This chickpea tomato soup is what you reach for on a cold weeknight when you want something filling without a trip to the store. It’s mostly pantry stuff: canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), canned tomatoes, stock, plus a few potatoes and an onion.

The potatoes and chickpeas make it hearty enough to be the whole meal, maybe with some bread on the side. It’s cheap, it keeps you full, and it actually tastes better the next day once the flavors had time to meld.

I’ve written it for both the stovetop and the Instant Pot, so use whichever you’ve got. The pressure cooker route is mostly hands-off; the stovetop gives you a little more control. Either way it’s a delicious chickpea tomato soup that doesn’t ask much of you.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Naturally vegan. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken and the whole soup is plant-based, with nothing else to change.
One pot. Everything cooks in a single pot, so there’s not much to wash up after.
You control the bulk. Add more potatoes for a thick, filling bowl or fewer for a brothier soup — it’s hard to get wrong.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Canned chickpeas. The protein and bulk that turn this from a tomato soup into a meal. Drain and rinse to wash off the starchy canning liquid. Chickpeas you’ve cooked from dried work too.
Stock. The base of the soup and most of its savory flavor. Chicken stock gives a richer result; vegetable stock keeps it vegan. The saltiness varies a lot by brand, which affects how much salt you’ll add later.
Potatoes. Add heartiness and body, and thicken the soup slightly as they cook. Floury/starchy potatoes break down more and make it thicker; waxy ones hold their shape for more distinct chunks. Either works.
Carrots. A little natural sweetness and color to balance the tomato.
Onion. The savory aromatic base everything builds on.
Canned chopped tomatoes. The tomato backbone and a bit of acidity to keep the soup from tasting flat. Passata or a can of whole tomatoes blended smooth both work too.
Oil. For softening the onion. Any neutral oil or olive oil is fine.
Paprika. Warmth and a deeper color. Sweet paprika is the default; smoked paprika will push it toward a smokier flavor.
Marjoram. Totally optional. We add it to pulses in Poland and it suits this soup well, but it’s not a make it or break it situation.
Salt. Brings everything together. How much depends on your stock, so it’s worth adding most of it at the end, to taste.
Black pepper. Optional, for a little finishing bite.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Chickpea Tomato Soup

On the Stovetop

Soften the onion. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
Deglaze. Pour in a splash of the stock and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Simmer the potatoes and carrots. Add the potatoes, carrots, the rest of the stock, paprika, and salt. Stir, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft all the way through.
Add the chickpeas and tomatoes. Stir in the chickpeas and chopped tomatoes. Cook on low for about 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Season and finish. Stir in the marjoram, if using. Taste, then add salt and black pepper until it’s where you want it.
Serve.

In the Instant Pot

Heat the pot. Set the Instant Pot to sauté on high and let it preheat.
Soften the onion. Once it’s warm, add the oil and chopped onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
Deglaze. Pour in a splash of the stock and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.
Add the potatoes and carrots. Add the potatoes, carrots, the rest of the stock, paprika, and salt. Stir.
Add the tomatoes on top. Pour the chopped tomatoes over the top and don’t stir — keeping them on top helps avoid a burn warning.
Pressure cook. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then let it natural release for 10 minutes.
Add the chickpeas. Open the pot, stir in the chickpeas, and sauté on high for 2 to 3 minutes to heat them through.
Season and finish. Stir in the marjoram, if using. Taste, then add salt and black pepper until it’s where you want it.
Serve.

Tips for Success

Go easy on the salt up front if your stock is salty. Halve the salt, then adjust at the end once the flavors have concentrated. If you bulk it up with extra potatoes, it’ll need a bit more salt than usual.
Sauté the onion with the inner pot on the stovetop. If you’re using the Instant Pot, you can lift out the inner pot and sauté the onion on a regular burner, then drop it back in. A steady stovetop heat is easier to manage than switching between the Instant Pot’s low and high sauté modes (that’s how I typically sauté onions).
Prep the potatoes and carrots while the onion cooks. The onion needs a few minutes either way, so use that time to chop and you’ll barely add to the total.

Storage

Let the soup cool, then store it covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It tastes even better after a day, once the flavors have had time to meld.

Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until hot through. If it’s too thick, loosen it with a splash of water or stock.