Warm, comforting and loaded with fresh flavors, this Portuguese Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe is a flavor and texture delight. Crispy spiced croutons, fresh cilantro pesto and a soft boiled egg team up with the creamy chickpeas to create depth of flavor and complexity in an easy dinner perfect for busy weeknights or a slow Saturday at home.
Portugal's most famous soup, Caldo Verde, has some competition for the gold medal in the flavor Olympics. This simple recipe brings delicious flavor and textures to your trusty soup pot. And it's a great way to use up pantry staples like stale bread, garbanzos, a handful of eggs and fresh herbs in a clever and sustainable way.
I loved Milk Street's interpretation of this simple soup, and have used their version as inspiration for this recipe.
What you'll need to make this soup:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Garbanzo beans: canned and drained garbanzos are ideal here, making the soup quick and easy. But certainly you can use dried chickpeas that have been soaked, cooked until tender, and drained.
Stock: to keep this soup vegetarian, we use vegetable stock. For meat-eaters, chicken stock is a good substitute.
Bread: stale bread is torn and turned into tasty croutons for our soup. It starts crispy, but quickly soaks up the broth and cilantro pesto, turning into floating flavor bombs. Use a French baguette, ciabatta or the odds and ends in your freezer.
Pesto: the recipe calls for making a quick cilantro pesto to flavor our simple soup. Substitute fresh chives, basil or flat leaf parsley for cilantro, if needed. Parmesan is optional in the pesto, but adds a lucious kick of umami.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Make cilantro pesto
Combine cilantro, parmesan (if using), jalapeño, lemon zest and lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, the green scallions, ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until pesto-like in texture. Add in ⅓ cup olive oil and pulse 2-3 times. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
2. Cook eggs
Soft cook four eggs by boiling for 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Peel and set aside.
3. Make croutons
Choose a nice crusty bread that you love, but don't overthink it. Toss the bread pieces in a small bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, the remaining ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Toast well in a large Dutch oven until golden brown.
4. Build soup
In the same Dutch oven add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 6 minced garlic cloves. Sauté over medium low heat until fragrant and tender - about 3 minutes.
Add six cups vegetable broth and garbanzo beans and bring up to a simmer over medium high heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the beans are heated through.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the pureed cilantro pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Divide the crispy croutons among 4 soup bowls.
5. Garnish and serve
Add soup over the bowls and top each with one of the soft boiled eggs. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
Looking for more easy soup recipes?
FAQs and Serving Suggestions:
Canned white beans such as navy or cannellini beans would be a lovely and quick addition to the soup. You won't get the same texture as hearty chickpeas, but the flavor will be delicious.
The names chickpea and garbanzo refer to the same bean and they are used interchangeably.
If cilantro isn't your thing, fresh parsley or other fresh herbs like chives or basil would be delicious.
The recipe calls for 4 cups of canned chickpeas, which is a little less than 3 cans of chickpeas. This is the fastest way to throw this easy garbanzo bean soup together. If you have dry chickpeas at home that need to be used, they will be equally delicious, just need a little more work with the soaking and the boiling (or the pressure cooker or slow cooker).
If you don't have vegetable stock, using water, 1 teaspoon of salt and a bay leaf will add good flavor. Just be sure to taste and adjust the seasoning after you add in the cilantro pesto, adding additional salt if needed. And if you're cooking for non-pescatarians, chicken stock or chicken broth are good substitutes.
Chickpeas and the soft boiled egg are both a great source of protein, so this soup could be a one-dish meal. If you're looking for something fresh on the side, Gazpacho Salad or Tossed Salad both have simple ingredients that would add even more nutrients and flavor to your meal.
To store, transfer leftover soup to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep the crispy croutons and any leftover eggs separate from the soup.
Portuguese Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe (Açorda Alentejana)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
⅓ cup parmesan cheese (optional)
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 scallions, minced (about ¼ cup)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, divided
Coarse kosher salt and ground black pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced and divided (2 minced for pesto, 6 minced for soup)
⅔ cup olive oil, divided
2 cups bite-sized pieces of bread crusty sourdough
1 ½ quarts vegetable stock
4 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 soft-boiled eggs, optional
Instructions
- Combine cilantro, parmesan (if using), jalapeño, lemon zest and lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, diced scallions, ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until pesto-like in texture. Add in ⅓ cup olive oil and pulse 2-3 times. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
- Soft cook four eggs by boiling for 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Peel and set aside.
- Toss the bread pieces in a small bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, the remaining ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Toast well in a dutch oven until golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same Dutch oven add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 6 minced garlic cloves. Sauté over medium low heat until fragrant and tender - about 3 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth and garbanzo beans and bring up to a simmer over medium high heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the beans are heated through.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the pureed cilantro pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. Divide the crispy croutons among 4 soup bowls. Add soup over the bowls and top each with one of the soft boiled eggs. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
You can use canned (and drained) garbanzos in this recipe, or dry chickpeas that have been soaked and boiled until tender.
Substitute fresh chives, basil or flat leaf parsley in the pesto, if desired.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Portuguese
Al
Delicious! The pesto is incredible. We couldn't believe how flavorful it was and it really only took about 30 minutes start to finish. Tastes like a restaurant soup!
Christina Jolam
Great to hear, Al! The flavors really come together quickly and make a knock-out soup. So glad you enjoyed it. Appreciate you coming back to leave a helpful review!