White Bean and Kale Soup With Crispy Chickpeas

Name: White Bean and Kale Soup With Crispy Chickpeas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 yellow onion (peeled and sliced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste); 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 5 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock); 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 cups canned white kidney beans (rinsed and drained); 2 to 3 cups chopped kale (bite-sized pieces, leaves only, no stems); Grated Parmesan cheese (garnish to taste (optional)); 1 (15-ounce) can no salt added chickpeas (rinsed and drained); 1/2 tablespoon olive oil; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Published: November 28, 2016 Updated: February 11, 2020 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 44 Comments

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This white bean and kale soup with crispy chickpeas is super satisfying, yummy, and budget friendly. White navy beans are blended up with just a touch of cream to create a creamy base, chili flakes give it a hint of spice and kale is added for extra hearty flavour and nutrition. The whole lot is then topped with cheese and crispy chickpeas. So delicious!

Bowl of white bean and kale soup topped with crispy chickpeas.

Hey guys! How are you doing? For my American friends, how was your Thanksgiving? Lots of good eats, I hope!

Dressing (aka stuffing is my absolute fave and I can’t wait to have more at Christmas).Our dressing is done very simply around here with bread crumbs, onion, garlic, salt pepper, lots and lots of butter and savoury. There’s a local farm that grows savoury and dries it and that’s a big part of our dressing.

We had our thanksgiving in Canada back in October so I’m really looking forward to turkey and dressing during the holidays. We have a dinner at my parent’s Christmas day and there is no meal on earth that beats that Christmas day meal, prepared by my momma, of course. I remember one year, my father tinkered with the meal and while he can cook, don’t mess with that Christmas day dinner, ya know?

All kinds of yummy food this time of year makes this girl have to work out. I don’t know if you can recall, but a while back I mentioned hubby and I were looking at getting another piece of exercise equipment, a water rower. Well, we got it!

It’s so awesome to have a new piece of equipment to use and it’s a great way to mix up the exercise routine. It’s definitely something to keep me interested in working out so hopefully that’ll keep me going all through December when I’m indulging in all those sweet treats? Balance, right? And, if the occasional time balance means a cookie in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, then so be it!

Regardless of the time of year, I always love recipes that can be made fast, especially during the weekdays. This white bean and kale soup with crispy chickpeas fits the bill perfectly. The fact that it can be made so quickly often prevents me from buying store-bought soup. I love that I can control how much sodium is in there and how spicy I make it which, for me, many times, is extra spicy!

Making the Soup

The ingredients in this soup are probably ones you already have on hand and it makes for the perfect light lunch or dinner with a sandwich. Let’s not forget about those crispy chickpeas. I could eat those for days. Honestly, I’m lucky they even made it to the soup because I ate half of them before I started taking pictures.

The longest part of this recipe is baking the chickpeas. The rest is easy peasy! You basically just cook the onion, garlic and add the spices. Then add stock, cream and beans and blitz it all up. I completely puree the beans, but if you want to leave some whole, that would be ok too! Kale is added at the end and cooked for just a few minutes. Then it’s done! Well, put the crispy chickpeas and parmesan on there, of course, when you serve it up. Nothing to it, is there?

I’m so glad we got our water rower in time before Christmas. Over the holidays I try to maintain my exercise regime. I think it’s great for my body, but, more importantly, mentally. If I feel like I’m staying active, I feel better about myself. Are you the same way? That way, when I do have that extra bite here or there, I’m okay with it.

One thing is for certain, though, is that I’m always trying to find new ways to incorporate more fiber and greens into my diet because of the health benefits. Now, don’t get me wrong, I actually love beans, veggies and the like, but if I can make something that tastes extra good, then I’m definitely all for that.

Close up of a bowl of white bean and kale soup garnished with crispy chickpeas.

More Yummy Soup Recipes

If you make this white bean and kale soup, be sure to leave a comment below!