Name: Carrot-ginger soup with orange and chickpea toast
Total time: 81 min
Yield: 4 bowls with 2 small toasts each
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil for soup; 1/2 onion, chopped; 1/2 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped; 1 tsp grated ginger; 1 tbsp cider vinegar; 3 cups vegetable broth; 1 tsp orange zest; 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1 tbsp olive oil for toast; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 8 small slices bread

Carrot-ginger soup with orange and chickpea toast

Orange zest brightens the carrot soup without adding extra juice to its ginger-and-vinegar base.

Published October 2, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026

4 bowls with 2 small toasts each · Estimated 1 hour 21 minutes

Carrot-ginger soup with orange and chickpea toast

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Prepare: 20 minutes · Sauté: 16 minutes · Heat and simmer: 35 minutes · Blend and make toasts: 10 minutes

Equipment: Soup pot; immersion blender; toaster; small saucepan for bean topping

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Method

Chop the 1/2 onion, crush the 3 garlic cloves, and peel and chop the 1 lb carrots into similar-size pieces. Grate the ginger to measure 1 tsp and the orange zest to measure 1 tsp, keeping the zest separate for the end; drain and rinse the 15 oz can of chickpeas.
Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil for soup in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, 1/2 tsp fine salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and cook for 8 minutes, stirring until the onion softens.
Add the garlic and carrots and cook for another 8 minutes, stirring regularly so the garlic does not stick or brown too quickly. The carrots will begin to soften but will finish cooking in the broth.
Stir in the grated ginger, 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 3 cups vegetable broth, loosening any softened onion from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 30 minutes, until the carrots are very soft and easily crushed with a spoon.
Take the soup off the heat and blend with a hot-liquid-rated immersion blender until smooth. Keep the blender head submerged while running and stop it before lifting it out, then stir in the reserved 1 tsp orange zest.
Mash the drained chickpeas with the 1 tbsp olive oil for toast and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a small saucepan. Work the chickpeas into a coarse spread so they will sit securely on the bread.
Warm the chickpea mash over low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring as it heats. Toast all 8 small slices of bread and divide the warm topping evenly among them.
Ladle the soup into four bowls, stirring first to distribute the orange zest. Serve each bowl with two small chickpea toasts alongside.

Build the soup around fully softened carrots

Cut the peeled carrots into similar-size pieces before the onion starts cooking. The carrots spend time in the pot before the broth is added, then finish softening during the simmer. Check that they crush easily with a spoon before blending; a resistant center will still be noticeable in a puréed soup.

Keep the measured orange zest separate from the ginger and vinegar. It is stirred in after blending, giving the soup its orange note without changing the broth quantity with a pour of orange juice.

Make a chickpea spread that stays on the toast

Drain and rinse the chickpeas before mashing them with the toast oil and lemon juice. A coarse spread is useful here: break down enough chickpeas that the topping holds together instead of rolling off the bread as separate whole beans.

Warm the topping while the soup finishes, then toast and fill all eight small slices. Stir the soup before ladling so the zest is distributed through the four bowls, and give each bowl two toasts. This keeps the two parts of the meal ready together without letting the bread sit in the soup.