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.
Originally published January 18, 2018.
This was excellent. I was surprised at how much the addition of lemon brought out the flavor.
That’s great, Lois! So glad you enjoyed it.
This was so good! The whole family liked this soup. I added some veggie Italian sausage to the kids’ just to make it a one-pot meal.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Autumn! Sounds great with sausage!
I have always been a bit ambivalent about chickpeas but as a vegetarian, i should use them more as another source of protein plus all the usual “good stuff” you get in vegetables. So I was hunting for a couple of recipes to try and this was one.
It is worth at least 5 out of 5 stars
★★★★★
Easy to make – delicious flavor and creamy texture. My only issue (which isn’t a big deal) is that recipe calls for 19oz can of chickpeas and standard can is 15 .5 oz. so i opened 2 cans to get correct amount for recipe and will use leftover chickpeas to make vegan “egg” salad.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it! Totally fine to use two 15 oz cans, it doesn’t need to be exact. Add a little extra broth if needed! Thanks!
Can I try it in instant pot? If so, what time to try? Looks amazing 👏 Also, love your workouts!
I haven’t made it in an Instant Pot but I some readers have with success if you scroll through the comments you’ll find their notes on times! And thanks, glad you enjoy them!
Delicious! Warm and hearty for late-winter blahs. We may adjust how much we blend to make the soup more or less creamy, or to add over rice. This is definitely a new favorite.
★★★★★
Such a great recipe! I’m not a thyme lover, so I left it out. Such full flavour regardless, and very filling. Even my non-veg family members liked it.
★★★★★
Amazing, Carrie! Glad you still enjoyed it without the thyme and thanks for leaving a review!
This was really good! I used the veg broth and also added a cup of non dairy Silk Heavy Cream to thicken.
★★★★★
By far one of my favorite hearty stews. So simple, quick, easy, and HEALTHY!!! I have even thrown in a cup of couscous and frozen peas towards the end and cook them for 10 minutes on low heat. Such a great flavorful recipe.
★★★★★
This was excellent! I doubled it and added vegan Italian sausage vs another can of beans and mushrooms vs more potatoes then added can of coconut cream. YUMMMM!
★★★★★
So deliciously delish! Easy easy peasy recipe and the flavour profile is insane – so good!
I used a ninja blender to cream half the soup and the consistency was a bit grainy (vs smooth) in texture but I think this might be because of the blender?! Or potatoes in general. Not sure. I know the ninja blender doesn’t smoothly blend my smoothies so might be the same here. Great recipe, thanks!
★★★★★
Ya, that would be the blender. I used a Vitamix which does an amazing job at making it super smooth. Glad you enjoyed the flavour!
Made this flavourful soup and shared with my daughter. This is one of my go to soups. It’s just a bowl full of goodness!
★★★★★
Awesome, Helen! I’m so glad you enjoy it. Thanks for the kind review!
I made this chowder and it was very flavorful and satisfied my urge for a milk based chowder that I have been longing for but avoiding. It is my favorite recipe so far from Running on Real Food. But I have only tried a few. I plan trying a lot more. Not disappointed yet.
Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you find some more recipes you enjoy.
This recipe is really good, I’ve made it several times. Nice balance of flavor. I notice you suggest freezing batches. I’ve never been able to successfully freeze potatoes, the texture just isn’t good once they’re frozen. What do you know that I don’t?
★★★★★
Do you think I could use sweet potatoes instead of yellow potatoes? That’s what I have in my fridge…
You can. The cooking time and texture will be a bit different but the recipe will work. I haven’t tried it though so I can’t guarantee how it will come out. Let me know if you make it!
If I want to make the vegan chick pea chowder in an Instapot, do I make any changes in the recipe?
Thanks
I just made it in an Instant Pot today. Just use a little less broth since none of it will evaporate. I did it on high pressure for 15 min, then you can either do a quick release or a natural release for 10-15 min depending on how soft you like your vegetables.
★★★★★
Love this recipe. Thank you.
★★★★★
This soup was so cheap and easy to make – and, even better, my 3-year-old ate her whole bowl!!!
★★★★★
Haha, so glad it passed the 3-year olds test! They’re tough critics. So happy you guys enjoyed it.
Absolutely delicious and perfectly filling! My entire family loved this chowder. Will definitely make over and over again.
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it Karen. Thanks for the review!
I have made this countless times! I always seem to have the ingredients on hand and it is simply delicious!
★★★★★