Cream of Tomato and Chickpea Soup

Homemade vegan tomato soup recipe, perfect winter supper

Cream of tomato and chickpea soup: Thick, rich, homemade vegan soup recipe, perfect for cold winter evenings. Or tomato season. Serve with chewy artesan bread for dipping.

Tomato soup recipe was contributed by my son-in-law, Bryan, who's become a great vegetarian cook.

This cream of tomato soup tastes divine, but it would be equally divine if you were to skip the creaming, and serve the soup with parts intact.

Total Prep & Cook Time: 60 min

8 Servings

Nutrition Data, 155 g Serving: 149 cal, 22 g carb, 5 g fat, 244 mg sodium, 7 g sugars, 6 g fiber, 6 g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit C, A, K, Folate. Estimated glycemic load 9

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). *Bean cooking directions below OR use 2 16 oz cans, drained & rinsed
• 4 cups water or bean broth (bean cooking liquid)
• 2 unsalted vegetable bouillon cubes
• 6 ripe plum tomatoes OR 1 large can crushed unsalted tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp raw cane or turbinado sugar

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large carrots
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 pinch chipotle pepper or to taste
• 1 Tbsp dried basil, or 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Braggs liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley or basil

How To Cook Chickpeas

1. Sort and clean the dried beans
2. Soak the chickpeas in hot water for four hours, or overnight in cold water
3. Drain and rinse
4. Place in medium saucepan, cover with cold unsalted water
5. Bring to boil uncovered, boil for ten minutes, skim the foam
6. Stove Top: Cover and simmer soaked beans for 2 hours
7. Pressure cooker: Soaked beans, 10 minutes at high pressure, natural pressure release
8. Slow cooker or Crockpot (large size): After boiling and skimming the soaked beans, cook for 6 - 8 hours covered on low

Soup Directions:

1. Combine cooked and drained chickpeas in a sauce pan with 4 cups water, stock or bean cooking liquid, 2 veggie cubes, bay leaves
2. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer
3. Heat oil in a large soup pot or pressure cooker
4. Trim and peel and thinkly slice carrots and celery
5. Peel, core and mince the garlic cloves, and fry for 2 minutes
6. Add the chopped carrots and celery, stir fry 5 minutes
7. Add the spices and stir for 2 minutes
8. Add tomatoes, turn the heat up to medium high and stir fry 5 minutes
9. Add the beans and soup stock, bring to a boil
10. Cover and simmer covered for 1/2 hour or until veggies are tender
11. Crockpot: Add everything to the crockpot, cook on low for 5 hours
12. Pressure Cooker: lock the cover, bring up to high pressure, set timer for 3 minutes, natural pressure release
13. Add tomato paste, salt & pepper, optional Braggs or soy sauce if desired
14. Blend soup with a blender stick, or in batches in a blender (works best unless you have a powerful hand blender)
15. Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with fresh minced herb, parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella (dairy or non-dairy) if desired
16. Serve with chunks of fresh chewy artesan bread to dip in the soup

Recipe Tips:

Son-In-Law Bryan and Daughter Zoë like to use frozen tomatoes in this recipe, because they're easy to peel. Zoë says that she's opposed to nasty bits of tomato peel in her soup. What they do is buy tomatoes, freeze some of them, then when a bunch of tomatoes accumulate, they make Tomato Chickpea Soup. Run the frozen tomatoes under hot water and slide the peel off with your thumb.

I'm also opposed to tomato peel in my soup, but I found that using a large can of crushed tomatoes took care of that problem. And I shortened the cooking time ALOT by using my wonderful new pressure cooker Did I mention I love my pressure cooker?

The chickpeas can be soaked overnight, brought to a boil and finish cooking in the crockpot OR pressure cooker. If you use canned beans, drain and rinse them first.

Our grand daughter thought that a grilled cheese sandwich would be ideal to go with this soup. She's right - it's a classic combo.

*Note: If you're going to soak and cook beans, it's worth making extra, to freeze in small amounts for future meals (think soup). More bean cooking tips and directions

Recipe Comments:

I made this for dinner last night - yum! My daughter doesn't like chickpeas, but she liked this soup - Laura B.