Spiced Chickpea Noodle Soup | One Pot One Portion
This is my spiced chickpea noodle soup, the ultimate winter warmer & the perfect cosy, easy dinner. It's a fairly thick soup, almost like a stew, which makes it substantial and filling (which is what I want all of my meals to be). It only takes about 20 minutes to make and the result is silky, fresh, warm and satisfying.
It's inspired by Harira which is a North African soup, often eaten to break the fast during Ramadan. My recipe is very much inspired by this dish and not an authentic recreation so just keep that in mind.
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This is my spiced chickpea noodle soup, the ultimate winter warmer & the perfect cosy, easy dinner. It's a fairly thick soup, almost like a stew, which makes it substantial and filling (which is what I want all of my meals to be). It only takes about 20 minutes to make and the result is silky, fresh, warm and satisfying.
It's inspired by Harira which is a North African soup, often eaten to break the fast during Ramadan. My recipe is very much inspired by this dish and not an authentic recreation so just keep that in mind.
The traditional soup varies across countries, with some using chickpeas, some favouring lentils and some using both. But in general this hearty soup uses a pulse and vermicelli noodles along with lots of spices. I've used ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cumin and ground turmeric. It's finished with fresh coriander and lots of lemon juice which brings brightness and perfectly balances the soup. Traditional recipes also often use a thickener of flour and water but I personally didn't think it needed it as the chickpeas and noodles thickened the soup into the silky texture needed. Some recipes use meat but I've opted to keep this vegan, which means it's also a super cheap recipe, using mostly store cupboard ingredients and is suitable for almost all dietary preferences!
If you like this recipe you might also like my:
- Triple Lemon Chickpeas with Burrata
- Tomato Tamarind Pasta with Chickpeas & Crispy Garlic
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Lamb Samosa Filo Pie
About
20 minute meal
- This recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make with very minimal prep time making it the perfect easy, cheap weeknight dinner or lunch.
High Protein & High Fibre
- Thanks to the chickpeas this meal packs a good portion of protein and plenty of fibre, which we love.
One Pot
- As with all of my recipes, this only needs one pot or one pan so there are minimal dishes, which makes every meal time easier and more enjoyable!
Single-Serve
- Again, as always, this recipe is for a single-serve chickpea noodle soup so you can make this just for yourself! Though it would be very easy to scale up to serve multiple people if needed.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas: as they're the main component of this dish I really recommend buying good quality jarred chickpeas! Bold Bean Co do the best of the best, but they do come with a higher price point. If tinned chickpeas fit more with your budget then that is absolutely fine! I'd just recommend simmering the soup for a bit longer to make sure the chickpeas plump up and absorb as much flavour as possible (you may need to add more water so just keep an eye on it).
- Vermicelli Noodles: vermicelli noodles are very thing noodles that can either be made from wheat or rice. I've used the wheat flour noodles which I believe are more traditional but if you prefer/can only find rice vermicelli noodles then use those instead!
- Spices: this dish requires a few spices but they're all very common spices that you should have in your cupboards anyway and can be used in so many dishes.
- Fresh coriander: the fresh coriander really adds a brightness to this dish but if you have *the gene* then just replace with fresh parsley instead.
Dietary Swaps
- Gluten-Free: If you want to make this a gluten-free soup, simply substitute the vermicelli noodles for vermicelli rice noodles instead. Such a simple, easy swap!t
- Dairy-Free: This dish is already dairy-free so that's great isn't it!
- Vegetarian/Vegan: You're in luck, this is already a vegetarian and vegan recipe!
Step By Step
1. Start by frying off the onions in olive oil before adding all your spices.
2. Add good quality passata or tinned tomatoes along with the chickpeas and stock.
3. Simmer then add the noodles.
4. Serve with lots of fresh coriander and lemon juice.
Leftovers & Top Tips
Silky soup: The name Harira comes from the Arabic word for silk so, naturally, you want the soup to have a thicker, silkier texture, almost like a stew. Whereas traditionally a thickener is added, I felt my soup didn't need it and developed the recipe so the quantities gave you that silky result.
Keep an eye on the water: depending on your pan size and the type of noodles/chickpeas you use you may need to add more water. Keep an eye on it and keep the heat on medium-low so nothing dries out or burn.s
Leftovers
You could use the leftover chickpeas to also try these recipes:
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 white onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 150g passata + 300ml water
- 150g cooked chickpeas
- 1/2 vegetable stock cube
- 30g dried vermicelli noodles
- 1/2-1 tsp sugar (optional)
- Salt
- Black Pepper
To serve:
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Handful of fresh coriander
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook on medium-low for 5-10 minutes until the onions have softened without taking on too much colour.
- Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes before adding in the turmeric, cinnamon, cumin and ginger and cook for another 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the passata, water, chickpeas and stock cube and let that simmer for 10-15 minutes on a low simmer.
- Once thickened a little, break the vermicelli into 2 inch pieces and add to the pan. Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add more water if needed, depending on the size of your pan.
- Once the noodles are cooked, taste and season with salt, pepper and sugar, if it tastes a bit bitter (this could be from the tomatoes or spices so adjust to your preferences).
- Serve up the soup and top with lots of fresh coriander and lemon juice.
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Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
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One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up!
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