Chickpea Noodle Soup

By Alexandra Caspero on October 3, 2022

Vegetarian Chickpea Soup for the Soul!

Serves 4-6

Chickpea Noodle Soup! A vegetarian twist with chickpeas, vegetables and star pasta. A simple, healthy family friendly meal.

Simple weeknight soups are some are my favorites; my Lemon Chickpea Orzo soup and Tuscan Kale Soup are two of my go-to pasta soup recipes. I love how easy they are to throw together and even though my kids aren’t the biggest bean fans, they’ll eat (almost) anything combined with pasta.

Speaking of, how adorable is this star pasta? When I was a kid, my mom would make cheesy stars for sick days. Exactly as it sounds, cooked star pasta with butter and plenty of parmesan cheese. This is a healthier version, with carrots, celery, onion, garlic and chickpeas.

This chickpea noodle soup is comforting, easy and delicious. A must-save for Fall and Winter!

Everything You Need to Make this Chickpea Noodle Soup:

Ingredients
How to Make Chickpea Noodle Soup
More Vegetarian Soup Recipes

Ingredients

Olive oil
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Garlic cloves
Poultry seasoning
Chickpeas
Vegetable broth
Stelline pasta
Lemon juice
Fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese

Substitution Recommendations

Butter gives great flavor to this recipe if you wanted to use that instead of olive oil. Dairy-free butter of course would also be an option.

Poultry seasoning is a combination of dried sage and thyme along with nutmeg, marjoram, rosemary and black pepper. If you don’t have poultry seasoning then I’d recommend 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of thyme and sage, or to taste.

Stelline pasta is my favorite for this, but any short pasta like orzo, elbows or ditalini pasta will also work. Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top right before serving adds both umami and saltiness, but dairy-free parm can be used instead or omitted completely.

As with most soup recipes, a good broth makes or breaks this recipe. For a broth base when I don’t have time to make my own, I’m partial to the vegetarian better than bouillon paste or this chickenless broth powder.

How to Make Chickpea Noodle Soup

Sauté the Aromatics
Heat the olive oil or butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Add in the onion, carrots, celery and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic cloves and poultry seasoning.
Add in the chickpeas and noodles
Add in the chickpeas, bay leaf, 7 cups of broth and noodles. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Stir in the pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and parsley
Taste, adding more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice as desired. If you want your soup a little more brothy, then add in the extra cup of broth. Serve immediately with parm cheese, if desired.

How to store this chickpea noodle soup recipe

Any soup with pasta in it will thicken considerably as it sits. If you want to make this ahead of time, then I recommend cooking the pasta separately and then adding to the soup right before serving.

To freeze, you can freeze this soup already made, but the pasta will change texture with freezing and thawing. To gift this soup, like for a new mom or for planned meal prep, then I recommend making the soup without the pasta and placing in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months.

When ready to enjoy, thaw, reheat and then add in the pasta. I have a collection of 20+ freezer recipes for new moms and this chickpea soup would absolutely work in that capacity! Gift with a jar of uncooked star pasta.

bowl of chickpeas and noodles and vegetables

I call this chickpea noodle soup my chicken noodle soup recipe for vegetarians. With plenty of protein and fiber, thanks to the carrots, celery and chickpeas, this healthy soup is also the ultimate comfort food.

We love it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top before serving, but to keep it completely dairy-free, use a vegan parmesan cheese or omit. The saltiness from the cheese really makes a difference!

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If you try this chickpea noodle soup, make sure to come back to rate it and leave a comment. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!