Leblebi Soup

Name: Leblebi Soup
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 2 tbs Olive Oil; 1 medium finely diced Onion; 250g Chickpeas; 1.5L Vegetable Stock; 1 tsp Cumin; 5 cloves Garlic; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Harissa Spice; Pinch Pepper; 1/2 Lime

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Tunisian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 47 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 32 min total

2 tbs Olive Oil
1 medium finely diced Onion
250g Chickpeas
1.5L Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Cumin
5 cloves Garlic
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Harissa Spice
Pinch Pepper
1/2 Lime

Step-by-step instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Drain the soaked chickpeas and add them to the pot together with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.
In the meantime toast the cumin in a small ungreased frying pan, then grind them in a mortar. Add the garlic and salt and pound to a fine paste.
Add the paste and the harissa to the soup and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, about 30 minutes.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice and serve hot.

Why this works on a weeknight

Leblebi Soup lands at about 32 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Quick Soups & Stews collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Leblebi Soup actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥣 Quick Soups & Stews Vegetarian Tunisian Soup