Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup (Instant Pot)

Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup! Just the comfort food you need and this vegan soup recipe combines savory chickpeas with fresh red peppers, rosemary, garlic, shallots, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg and cinnamon. You can make it in your Instant Pot in 20 minutes or slow-cook for 4 hours! Did I mention oil and sugar-free?  

Hello, hungry vegan friends. How is your New Year going so far? For the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to master the vegan macaron and it has been quite a journey, indeed, and not always a fun one! I have had success making traditional French macarons using dairy, but have been having a hard time mastering the vegan version. But I am determined to get it right so hopefully soon, you will be seeing some here on the blog.

Vegan macarons are frequently made with aquafaba, the brine from a can of chickpeas. Adding cream of tartar to this weird-smelling stuff and beating the heck out of it turns it into a nice, fluffy, white meringue! The only problem, which really isn’t a problem, is what to do with the chickpeas afterwards. Hence, my easy Instant Pot Creamy Chickpea and Red Pepper Soup.

Ingredients for Creamy Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup

Yesterday I baked vegan macs, or should I say, attempted to make them but burned the s__t out of them, and once the aquafaba was removed from the can, I simply threw all the ingredients for this tasty vegan soup recipe into the Instant Pot. I slow cooked it for 4 hours, but you don’t have to. If you’d like, it can be ready in 20 minutes. Super duper easy! Here’s what you’ll need to make the recipe:

• organic chickpeas in a can
• sliced red bell pepper
• chopped shallots
• minced garlic
• fresh rosemary
• vegetable broth
• ground cumin
• red pepper flakes
• cinammon
• nutmeg
• turmeric
• sea salt & black pepper
• parsley or cilantro, crushed cashews, grated ginger & smoked paprika for toppings

How to Make Creamy Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup

I’m telling you, in fact, I’m swearing to you, that this Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup recipe is the easiest vegan soup recipe you’ll ever make. Did I mention it’s whole food plant based (WFPB) without added oil or fat of any kind? Super duper healthy!

Follow these simple steps to heaven in a bowl:

1. 1. Drain the brine from the chickpeas and rinse well in a colander. Get out your Instant Pot and start tossing.
   2. Slice the well-rinsed bell pepper and coarsely chop the shallots. Add them to your pot.
   3. Add minced garlic, fresh rosemary, cumin,  red pepper flakes, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, sea salt & pepper to taste and vegetable broth. Give it a good stir.
   4. Close the lid and either press saute for 20-30 minutes or slow cook for 2-4 hours. I slow-cooked mine for 4 hours but I’ve made this in as little as 20 minutes.
   5. Once it’s done, throw everything in a blender and give it a swirl until it’s creamy and delicious. Alternatively, you can serve it without implementing this step, right out of the Instant Pot.
   6. Serve with your favorite toppings. I chose crushed cashews, parsley, grated ginger and smoked paprika and I’m so happy that I did.

Tips for Making Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup

• This recipe is limitless; you can add extra veggies or toppings of your choice. Just make sure you leave a comment and tell us what you added so we can try your version.
• Adjust the turmeric to your desired color. I used a couple heaping teaspoons to get this amazing yellow.
• If you choose to use fresh chickpeas, make sure you soak them overnight. I would go with a pound of them to start. You can always increase this amount as you desire.
• If you are using the creamy version, don’t bother finely chopping the bell pepper and shallots. After all, you’re going to be blending them, therefore coarsely chopped veggies will do.
• No Instant Pot? No problem. Just use a large pot. You may choose to saute the veggies, spices and garlic first in some veggie broth in a separate pan to cut-down on the cooking time.
• Store soup in your refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this Chickpea & Red Pepper Soup for up to 6 months.
• To make this vegan soup recipe whole food plant based (WFPB), use raw chickpeas that have been soaked overnight.

More One-Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Vegan Tinga Tacos
• One-Pot Vegan Corn Chowder
• One-Pot Spinach and Blood Orange Farro 
• One-Pot Chickpea & Coconut Curry

Print