Smoky Chickpea Ramen
Smoked paprika is the secret weapon of Spanish cooking, that deep red powder that tastes like fire and earth and makes everything it touches taste like it's been kissed by smoke. Combined with chickpeas, it creates this hearty, warming soup that's completely vegan but doesn't taste like it's missing anything. The chickpeas bring protein and substance while absorbing all that smoky, slightly sweet paprika flavor, and the whole thing comes together faster than you'd expect from something that tastes this complex. Adding ramen noodles turns it from a Spanish soup into something more filling and slurpable, and the combination works surprisingly well. This is winter comfort food that happens to be plant-based, the kind of bowl that warms you from the inside.
Smoke whispers through gold—paprika paints the broth red—Spain hums in the bowl.
Let Me Tell You...
I bought my first tin of smoked paprika at a Spanish market in Barcelona, where the guy behind the counter scooped it from a massive barrel and told me it would change my cooking forever.
I thought he was just being a salesman, but he turned out to be completely right.
That deep red powder with its campfire smell transformed every soup, every stew, every roasted vegetable I made into something that tasted sophisticated and warming.
I've been buying smoked paprika in embarrassingly large quantities ever since, and my spice cabinet has never been the same.
The difference in depth and smokiness is significant.
Chickpeas and smoked paprika are a classic Spanish combination, showing up in everything from tapas to hearty stews, and the flavors just belong together.
The chickpeas are mild enough to absorb the smoky paprika without competing with it, and their creamy texture gives the soup body without needing any dairy.
I toast the paprika briefly in oil before adding liquid, which blooms the flavor and makes it more intense.
The smell that fills your kitchen when you do this is intoxicating, like someone's grilling over wood fire in your apartment.
This blooms the flavor and deepens the smokiness.
Putting chickpeas over ramen started as a way to stretch a pot of soup into a more filling meal, but the combination turned out to be genuinely good.
The noodles give you something to slurp between spoonfuls of brothy chickpeas, and the textures complement each other nicely.
I finish each bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil and some fresh parsley, which adds brightness to all that deep, smoky richness.
A squeeze of lemon at the end wouldn't hurt either if you want extra freshness.
Spanish cooking relies on quality olive oil as a finishing element, not just a cooking fat.
This ramen is what I make when I want something satisfying and warming but don't want to deal with meat, which happens more often than I expected when I started trying to eat more plants.
The smoky paprika gives it a depth that tricks your brain into thinking there's bacon or chorizo in there somewhere, and the chickpeas provide enough protein that you don't feel hungry an hour later.
It's Spanish grandmother cooking filtered through a Japanese lens, and it works better than it has any right to.
Ingredients
- 2 packages ramen noodles (discard seasoning packets)
- 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the smoked paprika and cumin. Stir constantly for 30 seconds to toast the spices and bloom their flavors. The mixture should be fragrant and deeply colored.
- Add the vegetable broth and drained chickpeas. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
- Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash about 1/4 of the chickpeas against the side of the pot to thicken the broth slightly.
- Stir in the sherry vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- While the soup simmers, cook the ramen noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Divide the cooked noodles between serving bowls. Ladle the smoky chickpea broth over the noodles, making sure to distribute chickpeas evenly.
- Drizzle each bowl generously with extra-virgin olive oil. Top with chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately with extra olive oil and lemon wedges on the side.