This chickpea soup recipe is comforting yet bright, seasoned with fresh dill and lots of lemon. Easy to make in 30 minutes, it's a perfect weeknight meal!
This chickpea soup recipe is my idea of the perfect weeknight dinner. Canned chickpeas, the starting point of so many of my favorite dinners, are the star ingredient here. Some stay whole for texture, while the rest blend with tahini to make the soup lightly creamy. Spinach, dill, and a squeeze of lemon juice brighten the whole thing up.
This chickpea soup comes together in 30 minutes, calls for basic pantry ingredients, and is still somehow comforting, satisfying, and fresh.
I first shared it in Simple Feel Good Food, and it’s since become one of the most-made recipes in the book—by me and by readers. I hope it earns a spot in your weeknight rotation too!
Why You’ll Love This Chickpea Soup Recipe
- It’s bright and nourishing. This lemony chickpea soup is totally vegan and gluten-free. Blended chickpeas and tahini (not cream) create its creamy texture while adding fiber and plant-based protein. Leafy greens and herbs make it feel super-fresh.
- It calls for simple ingredients. Got a few cans of chickpeas and vegetable broth handy? You’re well on your way to making this soup!
- It’s easy to make in 30 minutes. Scallions and dill are the only ingredients you have to chop. What more could you want on a weeknight?
Chickpea Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chickpea soup recipe:
- Chickpeas, of course! You’ll blend some into a creamy puree that thickens the soup and leave the rest whole for texture.
- Scallions – For savory, onion-y depth of flavor. You’ll sauté them in olive oil before adding the other soup ingredients.
- Vegetable broth – Use store-bought, or make homemade vegetable broth.
- Tahini – It adds nutty richness to the soup and makes it lightly creamy.
- Spinach – You know I can’t make a soup recipe without adding veggies. 🙂 Fresh and frozen spinach are both great here. Other leafy green vegetables, like kale or Swiss chard, would work too.
- Fresh dill – It brings out the tangy flavor of the lemon juice. If you’re not a dill fan, feel free to use other fresh herbs like fresh parsley or cilantro instead.
- Fresh lemon juice – I love its brightness against the earthy chickpeas and tahini.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Can I use dried chickpeas in this soup?
Yes, you can totally use dried chickpeas in this recipe. I recommend cooking them on their own separately before making the soup. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1 – Soaking: Place 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with 2 inches of cold water. Soak overnight at room temperature.
Step 2 – Simmering: Drain the beans and place in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover with 2 inches of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chickpeas are tender. At that point, they’re ready to use in the soup!
Tip:Â Don’t toss the chickpea cooking liquid! It’s a great substitute for the vegetable broth in this recipe.
How to Make Chickpea Soup
You can find the complete chickpea soup recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a quick overview of how it goes:
Start by sautéing the scallions in a large pot or Dutch oven until they soften.
Next, simmer the soup. Add 3 cups of broth and 1 2/3 cups of the chickpeas and simmer for 15 minutes to develop the flavors.
Meanwhile, make the chickpea puree. Combine the remaining broth, chickpeas, and tahini in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the puree into the soup pot, stir, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Finally, add the spinach, dill, and lemon juice. Stir until the spinach is wilted and season to taste.
That’s it!
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this soup how I serve my hummus—with a big swirl of olive oil and red pepper flakes on top and with pita bread on the side for dipping. (Crusty bread or focaccia is great too!)
If you like, round out the meal with a side salad like a simple green salad, fattoush, or tabbouleh!
Storage Tips
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this chickpea soup, try one of these hearty soups next:
Lemon Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-Âvirgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving
- Red pepper flakes
- Pita, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the scallions, salt, and several grinds of pepper and cook for 2 minutes, or until softened but still bright green. Add 3 cups of the broth and 1â…” cups of the chickpeas and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Combine the remaining 1 cup broth, the remaining 1â…“ cups chickpeas, and the tahini in a blender and blend until creamy. Stir into the soup pot and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach, dill, and lemon juice and stir until the spinach is wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Portion into bowls and top with a generous swirl of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Serve with pita.
I love this recipe! I made it yesterday and enjoyed it tremendously. This will become one of my go-to soup recipes. I have to leave the lemon out when making it for my acid-avoiding daughter-in-law, but everyone else will love it as written.
If I served soup for supper I’d be disowned!! It does make a nice lunch, however, served with some nice thick bread.
This was so good! Are there any other recipes that have a similar vibe with the creaminess from the tahini?
Hi! This recipe sounds so good! My daughter has a sesame allergy. Any substitute suggestions for the tahini?
This looks like a good soup to try for those who are skeptic about chickpeas !
Reading through your many comments regarding the sodium content: I agree that it’s good to clarify. That said, IMO most of these recipes are too high in sodium due to the combination of ingredients such as canned stock or broth plus salt etc.
My suggestions: If you can’t make your own stock, then buy the UNSALTED versions which are available. Furthermore, don’t add much if any salt during cooking. People can add salt at the table if they wish.
Embedded salt within recipes does enhance flavor but it risks too high sodium for many people.
Made the chickpea soup today with no changes. Added some Swiss Chard from the garden. It was really GOOD 😊.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet…Looking forward to doing so.
That said, I am not a fan of dill…
Any other herbs you’d recommend in its place?
Thanks
Soooo good! I substituted kale and added chopped fresh carrots.
Can I use dry dill? How much?
I now live in Portugal, no luck with fresh dill here.
I used dried dill. Came out great! I also added some lemon zest just because I love lemon.
Hi! This sounds delicious but is the sodium for one serving actually 75% of the daily recommended amount or is that an error? Thanks.
Hello,
The 1734 mg is the total amount of sodium in 3/4 teaspoons of salt. There are four servings, so there is approximately 433.5 mg of sodium per serving. I hope this helps.
This does make sense and thanks for clearing up the actual amount of sodium per serving. However not everybody reads the comments. I almost deleted this post when I saw the 1734 g of sodium since that is insanely high of course. Since it made no sense based on the ingredients I was going to post a question, then saw somebody else had done so. Can you not just edit the nutrient info box to reflect the correct sodium content per serving?
I got about eight servings out of the batch.
This looks and sounds delicious. Ready to make and share with my elderly neighbors who eat vegatarian. Then I saw the amount of sodium! Seems awful high. One of the neighbors has chronic kidney disease. I don’t think this soup would be appropriate for her. I may try it and reduce the sodium for myself.
Looks BEYOND delicious! Can’t wait to try it. It’s the perfect soup for Spring/Summer. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes. I follow you not only on Instagram, but your blog as well.