This Chickpea and potato soup is made without oil and is packed with nutrient-dense chickpeas, creamy potatoes, baby spinach & simple spices. A naturally creamy plant-based soup that's made in under 30 minutes.

Why you'll love this simple chickpea and potato soup

This easy chickpea and potato soup is a wonderful, healthy soup recipe you can pull together quickly when you need something fast and comforting. This is why you'll love making it:

• Budget-friendly: This healthy soup uses simple, economical ingredients. For extra savings, soak dried chickpeas overnight and pressure-cook them instead of using canned.
• Naturally creamy: Creamy without the use of dairy or any nut puree or coconut milk.
• Pantry-ready ingredients: This soup uses readily available pantry ingredients.
• One-pot: Made in one pot. I love making it in the Instant Pot for easy clean up and less mess.
• Customizable: You can add more veggies and greens to make this soup even more nutritious.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.

• Chickpeas: Soaked overnight and pressure-cooked. I love to cook them in the Instant Pot and store the cooked chickpeas in air-tight glass containers in the fridge. Great for meal preps and recipes. Saves a lot of money. If you don't have them ready, you can use canned chickpeas instead.
• Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes. We love using Yukon Gold potatoes as they are naturally creamy and delicious.
• Aromatics: Onion, ginger & garlic. Yellow onion tastes best in this recipe. We used freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
• Veggies: Carrots. Add a subtle sweetness to the soup. You can add more vegetables, such as button mushrooms, zucchini, and yellow squash.
• Greens: Baby spinach. You can substitute it with baby kale or dragon kale.
• Seasonings: Ground black pepper, oregano, ground nutmeg, Himalayan pink salt.
• Liquid: Water. You substitute it with vegetable stock.
• Plant-based milk: Unsweetened almond milk.
• Bay Leaf.
• For chickpea sauce: Cooked chickpeas, lemon juice, ground black pepper, unsweetened almond milk, sweet paprika, nutritional yeast (optional).

Note: The potatoes are missing in the ingredients photo. I forgot to add it in the photo.

Method

Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.

• Sauté onion: Set the instant pot on sauté mode on high heat setting. Sauté the onion with a few teaspoons of water until it becomes soft. Add drizzles of water if the onion becomes dry, and continue the process.
• Sauté veggies: Add carrots, ginger & garlic, all the seasonings, and sauté for 30 seconds. Cancel the sauté function.

• Deglaze pot: Add cooked chickpeas & potatoes. Add water and deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the burn error.
• Pressure cook: Add the bay leaf. Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, followed by a quick pressure release. Discard the bay leaf.

• Pureed chickpea sauce: Turn on the sauté function. Add the pureed chickpea sauce (add chickpeas, lemon juice, almond milk, and a few seasonings into a blender jar and blend until smooth and silky).
• Creamy base: Add the almond milk. Give everything a good stir. Add the baby spinach and mix well. Turn off the Instant Pot. The residual heat will help wilt the spinach leaves.
• Serve: Serve the creamy oil-free chickpea potato soup with simple garnishes like ground black pepper, a drizzle of hot sauce, or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Stove-top method

• Sauté with water instead of oil: Set a heavy-bottomed pan or pot over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add onion and a few tablespoons of water. Sauté until the onion turns soft. Add carrots, ginger, garlic, and all the seasonings. Sauté for 30 seconds.
• Deglaze pot: Add the chickpeas and diced potatoes. Add water and deglaze the pot thoroughly by scraping the sides and bottom with a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles.
• Cover & cook: Add the bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
• Add creamy sauce: Discard the bay leaf. Add the pureed chickpea sauce (blend chickpeas, lemon juice, almond milk, and a few seasonings in a blender jar until smooth and silky). Add almond milk. Give everything a good stir. Now, add the baby spinach and give everything a good stir. Allow the soup to rest for 5 minutes before serving. The residual heat will help wilt the spinach leaves. Serve the soup warm or hot and enjoy!>

Expert Tips

• Oil-free soup: This is a delicious oil-free soup, a perfect whole food plant-based soup recipe that checks all the boxes of deliciousness. Instead of oil, we used normal water to sauté the onion, veggies, and the seasonings. The trick is to add water bit by bit ( a few teaspoons at a time). When you feel that the vegetables or the aromatics are becoming dry, add a few teaspoons of water to moisten them and continue sautéing.
• Creamy consistency without dairy: Puree the cooked chickpeas and set aside. Use this puree and any plant-based milk like almond, soy, or oat milk in the pressure-cooked soup to add natural creaminess.
• Spicy soup: Add 1 tablespoon hot sauce like sriracha sauce at the end and mix well. You can also add more as a garnish. You can also add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce to make this soup spicy.

How to serve

Serve this comforting oil-free chickpea, potato, and spinach soup with the following sides to make your meal satisfying and budget-friendly:

• Crusty whole wheat Sourdough Bread.
• Stir-fried veggies or a bowl of steamed assorted vegetables.
• A light salad, like roasted vegetable salad or a light green salad.
• Moroccan couscous for a light, grain-based, healthy side.
• Brown rice with vegetables for a heavier, healthier meal.
• Air-fried veggies like acorn squash, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes, smashed brussel sprouts, roasted beets, carrots and potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, mushrooms and onion, baby gold potatoes, roasted radishes.

Leftovers & storage

Fridge:

You can store this potato and garbanzo bean soup in air-tight glass containers for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Freezer:

Freeze the soup in heavy-duty freezer-safe glass containers for up to 2 months. Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge and then reheat. The consistency of the potato might change slightly.

Reheat:

Stovetop: Reheat the creamy chickpea potato soup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot over medium-high heat on the stove top. Stir often. Add water or vegetable stock to adjust the consistency of the soup.

Instant pot: You can reheat the soup in a cinch in the instant pot on saute mode set at high or normal heat setting. Stir often to prevent burning. Adjust the consistency by adding extra water or veggie stock.

Microwave oven: Reheat the soup in microwave-safe bowls until warm or hot. Serve immediately.

MORE PLANT-BASED SOUPS MADE IN THE INSTANT POT

• Instant pot lentil soup with potatoes.
• Bean and potato soup instant pot.
• Potato leek soup instant pot dairy free.
• Instant pot vegetable soup with potatoes.
• Instant pot Portuguese bean soup.
• Dry Lima Beans Instant pot.
• Instant pot red lentil soup.
• Old fashioned vegetable barley soup.
• Sweet Potato and kale soup with coconut milk.
• Vegan mushroom barley soup.
• Instant pot quinoa soup.
• Instant Pot 15 bean soup vegetarian
• Farro soup instant pot
• Cabbage lentil soup.
• Kale and potato soup.
• Mung bean soup recipe.

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