I’ve been a bad girl.
…in the food blogging world.
I’ve neglected one of my favorite things: writing and cooking for you!
It’s been so beautiful that hot summer days and beach sunsets are getting my grocery shopping obsession a little bit off track. I just can’t help but soak up the sun and ocean every chance I get.
I’m also the girl who can never turn down breakfast, which is why I’ve been brunching around LA quite a bit. Brunching for hours is good for the soul. And quite tasty too! Fresh squeezed orange juice, dirty chai tea lattes (a must-try!), gorgeous fried egg-avocado sandwiches, acai bowls, blueberry buttermilk muffins; these things make me overjoyed.
I mean, you just know it’s been a good weekend when you can go to brunch and chow down on chocolate chip pancakes bigger than your face. Double points if you’re eating to cure a headache. Come on and laugh… you know it’s true.
It’s unfair that we can’t eat french fries and pancakes all the time, but with incredibly delicious vegan soups like this I don’t even miss them. That’s just a lie; I actually LOVE french fries all the time (especially with these homemade dipping sauces)!
Nevertheless this soup still is exceptionally good. The ingredients make the perfect combination of sweet and savory. It just reminds me of all things summer. Garlic! Onion! Carrots! Chickpeas! Tomatoes! Sweet potatoes! Cumin! Fresh basil!
I felt extremely satisfied after finishing off a bowl. In fact, I even told myself that it canceled out all that weekend eating and margarita downing. I only wish that were true.
This soup was inspired by a recipe for tomato-chickpea soup from one of my favorite new vegetarian cookbooks, Herbivoracious. A few weeks ago, I attended a book signing and cooking demonstration by Michael Natkin, author of the cookbook and blog Herbivoracious. The book is FULL of gorgeous vegetarian photos. I can’t wait to try out more recipes; some are even vegan and/or gluten-free too!
Michael sampled delicious stuffed polenta (a recipe in his book) at the event, signed my cookbook, and even told me he LOVED my blog name! Awwww.
One last thing. I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving away this cookbook to one of my readers!
All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me your favorite brunch spot (and what you eat there, obviously)! Also, be sure to like my Facebook page; where I’ll announce the winner a week from today!
Don’t forget to make this soup! You might love it as much as french fries.
Vegan Tomato, Chickpea, and Sweet Potato Soup
Cozy vegan tomato chickpea soup with hearty sweet potatoes and incredible spices like garlic, cumin, and fresh basil. Top this nourishing soup with avocado for a delicious, filling lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 1 orange pepper, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1- (16 oz. can) chickpeas
- 1- (16 oz can) diced tomatoes (I prefer fire roasted)
- 2 cups vegetarian broth
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- fresh chopped basil, for garnish
- 1 sliced avocado, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt; saute for 2 minute. Add the diced orange pepper and carrots to the pot and saute for 5 minutes.
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Add the entire can of tomatoes to the pot. Next add the chickpeas, vegetarian broth, cumin, basil, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and salt.
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Bring to a simmer; reduce the heat to medium, add diced sweet potatoes.
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Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
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Serve garnished with additional basil and/or avocado slices if desired. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Adding things like quinoa, chicken, pork, or turkey would make this dish higher in protein.
Feel free to add parsley or cilantro instead of basil.
You can use fresh tomatoes if you prefer.
45 comments
Would love to win Herbivoracious! My favorite brunch spot = Birchwood Cafe. So local, so fresh and always a great variety of options.
I love this cafe called Simon’s in Sarasota, FL. They have all organic, vegan, vegetarian, GF options, etc and it has been consistently excellent every time I’ve been there over the past 5 or 6 years. I even saw one of the Smother’s Brothers there once! I usually get the spanakopita or their homemade soups/salads. Everything is delicious! Hope you go there one day!
I rarely have brunch, but I sometimes go to the Original Pancake House and eat pancakes at brunch time…
This soup looks absolutely amazing…I cannot wait to make it!!
My favorite brunch spot at the moment, because I am living in this area, is Jensen’s in downtown Burnsville, MN. Every time I go there I order the smoked salmon scramble.
Thanks for blogging!
This looks delicious! Such an awesome way to pack lots of veggies into your diet.
Is it cheating if I say my favorite brunch spot is my own kitchen? Breakfast is my favorite meal to cook, and I make a mean quiche 🙂
This soup sounds ahh-mazing!! This would be perfect for a Sunday night dinner to balance out indulging at Sunday brunch. My favorite place to go is Bon Vie…always changing menu and soooo good! I love the farmers market scramble
So jealous of all your brunches! I’m always too lazy come sat. morning to drag myself out of bed 🙂 Those choc chip pancakes are some serious motivation though…!
You soup looks delicious! Especially with the avocado, I’m still not totally vegetarian but I’ve been trying to incorporate it a lot more into my meals, I’d LOVE a bowl of that soup, all my favorite flavors!
Have a great weekend Monique!!
liked you on fb. my favorite brunch spot is eggs n things
Would love to win Herbivoracious! My favorite brunch spot… omelette!
Have a great weekend Monique!!
zumbro cafe in linden hills! i love the quaint setting and the food
Gosh, your pictures in this post had me salivating!!! I so wish I would have been able to go to that event!! I want that cookbook 🙂 My favorite brunch spot is home…I LOVE me some eggies and make a pretty mean hollandaise sauce…we have a Belgium waffle maker that the kids love to help use on lazy weekend mornings. Thanks so much and btw-I am thinking of making those delicious Peach, Brie & Basil french breads for lunch tomorrow!
I actually prefer to make food myself and eat at home. The process of cooking is so satisfying. It is a form of aesthetic expression. When eating out, we always move around trying new places. Some favorites for dinner are Ngon Vietnamese Bistro in St Paul, Sen Yai Sen Lek in Minneapolis, On’s Thai Kitchenin St Paul, Harry Singh’s Carribean Restaurant in Minneapolis, The Angry Trout in Grand Marais, Babani’s in St Paul, etc., etc.
I very rarely got out for brunch, but the best spot in my town is Bette’s.
karenreichmann@hotmail.com
My favorite brunch spot is my local breakfast-lunch diner. I typically order a salad there!
This was delicious thank you for posting it, I added lentils and kale and everybody just loved it. Would add chickpeas next time too. Just realized you might feel like I am completely changing your recipe, but to me your recipe is the essential part.
Favorite brunch spot is Cake in Philadelphia (Chestnut Hill)–can’t resist the smoked salmon plate or the buttermilk waffles!
Thanks for entering Jacki! You’ve won the cookbook! I’ll email you. 🙂
I love eat at The Alley and usually have a pasta salad.
My favorite Brunch spot in chicago is nellie’s restaurant. They have a jibarito omelette that has sweet plantains cooked into it!! best Puerto Rican omelette ever! Fat2Flaca.Tumblr.com and Facebook.com/Fat2Flaca
Awesome! My favorite brunch spot in Milwaukee is Roots… local grown food and delicious. Great view overlooking the city from Brewer’s Hill.
My favorite brunch spot is on my porch – and I make waffles, of course!
This looks amazing and would be perfect for a cloudy day in Summer. My favourite brunch spot is Twisted Fork in Vancouver. There’s a line up out the door every weekend. It’s amazing and fresh!
Stumbled across your blog from Pinterest and really enjoy it.
-Michelle
http://www.m-liveloudly.blogspot.com
Yes, I’m following you now on Pinterest 🙂
This book looks fantastic and would help me get more veggies in my diet. I’m trying to cook and eat healthier and I would put this one to good use. The reicpe you shared sounds delicious. I don’t eat out much in the morning time so my favorite brunch spot would have to be at home. I love trying new breakfast dishes and some of my favorite involve eggs and fruit on the side.
I been wanting this cookbook, all the pictures look gorgeous. We recently moved out of state, but my favorite brunch spot was the Chocolate Gallery.
I have made this soup many times and it is a huge huge hit. My favourite brunch spot is my kitchen, trying out new recipes and having family over to sample.
Ohhh…that looks great – thanks for sharing!
Will be over in a jiffy. LOL
i have never been anywhere for brunch!!
So flavorful! So nice to not have to modify a recipe at all! Thank you!
My fav is a cafè in the city where they serve wnderful soups!
Tried this soup tonight. Pretty tasty! We had to cook it about 10 minutes longer than directed…we probably didn’t dice the sweet potato small enough. Thanks for dinner!
do i have to drain the chickpea can?
My favorite brunch spot is Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville, NC. I like the organic carrot hot cakes!
how many is this recipe for? thanks!
This recipe serves 4!
I think I am about seven years too late on the cookbook deal! I loved this soup. I ate it all up in one 24-hour period. The only changes I made are (1) I had no orange pepper, (2) I used dried basil that I had grown and dried, (3) toward the end of cooking I added a couple of handfuls of fresh kale and parsley which I grew, and (4) I added a handful or so of quinoa. Otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly. Oh, I didn’t put avocado on top, but I will next time.
Thanks bunches for this delicious recipe.
Perfect! Such a great lunch & dinner 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
What is the calorie count on vegan chickpea and sweet potato soup?