Shredded chicken, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) in a light tomato sauce is the perfect combination of protein and fiber in this hearty Costa Rican chicken garbanzo soup.
About This Easy Chicken and Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe
Everyone in our family LOVES Costa Rican-style chicken garbanzo soup, which we serve with Costa Rican white rice.
I have a stovetop recipe for this dish but I honestly have to say that this Instant Pot version is so fast and easy. I bought my Instant Pot on the last Amazon Prime Day, and I swear I heard angels singing when it was delivered. No, really!
I have long loved to cook with a pressure cooker- but after ours exploded when my oldest was a newborn, I said I wouldn’t let one back into my house again. Now, the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker that is explosion-proof and doesn’t even heat up my house. This is ideal in summer!
Some of my favorite Costa Rican Instant Pot recipes include Costa Rican Carne en Salsa, Costa Rican Style Slow Black Beans, Costa Rican Beef Soup, Hearty and Healthy Costa Rican Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe, and of course homemade Costa Rican Dulce de Leche. A big secret? I don’t make my white rice in the Instant Pot. It’s too big and I don’t like how the rice turns out. I use this rice cooker faithfully and have for years.
Anyway, this garbanzo soup recipe is perfect because it takes about 10 minutes to prep, and then you set it and forget it. I love how the Instant Pot defaults to warm after cooking, so I start the recipe and it cooks and then stays warm until dinner. Seriously- angels singing. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I also have the stovetop directions here.
Related post: Big List Of Delicious Recipes Served With White Rice
Costa Rican Chicken Garbanzo Soup Recipe- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- chicken
- garbanzo beans/chickpeas
- chicken stock
- water
- tomato sauce
- carrots
- onion
- cilantro
- red pepper
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt
Instructions:
Place the olive oil in your instant pot and put it on the low sautee setting. Add the onion, red pepper, cilantro, garlic and salt and mix around until vegetables are tender. Add the chicken breasts and brown each side.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover the pot and set it for 30 minutes pressure cook on high.
Open, shred the chicken (I just grabbed two forks and shredded it right in the pot.) Serve hot with Costa Rican-style white rice. And I love to add a few dashes of red pepper flakes, and my husband loves to eat it with homemade tortilla chips.
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Substitutions
If you don’t have canned tomatoes on hand, 1/3 cup of ketchup will lend the same flavor to your soup.
Instead of chicken breasts, you can substitute in a pre-shredded rotisserie chicken– it’s quick and flavorful!
Finally, if garbanzo beans aren’t for you, both white and pinto beans are great alternatives. Great Northern white beans are an especially tasty substitute!
Variations
If you don’t have an instant pot, you can make a version of this recipe in both a slow cooker by just adding all the ingrdients and leaving it on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.
You could also make this into a vegan garbanzo bean soup by omitting the chicken and swapping in a vegetable broth of your choice.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your chicken garbanzo bean soup nice and hot! It’s best when ladled over Costa Rican white rice and mixed with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Homemade tortillas, and cilantro sprigs make for excellent garnishes!
You might also like my Sopa Azteca- Costa Rican Tortilla Soup.
FAQ
For this recipe, you can pour your remaining soup into a saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes. I find it’s even better on the second day after the flavors have had more time to blend together!
When properly stored in the fridge, the soup should last for about a week. If it’s frozen, chicken garbanzo bean soup should keep for up to 3 months.
For such tiny vegetables, garbanzo beans have major nutritional value! These little protein packets are full of fiber and Vitamin B. They do not contain cholesterol, and are thought to promote heart health
Printable Recipe
Instant Pot Garbanzo Bean Soup
Packed with protein-rich garbanzo beans and chicken, this filling soup is fast, easy, and flavorful. Garbanzo bean soup is perfect for feeding a large crowd on a cold day!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, whole
- 1 lb garbanzo beans/chickpeas, dry
- 32 oz chicken stock
- 32 oz water
- 1 (one) 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 4 carrots, cut into circles or diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 TB salt
Instructions
- Place the olive oil in your instant pot and put it on the low sautee setting. Add the onion, red pepper, cilantro, garlic, and salt and mix around until vegetables are tender.
- Add the chicken breasts and brown each side.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover the pot and set it to pressure cook for 30 minutes on high.
- Open the lid and shred the chicken (I just grabbed two forks and shredded it right in the pot.) Serve hot with Costa Rican-style white rice, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some homemade tortillas.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 1791mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 13gSugar: 15gProtein: 32g
Please double-check this information with your favorite nutrition calculator.
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4 Responses
No where does it say to SOAK the chickpeas or white northern beans overnight! Cooked as you said but the peas are still hard….. disappointing, smells good though
Hi! I don’t soak my beans- I am so sorry they didn’t turn out. I will often just put the whole thing in the pressure cooker for 7-10 more minutes if this happens to finish cooking the beans. Doesn’t affect the flavor at all! I think pressure cookers vary as do electric currents. Pura vida! ~Christa
Why so much salt? The current recommended daily amount is 2,333 mg for most people, and the American Heart Association says we should be heading to a 1,500 mg daily limit. Any reason not to go to 1 teaspoon or less?
–Jim
Because it’s delicious! Thanks for the nutrition info- remember that this recipe feeds at least 8 people. I took it to my grandma’s recently and 12 of us ate it. So if you divide by portion that helps too.