This mouthwatering chickpea and lentil soup is quick to put together in the slow cooker and will fill you up on those cool winter nights! Make extra - you’ll want these leftovers again and again.
This slow-cooker Mediterranean lentil soup is rich and hearty with a savory, tomato-y broth that seems more flavorful over time. Serve it with a side of this gluten-free French bread or chapati to wipe up every last drop!
Why You’ll Love This Middle Eastern Chickpea Stew
- Hearty & filling - The onions, carrots, lentils, and chickpeas make this slow cooker chickpea stew incredibly satisfying. It feels like a hug in a bowl!
- Slow-cooked to perfection - There’s something wonderful about coming home to dinner ready to serve. This stew will fill your house with the scent of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom. It’s heavenly!
- Naturally vegan - If you make this recipe exactly as listed, it’s completely vegetarian and vegan. It tastes amazing, so the meat eaters won’t even know!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Onion - Dice a yellow onion into even-sized pieces and let them saute until transparent.
- Baby carrots - They shorten the prep time, so you can get the stew going quickly!
- Garlic - Freshly minced garlic has the best flavor, but feel free to use store-bought minced garlic if you need to.
- Seasonings - Use a mix of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamom for tons of flavor and a delicious aroma.
- Mint - This extra special touch takes this soup over the top. Don’t skip it!
- Lentils - Rinse and pick over your lentils to remove any stones or dried pieces.
- Tomatoes - Use regular canned diced tomatoes or fire-roasted ones for extra smokiness.
- Chickpeas - Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas to speed up the cooking process.
- Vegetable broth - Make your own or dilute vegetable bouillon cubes in water.
- Salt & pepper
Variations
- Stovetop chickpea and lentil stew - Instead of slow cooking all day, you can easily make this recipe by keeping everything in the Dutch oven or stock pot. Let everything simmer for approximately 45 minutes to an hour or until the lentils and carrots soften up.
- Add chicken - This soup would taste delicious with chicken stock and leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Add a smoky flavor - A little smokiness would pair amazingly with the root vegetables and beans. You can use fire-roasted diced tomatoes or add just a splash of Liquid Smoke.
How to Make Chickpea and Lentil Soup
This is adapted from a slow-cooker vegan recipe from Robin Robertson's cookbook, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil until hot.
- Add the onions and cook over medium heat until the onions are transparent.
- Add the carrots and continue cooking for about 7 or 8 minutes until the carrots start to brown a bit.
- While the carrots and onions are cooking, mix the spices and garlic in a small bowl.
- Pour this mixture over the carrots and onions and stir to ensure the vegetables are evenly coated.
- Dump this mixture into a 6-quart crockpot (slow cooker).
- Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, and chickpeas, and stir to combine.
- Set the temperature to low, cover, and cook for 6-8 hours until the carrots and lentils are tender
Expert Tips
- Know when to stop - If you keep cooking lentils for too long, they’ll completely disintegrate and turn into mush. Remove the stew from the heat once you notice the lentils becoming soft to the touch.
- Bloom the spices - One trick to really take the flavor to the next level is to add the spices to the hot oil before you add the onions. Let them toast and cook for 30 seconds to a minute to release their flavor before you add the onion. Be careful not to burn them.
- Don’t use raw chickpeas - It might be tempting to use uncooked chickpeas because the lentils are raw but don’t. They take much longer to cook! If you don’t have canned chickpeas, cook some in water in the Instant Pot under high pressure for 18 minutes. Let the steam release naturally for 5-10 minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure.
Recipe FAQs
Can you eat chickpeas with lentils?
Absolutely! Chickpeas and lentils taste great together. They have similar but slightly different flavors and textures, which pair well. Chickpeas and lentils are especially great combined in Mediterranean bean soups and stews with aromatic spices and tender veggies like carrots and onions.
Can you freeze Mediterranean chickpea and lentil soup?
Store leftover chickpea and lentil soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also freeze the leftovers in freezer-safe containers for 2-3 months. The beans will soften more after freezing, thawing, and being reheated, but they’ll still taste delicious and fill you up!
What should you serve with Middle Eastern chickpea stew?
This hearty, filling soup is delicious on its own, but you can take it to the next level with these toppings:
- A dollop of sour cream or fresh yogurt
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Fresh mint leaves
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Chopped cashews or walnuts
- Fresh bread or flatbreads
Related Recipes
- French Vegetable Stew
- Clean Out The Fridge Vegetable Soup
- Roasted Ratatouille with Corn
- Indian Ratatouille
- Mediterranean Chickpea Stew
- Lentil Riced Stuffed Roasted Eggplant
- Vegetable Dill Stew
Slow Cooker Chickpea and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 15 baby carrots chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- ½ cup dried lentils rinsed and picked over
- 1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes including juice
- 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil until hot.
- Add the onions and cook over medium heat until the onions are transparent.
- Add the carrots and continue cooking for about 7 or 8 minutes, until the carrots start to brown a bit.
- While the carrots and onions are cooking, mix the spices and garlic in a small bowl.
- Pour this mixture over the carrots and onions and stir to make sure the vegetables are evenly coated.
- Dump this mixture into a 6-quart crockpot (slow cooker).
- Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils and chickpeas and stir to combine.
- Set the temperature to low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours until the carrots and lentils are tender.
Nutrition
Kathy acquired the blog, Recipe Idea Shop in 2024. She was raised on a farm in Arkansas where having a big garden and good food to eat was the norm. She shares recipes for homemade comfort food and new trending dishes.
Kathy began her blogging journey in 2011 when she founded PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, and thrift store finds.