Vegan Recipe Review: Garlic & Chickpea Soup

I started doing this "Vegan Recipe Taste Test" series a couple of weeks ago to try out new recipes. Since I've been eating a vegan diet for several weeks now, I thought it would be fun to find vegan recipes either online or that were suggestions from readers and give them a try.

I was browsing Pinterest for some recipes when I came across this one for "Vegan Garlic & Chickpea Soup". I love soup--any time of year!--and this looked so good. I can never get enough garlic, either ;)

I love that this recipe doesn't use any ingredients that are hard to find or that are unfamiliar--it's a super simple recipe and I already had all of the ingredients at home: olive oil, fresh garlic, chickpeas, potatoes, vegetable broth, and dried herbs (paprika, rosemary, crushed red pepper, and thyme). You can find the recipe at The Clever Meal.

I didn't take any pictures as I was making this because it came together SO fast.

I like that the directions call for one of the cans of chickpeas to be puréed--it makes the soup thicker and heartier. I was hesitant about the rosemary, though--I've never been a big fan of rosemary. When I was in my early 20s, I made a rosemary focaccia bread and the recipe called for X amount of rosemary (I think it was 2-3 tablespoons). I didn't know any better and I used dried rosemary instead of fresh--which made it SO STRONG tasting that it wasn't even edible! Hahaha. Ever since then, I've been reluctant to put it in any dish.

When I try recipes (especially to write a review of it) I like to make it exactly as written, though, and then I might change things up the next time I make it. So, I included the rosemary in this soup and I didn't even decrease the amount.

The house smelled amazing while it was cooking! The recipe said it made three servings, but since it was my dinner and I was starving, I figured I'd divide it into two. Once I portioned it out, though, I realized the serving size was definitely on the generous side. I filled my bowl and it was slightly over 1/3 of the recipe. (If making this for a side dish or starter, I would consider this six servings.)

As soon as I tasted it, I was in love. It was SO GOOD. The rosemary was a pretty dominant flavor, but I have a new appreciation for it now--I don't think the soup would be as good without it. The soup has a decent kick to it, which I like; but if you don't like spicy food, then I would cut down on (or eliminate) the crushed red pepper.

I didn't add the olive oil as a garnish--I just didn't find it necessary. I had planned to make whole grain bread to serve with it, and of course I completely forgot. The soup was very filling, though--and it has 10 grams of fiber in 1/3 of the recipe!

The only change I'll make next time is to add more garlic. With the recipe being "Garlic & Chickpea Soup", I was expecting a lot of garlic flavor, but I didn't taste it. However, the soup was very flavorful and I will absolutely make it again! I think that this is something that meat-eaters would like as well. Jerry loved it; I would have had my kids taste it, but they weren't home.

I loved the simplicity of this and how fast it came together. Great recipe :)  You can find the recipe on The Clever Meal : Garlic & Chickpea Soup.