfer one ladle of chickpeas and a ladle of broth to a blender and pulse until smooth—return the liquid to the stockpot and stir. Add lemon juice, and season with sea salt and pepper.
Serve hot with more lemon wedges, feta cheese, olives, and lots of crusty bread.
Ideas for chickpea soup leftovers
I love food that makes a great leftover. After a day, you can add a cup of rice to the soup, some broth, a teaspoon of ground coriander, a teaspoon of ground cumin, a pinch of chili flakes, and some chopped fresh dill, and create a lovely rice dish.
Add leftover grilled vegetables, toasted pine nuts, and a sprinkle of feta cheese, and you have a delicious salad. Or, make aromatic chickpea fritters and serve with a tahini lemon yogurt sauce.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
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Greek Lemon chickpea soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb chickpeas garbanzo beans
- 1 red onion diced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dry oregano
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
for finishing the soup
- juice from 1- 2 lemons
- 1 cup soup broth
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight.
- Put them in a large pot cover with water and bring them to a boil. Drain and add them back to the pot. Repeat the same process 2-3 times until they are half cooked. About 20 min each time. Drain chickpeas well and set aside.
- In the same pot, in medium heat, add the olive oil and the the onion.
- Sauté onion until it’s transparent and fragrant. Add the chickpeas, oregano and the bay leaves.
- Sauté everything for a 2-3 minutes then add water to cover chickpeas plus 2 inches.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook for about an hour or more if needed until they are tender. Shortly before chickpeas are cooked season with salt and pepper.
- In a bowl add the lemon juice and stir in the flour with a whisk.
- Slowly start adding a little of the soup broth. Keep stirring vigorously. Pour into the soup and mix well.
- Serve hot with smoked herring and onion slices. Don’t forget the crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Could you use canned chickpeas instead? I know the result won’t be quite the same, but ….. love that you suggest serving this with smoked herring!!!!
I don’t see why not, I am actually going to try that! The soup broth will be different but you can use chicken or veggie broth as a substitute. I am all for trying new things, go for it and let me know how it came out! x Jenny
Quick update!
A friend tried the soup with canned chickpeas and noted that broth was starkly different and did not work well. In order to develop this rich and creamy broth you need to follow the recipe and use dried chickpeas. x Jenny
I’m coming down with a cold right now and this sounds exactly like what I want.
But, I wanted to ask: is the *cup* of olive oil a typo? That sounds overwhelming.
Yes, I agree with you the olive oil should be 1/2 a cup, thank you for pointing that to me. Regarding your cold, a very traditional greek chicken lemon soup will be up on the site tonight and it is really perfect for feeling under the weather. Check it out if you have the chance. Hope you feel better soon! x Jenny
How many times do you cook the chickpeas in total? Also, do you drain the chickpeas from the 24 hour soaking, then rinse the chickpeas and cook again in fresh water? Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to make it!
Hi Valerie! I just drain them after the overnight soaking and pre-cook/boil them at least 2 times always in fresh water. I pre-cook them until they seem half cooked and then I prepare the final soup. If they are still tough you can always simmer the soup longer if need to. Just adjust the water quantity and check your seasoning. The trick is to have them at the end soft but not falling apart/mushy. Let me know how they came out! x
Use bicarbonate of soda to soak the dried peas with…
This goes for all dried peas & beans. Overnight soaking does not cut it… This is hardly ever mentioned in recipes, & it should be. A tried and tested method for softening pulses prior to cooking.
Hi Malcolm, using bicarbonate soda is not the Greek method but definitely worth trying. I will check it out next time I make my chickpea soup. Thank you for the tip!
Chickpeas should be soaked in hot water, and the water where they will boil should also be hot. This is not necessary with beans or lentils… only with chickpeas. I imagine you need to boil them several times because you soak them in cold water. Because I only boil them once.
This is my favorite soup now! The lemons add vibrance, and the oregano is so fragrant. i love how this dish is suitable summer and winter. This time I added a handful of arugula, just delicious. Thank you Jenny for another “keeper”.
I love chickpeas, but I have never thought to use them in soup. What a great idea. Just in time for comfort food season that is just around the corner.
Tossed the chickpeas in to soak before bed, in the morning I put the soup on to cook and by lunch had great creamy rich soup for lunch. The addition of lemon adds a perfect pop of bright flavor.
Wow! This soup dish looks absolutely delicious and yummy! The creaminess of this soup makes it enticing and tempting! I’ll definitely make this for the family!
I made this soup yesterday and it came out amazing! Thank you for the recipe! I’m going to save it and make soon again 😉
So happy to hear! Thank you so much Veronika! x Jenny
I love Greek soups and this one was no exception! The lemon flavour really shines through, and it was a perfect complement to the creamy chickpeas.
The more lemon the better! Thank you so much, Ksenia! x Jenny
This soup sounds delicious! I have never made chickpea soup at home before. Excited to give it a try this fall!
It is so easy and filling. Thank you so much, Ann! x Jenny
I am so glad I found this recipe! The flavors in this soup are incredible. It is also very filling. I loved it.
So happy you like the soup, Katie! Thank you so much! x Jenny
This chickpea soup came out so flavorful and delicious! Love how simple to make it was!
It is so easy, isn’t? Thank you so much LaKita! x Jenny