Chickpea Spinach Soup

Thick and creamy Chickpea Spinach soup with tomato and sweet potatoes. This nutritious soup is naturally sweet, rich, and deeply comforting!

This spinach chickpea soup is made with dried chickpeas and fresh spinach. However, you can make it using canned chickpeas and frozen spinach if you like.

Table Of Contents

• Ingredients
• How To Make
• Using Canned Chickpeas
• Spinach Substitutes
• Storing
• Serve With
• Recipe

The flavor of this garbanzo soup with spinach is earthy and sweet. The extra virgin olive oil adds a rich, earthy flavor. While the sweet potatoes give it a naturally sweet taste. The spinach and crushed tomatoes add more sweetness and richness.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas/garbanzo beans: I'm using dried chickpeas (like I do most times). Dried chickpeas have a better texture when cooked from scratch. They're creamier inside and firmer on the outside. Moreover, the cooking liquid becomes richer and more flavorful. However, if you want to make this soup quickly, you can use canned chickpeas following the instructions below.
• Sweet potatoes: I'm using red sweet potatoes. You can use either white-fleshed sweet potatoes (white yams) or even plain starchy potatoes to make this soup.
• Crushed tomatoes: You can use either canned crushed tomatoes or whole canned tomatoes and pulse them in a blender. Another option is fresh, grated tomatoes, if you can find sweet and ripe, ideally Roma tomatoes.
• Spinach: Fresh spinach leaves add a fresh, vibrant kick; however, frozen, thawed spinach can also be used.
• Onion
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dill: If you're not a fan of this herb, you can use any of the following herbs in its place: parsley, thyme, fresh oregano, or a small amount of minced spearmint (up to 1 teaspoon).

How To Make

To make this creamy chickpea spinach soup with sweet potatoes, begin by soaking the chickpeas overnight in water. The next day, bring to a boil and discard the water. This way, you remove most pesticides from the skin.

Next, saute the onion and garlic, and cook the chickpeas until they get soft. You can either cook them on the stovetop or use a pressure cooker/instant pot to speed things up.

To cook chickpeas on the stovetop and make them really soft and tender, simmer over low heat, covered. Gentle heat tenderizes legumes.

Or use a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot and pressure-cook on high for 15-20 minutes (20 minutes for creamier chickpeas). Then transfer back to the stovetop. You can finish off the soup in the Instant Pot if you like, but it gets creamier on the stovetop.

Using Canned Chickpeas

If you want to make this spinach chickpea soup with canned chickpeas, follow the steps below.

1. Sauté onion and garlic.
2. Add the sweet potatoes. Sauté for a minute.
3. Add the olive oil and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour 3 cups of water or vegetable stock (preferably use stock in this case).
5. Simmer, partly covered, until the sweet potatoes are cooked.
6. Drain the chickpeas and add them to the pot.
7. Mix in the spinach.
8. Cook for 10 minutes.
9. Stir in the dill.

Spinach Substitutes

Instead of spinach, you can use kale, swiss chard, or collard greens just like in this Black Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens.

Storing

You can keep this garbanzo bean spinach soup in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, along with a tiny splash of water.

Serve With

Serve this comforting soup with some crusty bread and freshly ground pepper. A squeeze of lemon also suits it well. As for side dishes, it goes well with a crustless, crunchy pie like this Crustless Pumpkin and Feta Pie, or this Crustless Feta Cheese Pie. For a meat option, try this Spetsofai (Greek Sausage in Sauce) or Keftedakia (Deep-fried Greek Meatballs).

Recipe