This chicken and chickpea soup recipe is super easy to make. It is made with chicken, chickpeas, and spinach, slow-cooked in flavored broth and tomatoes, all in one pot. Serve this Mediterranean chicken soup with bread or crusty rolls for a perfect lunch or dinner.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 6people
Calories: 460kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
1 A heavy bottom pot with lid
Ingredients
3chicken breasts (500 g) or 500 g bone-in chicken thighs
salt & pepper to taste
3teaspoonolive oil
1Bayleaf
1-inchcinnamon sticks
1cupfinely chopped onions
1red bell pepperdiced
1.5teaspoonfinely chopped or minced garlic
½teaspoonturmeric
1teaspoonPaprikaadd as per taste
1.5teaspoondried oregano
1teaspoonthyme
1teaspoonground cumin
1teaspoonground black pepper
132-ounce box of low-sodium chicken broth or 4 cups of chicken broth
115-ounce can of tomatoes, pureed in bender or 2 cups of tomatoes
115-ounce can of cooked chickpeas or 2 cups of cooked chickpeas(rinsed and drained)
1.5teaspoonlemon juice
2cupsof baby spinach
Instructions
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat 3 teaspoon oil in a pot over medium heat. Sear the chicken, each side for 2-3 minutes or until light golden. Chicken will not get fully cooked at this stage. Remove it to a plate. Keep it covered.
To the same pot, add cinnamon, bay leaves, onions and red bell pepper. Sauté until onions are soft & golden.
Next, add garlic, turmeric, paprika, oregano, thyme, cumin and pepper. Stir it for a minute.
Add chicken broth and tomatoes. Stir, cover and cook until it comes to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, add chickpeas and chicken with all its juices back to the pan. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Remove the chicken, shred and add shredded chicken back to the soup pot.
Add lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and other seasoning. Let it boil. Break few chickpeas with the back of the ladle. It thickens the soup.
Add spinach. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Remove bay leaf and cinnamon. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. But, for extra flavor, you can use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces instead. Just remove the meat after cooking.
Do not overcook the chicken while searing it. Let it sear until lightly golden and remove. Overcooking the chicken will turn it hard or rubbery.
Cook the chicken in broth on low heat until completely cooked. Do not cook the chicken on high heat it might turn hard or rubbery.
Season the soup as per your taste.
Chicken broth already has salt in it so be careful while adding salt to the recipe.
Substitute chicken with turkey. Or use leftover or rotisserie chicken.