Creamy Vegan Moroccan Pumpkin Soup With Chickpeas

This Moroccan pumpkin soup is sweet, savory, creamy, and a brilliant alternative to traditional pumpkin soup recipes. The addition of chickpeas means its creamy without using dairy or bread. It’s packed with goodness, such as protein and fiber, so it makes for a nutritious lunch or supper. 

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Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

Moroccan food makes eating vegan or vegetarian dishes a delight. They are so packed with flavor and goodness that you don’t even think about the fact you’re eating a vegan dish. For example, my family and I aren’t vegetarians. Still, we like to try and eat vegetable-based dishes a couple of times a week, and in recent years started replacing meat with pulses and legumes such as lentils and chickpeas. 

We visited Morocco a couple of years ago and ate a lot of dishes containing ingredients such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and chickpeas. 

During my visit, I got inspired to make this Moroccan soup recipe. This was after eating a dish called batata hlouwa, which means “salad of potato” in Arabic. This local potato is similar to a yam, and in this dish, it was mixed with raisins, honey, and cinnamon. The sweet flavors work beautifully together, and I wanted to put this into a savory soup. 

For this Moroccan soup recipe, I used pumpkin, sweetened it with cinnamon, and added chickpeas for protein. There are also quite a lot of spices used in this soup, such as nutmeg and cumin, as well as garlic and ginger—the sweetness of the cinnamon rounds the earthy spices perfectly. 

One of my favorite things about Moroccan cuisine is the perfect balance of sweet and savory, which makes this pumpkin and chickpea soup work so well. 

Chickpeas In This Moroccan Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Usually, you find that pumpkin recipes are so rich because they call for a good glug of cream. However, adding chickpeas to the soup has a similar result for a low-fat version. This also makes the dish suitable for anyone on a restricted diet. 

They also provide a great source of protein, which is a vital part of your diet, so replacing meat with chickpeas or any kind of beans is a great way to ensure you’re still getting the nutrients you need. 

Moroccan Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup – Ingredients 

It’s best to use high-quality olive oil for this Moroccan soup recipe, and even better if you ca n get your hands on Moroccan olive oil. 

Mina makes a beautiful cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil which you buy online at Amazon. It’s a great product that works wonders in all kinds of Mediterranean cooking. 

Seasoning And Spice

Over medium heat, the olive oil needs to be warmed before adding in diced onions and grated ginger. It doesn’t really matter about finely chopping the onions, as they will be getting blended anyway. However, it does help to grate the ginger using the fine edge of a cheese grater. For the garlic, I find using a good-quality garlic press works best and helps it blend smoothly into the soup.

This Moroccan pumpkin soup with chickpeas recipe is mainly flavored using cumin and turmeric, which gives it a nutty and earthy flavor and a vibrant color from the turmeric. These spices give the soup its savory flavors, the sweetness comes from the cinnamon, and the pepperiness is from the nutmeg. 

Other Ingredients For This Moroccan Soup Recipe

Once your spices have cooked out and the aromas have been released, it’s time to add in the pumpkin and chickpeas. Cut your pumpkin into pieces about 1 inch thick; this will ensure they cook nice and fast. 

Drain the chickpeas before adding them in, but don’t rinse them for this recipe. The small amount of brine on the chickpeas adds a nice starchiness to the soup and helps it to thicken. 

The base of liquid for this soup is vegetable broth, though you can use chicken if you’re not bothered about the dish being vegetarian. You will also need a dash of lemon juice to put in at the end for a bit of acidity and to cut through the other rich flavors. 

Like making soups at home? Check out some of our other soup recipes, like this Creamy Vegan Moroccan Lentil Soup.

Making Pumpkin Soup With Chickpeas

Over medium heat, warm the olive oil before adding the garlic, onions, and ginger. Saute the vegetables until they start to soften and change color, but not darken. This will take around 2-3 minutes. 

Add in the cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and nutmeg, and mix everything well until the aromas of the spices are released. Ensure you keep stirring so that the spices don’t stick to the pan, and then add in your vegetable broth, chickpeas, and pumpkin, and combine the mixture together.

Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and leave to cook on low heat for 20–25 minutes until everything is soft enough to blend. Continue to stir stew regularly so that it doesn’t burn.

Once everything is hot and soft, ladle the mixture into a blender and blend until it’s at the desired consistency; smooth and creamy is the goal for this recipe. 

Check for seasoning and adjust as required. 

Divide the soup into bowls, and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with pita chips or crusty bread. If you like, you can add a dollop of greek yogurt; of course, it’ll no longer be dairy-free.

Handy Tips For Your Moroccan Pumpkin Soup Recipe

A couple of extra things to note about this recipe is that during the cooking process, it might start to look a little dark in color, don’t worry; this is only because of the cooked-out spices; once blended, you’ll get the vibrant orange color you’re expecting. 

Also, while putting the soup into the blender, be sure to do it bit by bit and only add the liquid in small quantities; you can always add more, but you can’t take it away, and you don’t want the soup to end up super runny. 

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup With Chickpeas