Chickpea Vegetable Chowder
This delicious vegan chickpea vegetable chowder is easy to make in 30 minutes for a healthy, comforting bowl of soup.
This simple but delicious soup has been a reader-favourite at Running on Real Food for years. It’s easy to make and features wholesome ingredients like carrots, celery and potato but is always a hit!
The secret to this dairy-free vegetable chowder is pureed chickpeas! Along with potatoes, they add the perfect, creamy texture to the soup without the need for cream or other heavy ingredients.
You’ll love this soup any time of year. It’s light and fresh enough for the warmer months but satisfying during the winter too, especially served with a big slice of bread for dipping!
Why You’ll Love this Soup
- Quick and easy: Ready in under 30 minutes with everyday pantry ingredients.
- Dietary: Vegan (dairy-free), gluten-free, oil-free and sugar-free.
- Nutrition: Low in fat with 7 grams of protein per serving.
- Satisfying, delicious and perfect for a warm meal any time of year.
- Perfect “clean out the fridge” recipe.
- Great for meal prep as it stores well in the fridge.
- Budget-friendly.
Ingredient Notes
A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.
- Potato: You can use russet or Yukon gold potato. This recipe can also be made with sweet potato.
- Broth: You can use any store-bought or homemade broth. Carton broth or bouillon cubes or powder work. I usually use Better than Bouillon.
- Chickpea: For convenience, canned works great here but you can cook your own from scratch and use those too. You’ll need about 2.5 cups of cooked chickpeas or 1 19 oz can. The amount doesn’t have to exact though so if you only have 2 14 oz cans or 1 28 oz can, that works.
- Onion: White or yellow onion works.
- Veggies: Aside from the potato, you’ll need celery and carrot.
- Herbs: For simplicity, the recipe calls for dried thyme and oregano but you can substitute 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs if you prefer.
Step-by-Step with Photos
Step 1. Saute the Veggies & Herbs
Start by adding the celery, onion and garlic to a large soup pot with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth. Saute over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until softened.
Quick Note: If you prefer to use olive oil to cook the veggies, you can use 1 tbsp oil instead of 1/4 cup of broth.
Stir in the thyme and oregano and cook for a couple more minutes. You can add a little pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning here as well.
Step 2. Cook the Soup
Add everything but the lemon and bring the soup to a light simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer the soup uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
Step 3. Blend Half the Soup
Carefully scoop about half of the soup out and into a blender. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
Pour the blended portion back into the pot and stir to combine with the unblended soup. You can also blend all of the soup if you want it completely smooth.
Can I use an immersion blender? Sure, if you have a good immersion blender you can use it right in the pot. Pulse 5-6 times to create texture. I really do prefer the texture achieved by a blender here but it’s up to you. Just note it won’t be quite as creamy with an immersion blender.
Step 4. Season and Enjoy!
Finally, squeeze in the fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and fresh cracked black pepper.
- It’s amazing served with a big slice of crusty bread for dunking!
- Pairs well with any sandwich or wrap like my buffalo cauliflower wraps or chickpea burgers.
- Try it alongside my vegan kale caesar salad or any light salad.
- Serve as a tasty appetizer or light main dish.
FAQs
Yes, this soup is flexible and easy to customize. Try sweet potato instead of potato, swapping half or all of the the potato or carrot for chopped cauliflower or stirring in green peas, green beans, spinach, kale or corn after blending.
No, you don’t have too but I definitely recommend blending at least 1-2 cups of it to add texture and creaminess.
Yes! For a completely pureed chickpea soup, go ahead and blend it all.
Yes. This soup is naturally gluten-free, however, if you’re using store-bought broth, double check the packaging as some may contain yeast extract made from wheat (most are gluten-free though!).
Storing & Reheating
- Let cool before storing.
- Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe container in one batch or individual portions. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheating: Reheat soup as needed on the stovetop or in the microwave. If it’s thickened substantially after storing, adjust the consistency by stirring in some water or broth.
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
Vegan Chickpea Vegetable Chowder
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop, Blender
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan chickpea soup is a take on classic vegetable chowder. It’s made with a base of pureed chickpeas with chunks of carrot and potato for a healthy soup that’s full of flavour and nutrition!
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup diced white onion (175 g, 1 small onion)
- 1 cup chopped celery (150 g, approx. 2 stalks)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (20 g)
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 heaping cups peeled and diced yellow potato (340 g, 1 large potato)
- 2 cups peeled and diced carrots (300 g, approx. 4 large carrots)
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (approx. 2.5 cups, 330 g)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (15 ml)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- finely chopped parsley, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Add the onion, garlic and celery to a large soup pot with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Stir in the oregano and thyme and cook for a couple more minutes, stirring often. If the pan starts to dry out, add another splash of broth to loosen any bits sticking to the pan.
- Add everything except for the lemon, bring to a light simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender.
- Transfer about 1/2 of the soup to a blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Make sure you allow the steam to escape as you’re blending.
- Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the unblended portion and stir well to combine.
- Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve with fresh chopped parsely.
Notes
Storing: Let cool before storing. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store in a freezer-safe container in one batch or individual portions for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen. Reheat soup as needed on the stovetop or in the microwave. If it’s thickened substantially after storing, adjust the consistency by stirring in some water or broth.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 400 g (approx. 1/5th of recipe)
- Calories: 168
- Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 7 g
Keywords: vegetable chowder, vegan chickpea soup
Originally published January 18, 2018.
Super easy and hearty, but seemed a bit bland.
★★★
So I don’t normally cook — and I made AMAZING SOUP with this recipe!
★★★★★
That’s awesome! Good job! Let me know if you try another one.
Made last night with sweet potatoes and it was delicious! Will definitely make again
★★★★★
Yum! Thanks for trying it!
Delicious! I left out the celery and accidentally kept the soup covered while cooking. It didn’t turn out creamy—I now see that is because I used an immersion blender—but it was super yummy and so good with bread.
★★★★★
I really enjoyed this recipe. Super easy to make, comforting and toddler approved. I cooked it with salt and gave it to my baby girl as well. She loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
★★★★★
This soup is perfect as written, but I do cook it in my instant pot. I water saute the onion, celery, and garlic and then put the other ingredients in on high pressure for 10 minutes. I used fresh thyme I had in my garden and something I have been doing lately to give my soups some crunchy texture is cooking up some diced sweet potatoes in my air fryer and putting them on top, so I am going to try it on this soup this time along with the parsley.
★★★★★
Thanks for the Instant Pot tips! I haven’t made this one in the Instant Pot. I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe, thanks for letting me know!
This was a big hit even for my non vegan family…Im glad i tripled the recipe….I added some smoked paprika to ramp up flavor ….
★★★★★
Great to hear! Sounds perfect with smoked paprika!
I have a sensitivity to dairy but love chowders and this totally hit the spot! My husband thought it was a little bland, I did not! I LOVE IT! I made it exactly as the recipe called and would just add pepper and maybe even some cayenne when I serve another bowl. I plan to freeze into mason jars and pull out a serving as I want one! 🥰🥰🥰
★★★★★
That’s a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the recipe, but it seemed to be missing something. I added a generous sprinkling of cumin and garam Marsala. Turned out great!
★★★★
This recipe is super yummy! I was looking for a recipe that would help use up the produce I had lying around, and this did just that. Easy to make, super tasty and nourishing.
★★★★★
Really easy to make & really good tasty. We puréed it completely for the smooth silky texture.
★★★★★
Great! So glad you enjoyed it.
It was so delicious, especially with the lemon.
★★★★★
I just started my vegan lifestyle today and this was what I made for dinner. I chose it because it looked easy to make and like a good first dinner to try. I was right! It was delicious and filling! Thanks for creating this great recipe!
★★★★★
You’re welcome! So glad you loved it.