Garbanzo Bean Soup with White Beans and Chicken

Garbanzo Bean Soup with White Beans and Chicken

This hearty chickpea soup is Fall and Winter comfort food at its best. With chicken, white beans, and your favorite Southwestern spices, you'll find this recipe very rewarding ... in a feisty sort of way.

Course Soup, Stews and Chilis

Cuisine Southwestern

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 15

Servings

Calories 493kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried chickpeas or one 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
1/2 cups dried navy beans or one 15-ounce can navy beans, drained and rinsed.
1 heaping Tablespoon lard
2 bay leaves
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts or both, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium sweet onion chopped
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 medium green bell pepper chopped
1 medium jalapeno seeds and veins removed, chopped
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano dried
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
Garnishes: sour cream, cooked chopped bacon, diced cherry tomatoes, sliced green onion

Instructions

Rinse and pick through beans and chickpeas and remove any misfits. Place beans and chickpeas in a crockpot. Cover with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Soak beans overnight.
The next morning, add a tablespoon of lard (or vegetable oil) and the bay leaves. Cook on low until beans are tender. Depending on how fresh the beans are, this could take anywhere from 5 - 7 hours.
Remove bay leaves.
Heat 2 tablespoons of 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, about 1 minute.
Add the chili powder, Mexican oregano and dried onion flakes.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Turn the heat down to medium low. Add beans and chickpeas. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. If the chili gets too thick, thin it with a little water.
Stir in the lime juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with the garnishes.

Notes

You can use canned chickpeas and beans for this recipe, add them at the same time you add the broth.

Storage: Store any leftover soup in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to four days. Everything about this soup is freezable. Freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Just thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat stovetop.

Tips For Success:

Don't fret, if you haven't soaked the beans, go ahead and cook them, knowing it will take a little longer for them to soften.
Cooking Dried Beans: Cooking time will vary with the freshness of the beans. Look for fresh harvest 1st year beans at Farmer's markets. Or purchase beans from the bulk section. The fresher the bean, the less cook time. Beans purchased in bags at the grocery store are more than likely older and will take longer to cook.
Many believe that adding salt or acids like tomato or vinegar too early in the cooking process will prevent the beans from getting soft. This can be especially important if using older beans. Source: Rancho Gordo.
Store dried beans in a cool dark place in a glass jar or air-tight container with a lid. They will be good for about two years. After that, they are still edible, but the quality will have deteriorated.
If you'l like to thicken the soup, take a large fork and mash some of the cooked beans against the side of the pan. This mash will thicken the soup.
You can expect one cup of dried beans to yield about 3 cups of cooked beans.
Garbanzo soup is even better the next day.

Nutrition