This soup is proof that “creamy” doesn’t have to mean cream.
A handful of humble ingredients — chickpeas, a few vegetables, tahini, nutritional yeast — turn into a bowl that’s warm, rich, and genuinely satisfying, with almost no effort once everything’s in the pot.
The combination of tender potato, sweet carrot, savory sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, curry, tahini, and nutritional yeast creates a chickpea soup that is both cozy and full of flavor.
Tahini is stirred in at the very end, adding a creamy, nutty richness, while nutritional yeast brings an extra layer of savory, umami flavor.
It’s an easy one-pot recipe that works beautifully for a simple lunch, a light dinner, or a comforting meal when you want something warm and nourishing.
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Why You’ll Love This Chickpea Soup
- It’s simple. You only need a handful of everyday ingredients, and most of the cooking happens in one pot.
- It’s naturally creamy. There’s no need for heavy cream. Tahini adds richness and creaminess while the potato and chickpeas give the soup substance.
- It’s full of flavor. Sun-dried tomatoes add concentrated savory and slightly sweet notes, while curry adds warmth and tahini and nutritional yeast round everything out.
- It’s filling. Chickpeas and potatoes make this much more satisfying than a light vegetable broth.
- It’s plant-based. The recipe uses no meat or dairy and gets its richness from plant-based ingredients.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Onion and olive oil
Start the soup by gently sautéing the onion in olive oil. This creates the flavorful base for the rest of the ingredients.
Carrot
A small shredded carrot adds natural sweetness and blends easily into the soup.
Potato
The potato makes the soup more substantial and helps give the broth a naturally fuller texture.
Sun-dried tomatoes
Don’t skip these. Just three sun-dried tomatoes add a surprising amount of flavor. Their concentrated sweet, tangy, and savory character works particularly well with chickpeas and tahini.
Curry powder
You only need ½ teaspoon. It adds warmth and aromatic depth without making the soup overwhelmingly spicy.
Bay leaf
A single bay leaf subtly enhances the overall flavor while the soup simmers.
Chickpeas
You can use one can of chickpeas, drained, for convenience, or approximately 300 g of cooked chickpeas.
Tahini
Tahini is added near the end of cooking. It gives the soup a creamy texture and delicate nutty flavor.
Nutritional yeast
Nutritional yeast adds savory, umami depth and complements the tahini beautifully.
Salt
Add salt toward the end, once the ingredients have had time to cook and their flavors have developed.
How to Make This Chickpea Soup
1. Sauté the onion
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until softened.
2. Add the vegetables
Add the shredded carrot, cubed potato, and finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
Sauté everything together for about 5 minutes.
If the vegetables begin to stick or you want to prevent them from frying, add a small splash of water.
3. Add the curry and water
Add ½ teaspoon of curry powder and one bay leaf.
Pour in 800 ml (about 3⅓ cups) of water and bring the soup to a gentle simmer.
Let it cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are becoming tender.
4. Add the chickpeas
Drain the chickpeas and add them to the pot.
If you’re using freshly cooked chickpeas, add approximately 300 g.
Continue cooking until the vegetables are fully tender.
5. Season and simmer
When the vegetables are almost cooked, add salt to taste.
Let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes so the flavors can come together.
6. Finish with tahini and nutritional yeast
This is where the soup comes together.
Just before turning off the heat, stir in:
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Stir thoroughly until both ingredients are incorporated into the soup.
Remove the pot from the heat.
A Note About the Chickpeas
For the easiest version of this recipe, canned chickpeas are perfectly convenient. Simply drain and add them to the soup.
If you prefer to cook dried chickpeas yourself, soak them overnight in water with a pinch of baking soda (which can help speed up the cooking process), then cook them until tender.
How to Serve It
This chickpea soup is satisfying on its own, but you can easily turn it into a more complete meal with a few simple additions.
- Serve it with a grain: For an even heartier meal, serve the soup alongside quinoa, brown rice, or another cooked grain.
- With crusty bread: Serve the soup with a slice of toasted sourdough or your favorite crusty bread for dipping into the flavorful broth.
- Make it a complete meal: Pair a generous bowl of soup with toasted whole-grain bread, a simple salad, or roasted vegetables for a more substantial meal.
- Add homemade croutons: Top each bowl with crispy homemade croutons. Their crunchy texture makes a lovely contrast to the tender chickpeas and creamy broth.
Can You Make It Ahead?
Yes. Like many vegetable and chickpea soups, this recipe is convenient for preparing ahead.
Allow the soup to cool and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When reheating, warm it gently and add a splash of water if the soup has thickened.
Because tahini can settle or slightly change the texture after refrigeration, give the soup a good stir while reheating.
Creamy Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small carrot shredded
- 1 potato cut into small cubes
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 800 ml 3⅓ cups water
- 1 can chickpeas drained, or 300 g cooked chickpeas
- Salt to taste
- ½ tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until softened.
- Add the shredded carrot, cubed potato, and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for 5 minutes, adding a little water if needed to prevent frying.
- Stir in the curry powder and bay leaf. Add 800 ml (3⅓ cups) water and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the drained chickpeas and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender.
- Add salt to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Just before turning off the heat, stir in the tahini and nutritional yeast until well combined.
- Remove from the heat, taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, and serve warm.
Notes
- Adjust the consistency. If you prefer a thinner soup, add a little more water. For a thicker, heartier texture, use less water or allow the soup to simmer a little longer.
- Add the tahini at the end. This keeps its nutty flavor noticeable and makes it easier to incorporate smoothly into the soup.
- Don’t overdo the curry. The recipe uses only ½ teaspoon because the goal is a warm background flavor rather than a strongly curry-flavored soup.
- Taste before serving. The sun-dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, and tahini all contribute flavor, so taste the soup after everything has been added and adjust the salt if needed.
FAQ
Can I make this soup ahead of time?
Yes — it keeps well in the fridge and the flavor deepens after a day or two.
Can I substitute the tahini?
Tahini is what gives this soup its creamy, nutty base, so it’s best kept as-is. If you don’t have any, a smooth nut or seed butter could work in a pinch, though the flavor will shift.
Is this recipe gluten-free?
Yes, all the ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free — just double check your curry powder and nutritional yeast labels if that matters to you.
