Southwest Garbanzo Bean Soup With White Beans and Chicken

When you think of Southwestern soups, black beans and pintos usually steal the spotlight. Garbanzo beans? Not so much. Garbanzo beans are usually reserved for Mediterranean type recipes. But their firm texture and nutty flavor, pairs beautifully with Southwestern seasonings and tender chicken and creamy white beans make this a healthy and hearty meal. And gives it a rich, satisfying body, without a splash of cream.

This has become one of my favorite Colorado cool-weather soups because it checks all the right boxes. After testing several batches, I found that layering the chile spices with onions and garlic before adding the broth builds a depth of flavor you simply can’t get by tossing everything into the pot at once a technique I learned in culinary school and still rely on today.

What You Can Expect From This Recipe

• Prep/Cook Time: 45 minutes. This is after you’ve cooked dried chickpeas and dried white beans in the crockpot during the day.
• Healthy: I’m not a nutritionist, but I do know that garbanzo beans are touted as being a healthy super food, along with legumes like white beans. You’re getting a good dose of protein and fiber from this soup.
• Great Freezer Meal: This is the type of soup that freezes very well. A great choice for meal prep plans.
• No Cream: A trick I learned from Culinary School and frequently used in restaurants, once cooked, smash some of the white beans against the side of the pot. It brings a creamy texture without using cream.
• Weeknight Friendly: Once the beans have cooked all day in the crockpot, (such an easy method) the meal comes together quickly.
• Pantry Friendly: Most of the ingredients come straight from the pantry.
• Texture: Garbanzo beans work surprisingly well here. Once cooked, they still carry a bit of a crunch and paired with smooth, creamy white beans = perfect.

What Makes This Soup Southwestern?

It’s all about warm traditional Southwestern seasonings.

• Cumin
• Chile powder and Chili Seasoning
• Green chiles
• Mexican Oregano
• Lime
• Cilantro

This chicken garbanzo bean soup tastes like it simmered all afternoon. Every spoonful delivers bold Southwestern flavor from green chiles, warm spices, and a bright squeeze of lime, proving that comfort food doesn’t have to be complicated. Always a great way to use the new harvest Colorado garbanzo beans I pick up at our Farmer’s market.

Key Ingredients

• Dried Garbanzo Beans and Dried Navy Beans
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Dried Onion: I like using dried onion because it has a more concentrated sweeter flavor and it’s less pungent than fresh onion. Using the two together brings a unique depth of onion flavor.
• Jalapeno Pepper
• Southwestern Spices: Mexican Oregano, Chili Seasoning, Chile Powder, Dried Onion, Garlic.
• Fresh Lime

Note: I’m using both New Mexico Red Chile Powder, and Chili Seasoning. One is a pure single blend chile powder and one is a seasoning used to flavor Chili Soups. To learn more, check out my article for Chili vs. Chile.

Variations

• Dried legumes: Use Great Northern beans, canellini beans, pinto beans or Mayocoba beans in place of Navy beans.
• Peppers: A poblano pepper is always a good Southwestern substitute for a jalapeno pepper. And it’s less spicy hot. And my favorite, substitute Hatch Chile Peppers or Colorado Pueblo Peppers for the jalapeno. To learn more about the difference check out my article Pueblo Chiles vs. Hatch Chile Peppers.
• Oregano: Mexican oregano is preferred for this recipe. It's peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don't have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.
• Vegetarian: Make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting chicken.
• Colorado Sweet Corn Season: When our fresh corn is available, I like to remove the kernels from the cob and add it to this soup. About a cup works great.

How To Make Garbanzo Bean Soup

1. Step 1: Cook the dried chickpeas and beans. The crockpot is my tool of choice to cook dried beans. Place them in your crockpot and cover them with enough water to cover by an inch. Throw in a bay leaf and add one heaping tablespoon of lard. Cook on low for 5 – 7 hours.
2. Step 2: Make The Soup: Heat oil in 6-quart soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Pat the chicken dry, and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once the chicken is almost cooked, add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Step 3: Add seasonings and stir to bloom the flavors, about 30 seconds.

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4. Step 4: Add the chicken broth, let it come to a simmer then turn the heat down to medium low. Add beans and chickpeas.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Add lime juice and serve.

Culinary School Tip:

Blooming Spices: I first made this soup by adding everything at once. It was good, but the flavors tasted flat. After testing several batches, I found sautéing the onions until lightly caramelized and briefly cooking the cumin, oregano, chile powder and chili seasoning before adding the liquid transformed the broth from ordinary into deeply savory.

Toppings For Garbanzo Bean Soup

Optional toppings add color and pizzaz. Here are some ideas:

• Sliced green onions.
• Sour cream.
• Bacon bits.
• Chopped avocado.
• Diced Tomatoes. Chopped multi-colored cherry tomatoes are a good choice here. Roasted tomatoes, such as slow roasted cherry tomatoes are a special treat for this recipe.

Make Ahead, Storage and Freezing

• Make Ahead: We all know soups always taste better the next day. Make this soup a day in advance, refrigerate and gently reheat stove-top the next day.
• Refrigerator: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: This soup freezes very well. I like using zip-lock style freezer bags. Just stand it up, spoon in any left over soup, seal well, and lay flat to optimize freezer space. Remember to label and date. It will keep up to three months.
• Reheating: Reheat individual servings in the microwave. The 50% power feature is your best friend. Place soup in a microwave safe bowl. For a gentle, no-splatter method, reheat in 30 second increments at 50% power until hot. You can also reheat in a sauce pan, over low heat on the stovetop.