Simple, healthy, and delicious Greek chickpea soup flavored minimally with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, lemon, and dried oregano!

This easy and flavorsome Chickpea lemon soup is what Greek cooking is all about. A dish with few basic ingredients that's very nutritious, and cooked very simply.

In Greece, we call this soup Revithia Soupa (revithia= chickpeas and soupa=soup). Another name we use for it is Revithada.

Table Of Contents

Ingredients
How To Make Greek Chickpea Soup
Using Canned Chickpeas
Got Leftovers? Make Some Hummus!
Serve With
Recipe

Ingredients

To make traditional Greek chickpea soup you need only 6 ingredients.

Dry Chickpeas. We're cooking chickpeas from scratch so they need to be dry. For instructions on how to make this soup using canned chickpeas see the text below.
Lemon.
Olive oil. It needs to be extra virgin olive oil otherwise it won't thicken the soup. See my post about olive oil and learn how to distinguish extra virgin from plain olive oil.
Dried Oregano. Use a quality Mediterranean Oregano.
Garlic.
Onion.

LIKE CHICKPEAS? TRY THESE:

Chickpea Salad With Feta Cheese & Tahini Dressing

How To Make Greek Chickpea Soup

In Greece, we always use dried chickpeas. You can't even find canned chickpeas in Greek grocery stores. All legume soups are cooked from scratch, by soaking them in water overnight and then slow-cook on the stovetop, or pressure cook.

-See here why dried chickpeas are healthier & more nutritious than canned ones

So to make this Greek chickpea soup recipe, first soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas. Add plenty of fresh water to a cooking pot and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Drain the chickpeas once more discarding all dirt and pesticides along with the water they boiled in (this also aids digestion).

Now saute onion and garlic in some hot olive oil, add the drained chickpeas and some hot water, or stock if you prefer. Next, season with salt (I like to use coarse sea salt) and pepper. Simmer over low heat covered for 2-3 hours on the stovetop. The time depends on the variety of chickpeas/garbanzo beans you use. Some cook more quickly than others.

Once the chickpeas are cooked it's time to thicken the soup using extra virgin olive oil!

How To Thicken The Soup

To thicken the soup, add extra virgin olive oil and raise the heat to medium. Uncover the pot and simmer stirring often until the liquid reduces and the soup thickens. If it's not extra virgin olive oil it won't have the same thickening capabilities so please use extra virgin, cold-pressed.

In any case, though you are using plain olive oil, you can blend a ladle or two of the soup in a food processor or blender and stir into the soup to give it a thicker texture. You can even use an immersion blender to do this but be careful not to blend it too much!

Using Canned Chickpeas

To make this soup using canned chickpeas follow the instructions below.

Drain 2 cans of chickpeas in a strainer.
Saute onion and garlic in a cooking pot with 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
Add 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock and 8 more tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
Simmer for 5 minutes over medium-high heat uncovered.
Add the drained chickpeas.
Add 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons dried oregano.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes more until thickened.

Got Leftovers? Make Some Hummus!

And because this lemony Greek Chickpea Soup is made with the same ingredients you use to make Hummus (except the oregano) you can easily blend your leftovers, along with some tahini, a bit of extra lemon, and a clove of raw garlic, and easily turn it into a delicious hummus. For every 250 grams of chickpeas, add 60 ml of tahini. Or follow this easy recipe for making hummus.

...Or Eat Them As A Cold Salad

Whenever I make this lemon chickpea soup, I always cook a few extra portions. Because it's great as a cold salad as well. So I keep the leftovers in the fridge for the next day or two. To me, they taste even better this way. It's like the flavors get even stronger while they sit.

You Can Even Turn Your Leftovers Into These Delicious & Perfectly Crusty Chickpea Fritters aka Greek-Style Falafel

Serve With

Greek lemon chickpea soup you can serve with some olives on the side or some feta cheese. These two are what Greeks prefer to accompany their Revithia (chickpeas) with.

Other favorite Greek sides are salt-cured fish such as Salted sardines, Marinated Octopus In Vinegar, or Green Peppers In Vinegar.

Recipe

Greek Chickpea Soup With Lemon & Oregano (Revithosoupa)

4.17 from 126 votes

6-ingredient, simple, and delicious Greek Chickpea Soup with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano.

Cook Time 2 30

Servings

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Ingredients

500 grams (3 cups) dried chickpeas soaked in plenty of water overnight
120 grams (medium-sized) onion minced
2 small garlic cloves minced
180 grams (14 tablespoons) olive oil extra virgin
1250 ml (5 cups) hot water or stock (vegetable or chicken)
3 tablespoons dried oregano
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Prepare The Chickpeas:

Bring chickpeas to a boil with plenty of water.
Cook for 2 minutes and then drain chickpeas in a strainer.

To Make On The Stovetop:

Heat 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a cooking pot over high heat.
Saute the onion and garlic until golden.
Add the chickpeas along with 5 cups of hot water or stock. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours on the stovetop over low heat or until the chickpeas are cooked.
Add the remaining olive oil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes uncovered on the stovetop over medium heat until the soup thickens, stirring often.
Add the lemon juice and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes more. Take off the heat allow to sit for 5 minutes and serve!

To Make Using An Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker:

Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil to your instant pot and press the saute function for 5 minutes. Saute the onion and garlic until golden.
Add the chickpeas along with 5 cups of hot water or stock. Season with salt and pepper. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes if using then do an instant release.
Add the remaining olive oil and either carefully transfer the soup to a cooking pot to thicken on the stovetop over medium heat uncovered, or use the saute function on your instant pot for 15 minutes. Towards the last 2 minutes of cooking add the lemon juice and oregano. Allow the soup to sit for 5 minutes and then serve!
NOTE: The soup won't thicken the same in the instant pot so you may want to blend a ladle or two of the soup in a blender or small food processor.

Nutrition

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Comments

4.17 from 126 votes (124 ratings without comment)

Ingredients