This is the perfect pantry soup. I’m even betting that most of you have these ingredients on hand already. We’re all about fresh eating around here, but there’s nothing wrong with opening up a few cans from time to time… especially in the middle of winter when you crave tomato soup and tomatoes are not in season.
The soup is basically: 1 can of tomatoes, 1 can of chickpeas, and (part of) 1 can of coconut milk. The chickpeas thicken the soup and the coconut creates a creamy, velvety texture without adding real cream. For a lighter soup, you can use light coconut milk or—get this!—the leftover watery milk from the can after you’ve made coconut cream.
Of course no tomato soup would be complete without grilled cheese. I’m sure you don’t need a recipe… a good simple grilled cheese is really about good ingredient choices. At the moment I’m particularly fond of this combo: Sourdough from Easy Tiger, Champagne Cheddar from Whole Foods, with a spread of dijon and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Grill on a cast iron grill pan. Dunk in soup.
tomato chickpea & coconut soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 big garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar, more to taste
- 1 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes
- a few pinches of sugar, optional
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed, plus extra for garnish
- 1 cup coconut milk, full fat or light
- 1.5 cups water
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, very optional, skip if vegan
- red pepper flakes, optional for garnish
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat oil in a medium pot. Add the onion, garlic a few pinches of salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the paprika and cook until fragrant (30 seconds or so). Add the balsamic vinegar and stir. Add the tomatoes, sugar and thyme leaves. Stir, then add the chickpeas, coconut milk and water. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Uncover and let cool slightly.
- Transfer to a blender and puree. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding parmesan cheese, if desired. If the soup is thick add a little water to thin to your desired consistency.
- Scoop into bowls and top with remaining chickpeas, red chile flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches for dunking, and extra balsamic on the side.
If you don't like coconut, use heavy cream in place of the coconut milk.
If you don't have fresh thyme add ¼ to ½ teaspoon dried thyme or oregano.
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My favorite combo! What does adding whole chickpeas at the end do for you? Is it a texture thing for taste or to thicken it up a bit? I only ask because I think I would want to purée them all but not sure what I’d be missing…and did you save some for me? 🙂
just for fun – you don’t have to add them at the end if you don’t want to 🙂 (Although I would blend the 1 cup before you add them all – taste and decide if you want to add more. It might end up too thick).
Yum! This looks excellent
I do have all these on hand! What a perfect week night meal!
What a delicious-sounding combination of ingredients. I would never have thought of combining tomato with coconut but I can see how it would go really well. And I would definitely plump for the addition of the grilled cheese!
Lovely blog in general by the way!
your recipe called for wine or did I miss read it help
Hi Georgette – see my reply to the comment above – it’s not actually necessary, I used it in the first round of my recipe and when I remade it I realized it wasn’t necessary… I just forgot to change it in the instruction area. (fixed now).
I don’t see wine in the list of ingredients but your directions say to add wine. How much?
oops! the second time I made this, I ended up omitting and found that didn’t make much of a difference to the overall taste. Originally, I had it where I have the vinegar, and then I did a splash of vinegar at the end… but it’s entirely not necessary. Thanks for pointing that out – good eye 🙂
My husband would be delighted by this recipe. He’s a grilled cheese and tomato soup type of man. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
This sounds wonderful! I love chickpea soup and this flavor combo sounds killer
Pantry cooking is saving my life these days. Bookmarking this one!
Oh my, I so have to try this!!
Allie of ALLIE NYC
allienyc.com
Can’t wait to try this one out
yum. that sounds amazingly delicious. definitely going to try it tomorrow. i have some leftover coconut milk in the fridge from yesterdays green thai curry. the joy of cooking for one – leftover ingredients.
technically, I cook for two but I ALWAYS seem to have part of a coconut can in the fridge 🙂 Hope you like!
always up for soup and grilled cheese! yum.
us too 🙂
What a perfect combination! I am all about the soups this winter (and, er, every winter), so I’m excited to give this one a try. 🙂
Hi Eileen, me too, I can’t get enough 🙂
I’ve had a soup similar to this at a restaurant in Portland. Although they added a little orange juice to the soup. Sounds weird but it totally worked! Love this recipe.
I always add a pinch of sugar to cut down the tartness of the tomatoes – orange juice sounds like a nice (more natural) substitution for that. Thanks for sharing!
The simplicity of this makes me so happy. Such a beauty of a recipe Jeanine!
What size can of tomatoes? I am excited to make this!
oops! 14-oz… just updated it in the recipe, thanks for pointing that out!
Thank you 🙂
Made this tonight. Very very tasty but next time, if the plan is to serve with grilled cheese, I might not use any chick peas at all–I found the additional texture (fiber) of the blended chickpeas took away from the creaminess imparted by the coconut milk. For a more stand-alone soup-as-a-meal, the chickpeas do make it more filling and I might add the reserved chickpeas and toss in a few dark rye croutons 🙂
This one is a keeper, thank you!
This is my kind of soup. Love the addition of coconut milk and additional chickpeas at the end for texture. I’ve been in the mood for tomato soup as well (evident in my last blog post). So comforting but still healthy- perfect for January!
This flavour is killer!! I bet this is a tiny bowl of heaven…and love…heavenly love.
If you get a good quality brand of canned foods, there is nothing wrong with canning! Everything is always in season and some of the work is done for you. Take San Marzano canned tomatoes. I could never get fresh tomatoes to taste like that! Great recipe. Thanks!