By using a combination of fresh and canned ingredients, this chickpea soup offers seasonal flare while remaining easy, versatile and convenient.
For super-fast preparation of this chickpea soup, look for pre-cut butternut squash in your grocer’s fresh case. Some stores, like Trader Joe’s, even offer pre-cut organic kale leaves – but really, it takes just a couple of minutes (and saves a pretty penny) to buy a bunch of kale and cut the leaves away from the tough stalks yourself.
If you want to use all fresh vegetables in this chickpea soup, simmer sliced fresh carrots or parsnips with the butternut squash.
Special Diet Notes: Autumn Vegetable and Chickpea Soup
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, and soy-free. With the vegetable broth, it is also vegan / plant-based and vegetarian. For a food allergy-friendly chickpea soup, be sure to select your broth wisely. Some brands do contain dairy, gluten, and/or soy, for example.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 (14.75-ounce) cans low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth (approx. 3½ cups)
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups cubed butternut squash, about 1 medium squash
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can sliced carrots, drained
- 3 cups escarole, coarsely chopped (can substitute kale or other hearty greens)
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until just softened. Stir in the cumin and saute 1 minute.
- Add the broth, water, butternut squash and salt. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
- Add the garbanzo beans, carrots and escarole. Continue to simmer about 5 minutes until the vegetables are heated through tender. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed.
