Moroccan Chickpea Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

This Moroccan chickpea soup is spicy and lemony and just the thing to warm you up. It makes a healthy one pot vegan meal that makes the most of store cupboard ingredients.

This lemony Moroccan chickpea soup is a real favourite recipe of mine. In fact, I've been making it for years. It is just so easy to make and so tasty. The best thing about it is that it's the type of recipe I can make when I'm running out of everything and the fridge is almost bare. I almost always have extra tins of chickpeas and tomatoes in the cupboard as well as the spices.

What ingredients do you need for Moroccan chickpea soup?

To make this Moroccan chickpea soup you'll need:

• Oil - I usually just use a light olive oil but you can use vegetable or sunflower oil. Whatever your regular cooking oil is will be fine.
• Onion - Sometimes I use a red onion and sometimes a brown onions
• Chilli pepper - I usually use a red one but red or green chillies are fine. You can make your own decision about how many to use depending on your tolerance to chilli heat!
• Ginger - I love to use fresh root ginger. I just grate it. You can remove the skin first or even keep the skin on. If you don't have fresh ginger, add a little ground ginger.
• Vegetables - I usally also add red pepper and carrot. You can be flexible though. Aubergines and courgettes are great in this too.
• Spices - Cumin and coriander
• Chopped tomatoes - I usually use a tin of chopped tomatoes but you can use fresh ones instead.
• Lemon - A squeeze of fresh lemon juice really finishes this soup off and adds a sour note that is perfect with the spices and the sweet vegetables.
• Chickpeas - I just use a can of chickpeas. I add half to the soup and roast the rest to use as a garnish.

And for the roasted chickpea topping you'll also need:

• Oil
• Spices - Coriander, paprika, cinnamon, cumin
• Salt - A little salt helps to bring out the flavours of the spices

How do you make Moroccan chickpea soup?

This soup is really easy to make. First heat the oil in a saucepan. Gently fry the onion and chillli pepper. Why not add some garlic too?

After about 5 minutes add the rest of the diced vegetables and fry for another 5 minutes. Stir in the spices too. Finally add the chickpeas and tinned tomatoes plus a little water or stock. Simmer for 5 minutes and then serve topped with the roasted chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon.

How do you make the roasted chickpea garnish?

The roasted chickpeas are really easy to make. Just put them in a bowl with the spices and oil. Stir so they are coated in the spicy oil. Then roast in the oven until dried out and crispy.

These chickpeas are a delicious topping for the soup but of course, you can just add the extra chickpeas to the soup if you don't want to bother roasting them.

How can you adapt this Moroccan chickpea soup?

You could vary the vegetables depending on what you have to hand. I love to put a bell pepper in, usually a red one and a carrot. I think carrot goes so well with the cumin and lemon and I always love red peppers. Cumin and lemon are some of my favourite flavours and they are brilliant at evoking that Moroccan feeling!

I've also got a red chilli pepper in here. I keep the seeds in but you could deseed it if you don't want the soup to be too hot or if you want your children to eat it. I have to admit that these days I often have to put the chopped up chilli pepper in a little ramekin just for me and my husband. After all, Master Spice loves this soup and I don't want to risk him deciding not to eat it!

Storing and reheating the leftovers

Any leftover soup can be kept in the fridge for up to three days in a covered container. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan. Add a little extra liquid if it has thickened up too much.

It is best to store the roasted chickpeas separately though as if you put them in the soup they will go soggy.

Can you freeze this soup?

Yes, you can store it in the freezer for at least three months. Just don't add the roasted chickpeas to the soup.

The roasted chickpea croutons are a great soup topping

If you're looking for an alternative to croutons then the roasted chickpeas make a great topping for this soup. They add extra protein as well as being gluten free. Why not make a big batch of the chickpeas as they as great for snacking on as well as being perfect in this roasted chickpea salad.

More super soup recipes

If you like this Moroccan chickpea soup then how about one of these soups?

• Red lentil soup
• Tomato and coriander soup

Do also check out my recipe collection of easy homemade soup recipes! And my collection of easy spicy recipes perfect for midweek meals!

Recipe

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Do let me know if you make this Moroccan chickpea soup or any of my other recipes.

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