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Home Soups

Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup

By:Nagi
Published:6 Dec '17Updated:27 Nov '20
151 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

No bland chickpea soup in my world! Exploding with flavour, this tastes like your favourite Chicken Shawarma – except it’s in soup form with lamb and chickpeas. Filling, nutritious and quick to make!

A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

Chickpea soup with flavour explosion!

I had every intention of making a wholesome, chickpea and vegetable soup.

I really, really tried to get excited about it.

It is possible to make a great meat-free chickpea soup (I promise I will share mine one day!). But, but, but…. I wanted kapow flavours. Actually, I was really tempted to do the long haul drive for a good laksa fix. I felt like I deserved it. (But then, I always feel I deserve it….)

So I compromised. Chickpeas. Veggie loaded – there’s a whole bunch of spinach in this, plus carrots plus onion (yes that counts towards your daily veggie intake, I checked!). Lamb for protein, cooked with my Chicken Shawarma spice mix – wait until you smell this part!!!! It’s SO GOOD!

A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

Shawarma Spice Mix

This is the same shawarma spice mix I use for Chicken Shawarma, a long standing reader favourite. The combination of spices in this is intoxicating!

A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

English Spinach for Middle Eastern Lamb, Chickpea and Spinach Soup recipetineats.com

Oh boy. If you like kapow flavours, or if you are dubious about chickpea soups having been scarred by bland ones in the past, this Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup is for you!! It’s really fragrant, the soup itself is quite intense from both the spices and also the lamb. It’s hearty, almost stew-like. Actually, I didn’t know whether to call this a stew or soup.

A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

Because the soup flavouring is from the Shawarma Spice Mix, there’s no need to simmer this for ages. Just long enough for the carrot to become tender. Oh, also, I use canned chickpeas here. Speedy, unplanned meal. 🙂

But if you do have the foresight to plan and want to take it over the top, add a side of homemade flatbreads (simple, no yeast!) or make this mind blowingly easy crusty Artisan bread.

Update: I recently created a similar but different variation of this soup in the form of Beef & Lentil Soup. This was has more Moroccan-inspired flavours. Give it a try too!

– Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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A chickpea soup exploding with flavour! Tastes like Chicken Shawarma in soup form with lamb, quick to make, nutritious and filling. recipetineats.com

Chickpea Lamb Shawarma Soup

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
Main
Middle Eastern
5 from 53 votes
Servings4 - 5 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
No such thing as bland chickpea soups in my world! Exploding with the flavours of your favourite Chicken Shawarma, except it’s in SOUP form with lamb and chickpeas! This is not spicy, the small amount of cayenne pepper gives it a tiny warm hum, so if you want it spicier, just add more at the end. Deceptively veggie loaded and is quick to make! Recipe VIDEO below.

Ingredients

Spices:

  • 2 tsp EACH cumin powder, coriander, paprika
  • 1 tsp cardamon powder (can omit if you don’t have)
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Soup:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 500 g / 1 lb lamb mince (ground lamb, or beef) (Note 1)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 carrots , peeled and chopped (about size of chickpeas)
  • 600 g / 21 oz canned chickpeas , drained and rinsed (1.5 standard cans, Note 2)
  • 400 g / 14 oz can crushed tomato
  • 3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth / stock
  • 1 bunch spinach , roughly chopped (about 4 packed cups) (wilts a lot)

Garnishes (highly recommended):

  • Plain yoghurt (or sour cream)
  • Chopped fresh coriander / cilantro

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute until starting to turn translucent.
  • Add lamb and cook, breaking it up as you go. When it has mostly turned from pink to light brown, add spices.
  • Cook for 1 minute, then add tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute. (It smells amazing!)
  • Add carrots, chickpeas, tomato and broth. Stir and bring to simmer.
  • Cover with lid, lower heat so it is bubbling energetically but not crazy rapidly. Cook for 10 minutes until carrot is tender but not super soft – I like it to have a bit of bite still, if you want super soft, keep cooking.
  • Stir through spinach. Once wilted, adjust salt, pepper and spiciness (cayenne) to taste, and water if you want more liquid.
  • Ladle into bowls, add a dollop of yoghurt and a generous sprinkling of coriander. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

1. Beef is the next best sub. Chicken, turkey and veal an also be used. Not sure about pork.
2. CHICKPEAS - The net drained weight of canned chickpeas is only about 220g/7oz per can. I only use 1 ½ cans because I think that’s enough chickpeas for 4 to 5 servings, but you should feel free to toss the rest in. I just used the rest in a salad the next day.
3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings. It's quite filling! The lamb accounts for about 295 calories of the total cal per serving shown. If you substituted lamb with 4 - 5 cups of chopped vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms so the soup volume per serve is still the same, then it would be 215 calories per serving. I will share a vegetarian version one day!

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 474gCalories: 458cal (23%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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151 Comments

  1. Ali Arnold says

    March 30, 2021 at 12:35 am

    FYI I have made this twice and it’s a huge hit! I used more tomato and definitely more salt and spices, 1 cup less chicken broth to make it more stew-like or chili-ish in consistency.
    Also I made homemade tzaziki sauce this time to go on top of the soup/stew and WOW! It adds a tang and dimension to the dish that absolutely elevated it even more than the wonderful original finished product! Highly recommend! Thx for great recipe!

    Reply
  2. Cathy says

    January 27, 2021 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Funny story. It’s a cold winter day here in Alberta. My friend texted me saying it’s a lamb shawarma soup day. I told her that sounds yummy. She said she hoped so…it was my recipe!!! I had forwarded her your recipe last year. I made it tonight too. So good. The aromatics are amazing. I pressure cooked chickpeas and added cauliflower and broccoli. Delicious. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Lincoln @ LincsFlavours says

    January 18, 2021 at 12:19 am

    Just made this one, and it was delicious. Thought you might like to know that I used Swiss Chard instead of spinach, as it is what I had growing in the garden. Added it into the dish earlier, as it takes a little longer to cook, but it worked just fine!

    Reply
  4. Barb Clough says

    January 10, 2021 at 10:27 am

    5 stars
    This was really good! We used ground turkey- so flavorful; not spicy – we really enjoyed this!!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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