How To Give Your Soup A Hearty Protein Boost With One Extra Ingredient

For many of us, soup is one of those reliable culinary standbys that never gets old. Need relief from the heat? No problem. Grab a bowl of chilled summer borscht to cool you down. Craving a bit of comfort? Nothing better than whipping up your favorite chicken pozole recipe. The best part is that, whether you're opening a can or cooking from scratch, soup is a fairly forgiving dish that lends itself well to customization. For example, if you want to easily up the protein in your next batch, try adding some chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) to the mix.

For every cup of cooked chickpeas — the kind you'd get from a can — you're looking at approximately 14.5 grams of protein. If you prefer buying them dry, a single cup packs nearly 39 grams. Just be sure to soak them (either overnight or with a quick boil) before they hit your pot; otherwise, they'll be far too tough to enjoy.

In terms of taste, chickpeas won't really alter the flavor of your broth or base in any meaningful way if you're simply using them to bolster the macronutrients in your meal. They're a relatively mild and versatile ingredient; as long as you rinse them before tossing them in — which helps remove that metallic taste the canned variety can have — they'll soak up whatever spices you've already got going pretty readily.

Beyond providing a hit of protein, one of the best things about adding chickpeas to soup is that they're pretty darn flexible in how they function within a recipe. While you can certainly just chuck them into a pot and be done with it, it's worth noting they can also play double-duty by acting as a natural thickener.

If you simply want to take the path of least resistance, we get it — and fortunately, garbanzo beans complement a surprising variety of soups that don't traditionally call for them. A standard vegetable noodle soup, for instance, could benefit from the added texture, and they'd pair beautifully with the earthy notes of a wild rice or creamy chanterelle soup. Even a classic tomato basil could be elevated with a handful of the legumes if you're looking for a bit more substance without too much extra effort.

The process to transform your chickpeas into a creamy element that gives your soup a richer body is similarly straightforward. All you need to do is take a portion of your cooked chickpeas and mash them with whatever you have on hand, like a fork or wooden spoon, before stirring them back into the pot. This releases their natural starch, creating a more velvety consistency without the need for heavy cream or a flour-based roux. It's a great trick for anyone looking to achieve some additional thickness in a fraction of the time.