Easy dump-and-start recipe for Moroccan Chickpea Soup, a hearty, healthy, and flavorful 30-minute meal. Creamy Chickpeas are cooked with fire-roasted tomatoes and warm spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and paprika, which give this vegan and gluten-free soup its iconic bold and rich taste.
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This is a very simple recipe in which I simply add the ingredients to the Instant Pot and turn it on. It's one of the easiest hands-off recipes that my family enjoys!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are a few reasons to love this soup:
- Balanced Meal: Packed with nutrients, this soup is a balanced meal as it includes protein, vegetables, carbs, and healthy fats. Chickpeas are also a great source of Iron, Vitamin A, and Potassium.
- Protein and Fiber Rich: The star ingredient in this soup, Chickpeas, is a great source of lean plant-based protein and fiber.
- Vegan & Gluten-Free: All ingredients used in this soup are naturally vegan and gluten-free. It's a great option for Meatless Mondays too.
- Dump & Start 30-Minute Recipe: It's perfect for weeknight cooking. No need to saute or simmer ingredients and dinner is ready in 30 minutes.
- Minimum Prep: A handful of common ingredients and you are all set to create magic in the kitchen.
- Meal-Prep-Friendly: Make a big batch and enjoy this comforting soup throughout the week.
You might also like: More Dump & Start Recipes from my Kitchen
Ingredients- Notes & Substitutions
It takes a handful of pantry ingredients and a few fresh aromatics to put this delicious soup on the table. Chances are, you already have most of them in your kitchen right now. Here's what you need:
- Chickpeas: The star of the dish. Use canned for convenience or soak dried chickpeas overnight and cook using this easy Instant Pot recipe.
- Olive oil: For sautéing. Can be substituted with any vegetable oil.
- Veggies: Celery, carrots, and baby spinach add a lovely crunch and nutrition. Feel free to add other veggies like sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini, or baby kale.
- Tomatoes: Fire-roasted tomatoes add a subtle smokiness. Feel free to use plain diced tomatoes instead. Sun-dried tomatoes add a balanced sweet and tart taste. But, since my kids are a little fussy about those, I chop them up and they dissolve after pressure cooking. You can skip them if you like. I also add tomato paste which adds a subtle sweet taste and helps thicken the soup.
- Chili garlic Sauce: Not a traditional ingredient for a Moroccan-style dish, but I love the subtle spicy-garlicky kick it adds to the broth.
- Spices: Cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and paprika give this soup its iconic warm and bold flavors. Salt and pepper bring all the flavors together.
- Broth: I use low-sodium vegetable broth as it enhances the base flavors of the soup. Feel free to use chicken stock if that's what you have on hand. Water is a simpler substitute.
- Finishing Flavors: Freshly squeezed lemon juice brightens up the soup. A touch of honey or agave tie in all the flavors, it is optional though.
Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Moroccan Chickpea Soup
Here is a dump-and-start recipe for Moroccan Chickpea Soup in Instant Pot. That means, simply add all the ingredients to the pot, turn it on, and enjoy! Here's how I make it:
Step 1: Turn on the Instant Pot and add all the ingredients listed under 'Pressure cook'. Stir to mix everything.
Step 2: Close the lid and set Manual or Pressure Cook for 8 mins at high-pressure. Set the vent to sealing position. Once cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes. After that manually release the remaining pressure.
Step 3: Open the lid after the pin drops. Using a potato masher, mash a few beans to thicken the soup a bit. Add chopped spinach, juice of ½ a lemon, and a teaspoon of honey. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes.
The spinach will wilt down and the soup will thicken a bit during these 5 mins. Enjoy as-is, or with a slice of toasted baguette, or couscous. For a gluten-free alternative, you can serve it with cooked quinoa.
Serving Suggestions
Here's what to serve with Moroccan Garbanzo Bean Soup:
- Bread: I like to serve this hearty Chickpea Soup with toasted baguette. I cut the bread on an angle, and toast it in the oven, or a skillet, with a drizzle of olive oil. It's great for dunking in the soup. It soaks up the soup and tastes amazing.
- Couscous: Another great option is plain couscous, cooked in a flavorful broth, or, water seasoned with salt and olive oil. I follow the package directions and make it on the stove while the soup is cooking.
- Quinoa- Serve it with cooked quinoa for a gluten-free alternative.
How to Store & Freeze
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.
To reheat, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator (if frozen). Simply microwave it for 1 minute or heat it on the stove in a saucepan.
If the soup looks too dry, add a few tablespoons of warm water to loosen it up.
Try a Variation
Turn it into a stew: This recipe can be used to make a Moroccan Chickpea Stew as well. Simply reduce the amount of stock or water to 1.5-2 cups, depending on how thick you like your stew. After pressure cooking, mash a few beans using a potato masher, which helps thicken the stew more.
Make it spicier: Add a tablespoon of Harissa and add a kick to this soup.
Chickpea Soup Italian: Substitute the spices in this soup with 2 teaspoons of an Italian seasoning blend and enjoy an Italian-style chickpea soup.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- This recipe has been tested in a 3qt and 6qt Instant Pot. It is very easy to double this recipe in a 6qt and 8qt. Simply double the ingredients, cooking time stays the same.
- This recipe uses canned chickpeas. If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, drain, and use in this recipe. Increase the pressure cook time to 45 mins at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release for 15 mins.
- If making this recipe with unsoaked dried chickpeas, rinse and drain the chickpeas. Add to the pot as per instructions and pressure cook for 60 mins at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release for 15 mins.
- You can customize this soup by adding veggies of your choice, like diced sweet potato, kale, etc.
- Serve this soup with a toasted sliced baguette. For a gluten-free option, this goes great with couscous or quinoa.
- To make Moroccan Chickpea stew using this recipe, simply reduce the amount of stock or water to 1.5-2 cups. After pressure cooking mash a few beans using a potato masher which helps thicken the stew more. Serve with a toasted baguette and enjoy a hearty stew!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! Soak the dried chickpeas overnight in 3 cups of water. Rinse and drain in the morning. Add to the recipe as per instructions and set the pressure cooker for 45 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally.
To make this Moroccan Chickpea Soup with unsoaked dry beans, rinse and add them, and adjust the pressure cooking time to 60 minutes at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release.
Based on 6 servings in this recipe, each serving has about 240 calories.
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Moroccan Chickpea Soup
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Equipment
Ingredients
Pressure Cook:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped (1 medium)
- 4-5 cloves garlic crushed (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 cup carrot chopped (2 carrots)
- 1 cup celery chopped (2 Ribs)
- 31 ounce cooked chickpeas (2 cans) drained and rinsed
- 14.5 ounce fire-roasted tomatoes (1 can) or 4 medium size 'ripe' Roma tomatoes de-seeded & pureed coarsely
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes optional, but recommended
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (reduce to ¼ for milder taste)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika (sweet not smoked)
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (optional but recommended) I use sambal olek, adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper or ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth or water
After Pressure Cooking:
- 2 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey optional
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot. Add all the ingredients listed under 'Pressure cook', including vegetable stock. Give it a good stir. Close the lid and set Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 mins at high pressure. Set the vent to sealing position.
- Once the cook time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. After that manually release pressure.
- Once the pin has dropped, open the lid. Using a potato masher, mash a few beans to thicken the soup a bit. Add chopped spinach, juice of ½ a lemon, and a teaspoon of honey.
- Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. The spinach will wilt down and the soup will thicken a bit during these 5 mins. Enjoy as-is, or with a slice of toasted baguette, or, couscous. For a gluten-free alternative, you can serve it with quinoa.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips for Moroccan Chickpea Soup
- This recipe has been tested in a 3qt and 6qt Instant Pot. It is very easy to double this recipe in 6qt and 8qt. Simply double the ingredients, cooking time stays the same. I wouldn't recommend doubling this in a 3qt.
- This recipe uses canned chickpeas. If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight (or min 8 hrs), drain, and use in this recipe. Increase the pressure cook time to 45 mins at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release for 15 mins.
- If making this recipe with unsoaked dried chickpeas, rinse and drain chickpeas. Add to the pot as per instructions and pressure cook 60 mins at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release for 15 mins.
- You can customize this soup by adding veggies of your choice, like diced sweet potato, kale, etc.
- Serve this soup with a toasted sliced baguette. For a gluten-free option, this goes great with couscous or quinoa.
Jordyn says
Could you replace the chickpeas with ground beef in this recipe??
I love it with the chickpeas but just want to add more protein.
Aneesha Gupta says
Hi Jordyn, Absolutely! To add ground beef to this recipe, I recommend sautéing it for 3-4 minutes with 1 tablespoon oil (on saute mode), breaking it into smaller chunks, then adding the remaining ingredients and pressure cooking. Enjoy!
Heidi S. Atwood says
I love Moroccan flavours and finding an easy delicious vegetarian meal that is hearty and so tasty was wonderful. Definitely going into rotation! I added sweet potatoes and skipped the spinach because I didn't have any. Served over couscous with some golden raisins and ate every bit of it!
Aneesha says
That's awesome! Thanks for your kind words Heidi, I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much. It's one of my fav too!
Lauren says
Oh this is sooo good. I sautéed the onion, celery, and carrot first. I also added a diced sweet potato and about a cup of frozen peas I had laying around. I think this recipe would really be good with just about any veggies! Perfect for a last minute meal. I also added about half a tablespoon of harissa seasoning (not the paste). I like my food spicy, so when it was all said and done I put some Sriracha on my bowl. I served it over brown rice. The flavors in this recipe just blend so well. I could eat this once a week or make ahead to keep in the freezer!
Aneesha says
Hi Lauren, I love your customizations! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe ????????
B Reillly says
This recipe looks amazing. How would I adapt this for a crockpot? I don’t have an Instant Pot.
I love seeing your recipes, but would love to see in the notes section for how to adapt for a slow-cooker / crockpot.
Thank you.
Aneesha says
I'm glad you enjoying my recipes, thank you! I don't own a crockpot, so asked a friend and here's what she recommends: Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and stir well. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. If you like the stew thicker, mash some chickpeas towards the end, or uncover the crockpot towards the last 45 minutes. Let me know how it goes!
Ellen Patel says
This is just absolutely delicious! I’ve been making it in big batches and freezing into single servings for days when I’m too tired or busy to cook lunch. Even after being frozen, the flavor is out of this world and I love having something so healthy to grab. Thank you!
Aneesha says
Thank you, Ellen! I'm so glad you enjoy it. Thanks for taking the time to rate this recipe ????????
Cindy says
Such a perfect recipe!! The flavors are just right!! There were a few ingredients I didn’t have and omitted, and a few I substituted. I didn’t have carrots, celery, spinach, or chili garlic sauce. I added half of a huge sweet potato thinly cut, some red pepper,and a small amount of green peppers. I did not add honey or lemon at the end. The sweet potato gave just enough sweetness. I did soak my chickpeas overnight and I cooked them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in the instant pot for 5 minutes with ten minute release before I made this recipe. Thank you! It was great!
Aneesha says
Thank you Cindy, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Elizabeth says
This is a super recipe. You know it's good when your guests ask for the recipe 🙂 I sauted the onion/celery/carrot for a few mins in the Instant Pot before adding the garlic, and did add one large sweet potato (next time might add 2). Then followed the recipe and chucked everything else in the pot. I didn't have plain paprika so had to use sweet smoked. Definitely needed some sweetness at the end to balance that paprika & a small slug of maple syrup (instead of honey) worked great. Used 1 litre of water/stock to make it a summer soup and would probably use a bit more liquid if making it again in summer time as the soup/broth is delicious. Thank you for the recipe!!
Aneesha says
Sounds delicious. I'm so happy you enjoyed this dish! Thank you!