42 Versatile Recipes to Celebrate Chickpeas Every Which Way
Even if you think you're tired of them.
Published On
Photo by Bobbi Lin
If you're anything like me (read: a vegetarian; a lover of good food; a sorta impatient person), chickpeas are in heavy rotation in your cooking—especially now. As of this writing, a pound of the dried stuff and seven cans of cooked chickpeas are hanging out in my pantry, just waiting to be used. (The dried ones are calling for a long Sunday simmer as I putter around the house.)
You need no telling how flexible, satiating, and flat-out delicious chickpeas can be, so I won't tell you. I'll just show off 42 ways these little legumes strut their stuff, in crunchy-roasted snacks, slurpable stews, and sweets (yes!) alike.
WE'RE TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE AIRWAVES
You know that saying "simple is best"? This smoky snack epitomizes it. With chickpeas, olive oil, a hot cast-iron pan, and dusting of smoked paprika, you're set.
Chubby little chickpeas meld with coconut, black mustard seeds, and fragrant curry leaves for an irresistible snack.
For a weekend project that's worth your while, bring together nutty buckwheat flour and crumbly, blitzed chickpeas. You'll be amply rewarded with seedy, crunchy crackers.
These sweet potato and chickpea fritters are just begging for a little dollop of yogurt on top. Eat them with a salad for a full meal, or by themselves as a nibble.
You didn't think we'd leave out hummus from this list, did you?! A five-minute, zero-fuss recipe is just what we all need right now.
Our SVP of brand, Suzanne, shared her tried-and-true lunch secret—this super-affordable, ultra-riffable, totally delicious curried chickpea salad—and we couldn't be more grateful.
All the flavors (Frank's!) of your favorite hot wing, turned into a sturdy, satisfying salad (complete with cashew ranch and watery-crisp celery).
A collision of textures and flavors, in the very best way. It's got serious "tuna salad" vibes (without any tuna, or for that matter, mayonnaise!), with a lift from lots of fresh and briny accents.
Dress up plain ol' canned chickpeas with a ton of fresh herbs, spices, briny feta cheese, juicy tomatoes and toasty almonds, and you'll have yourself a stellar lunch in ten minutes flat.
Saucy, cumin-spiced chickpeas plus a mountain of shrettuce plus a healthy sprinkling of cheese means great things for lunchtime. Canned chickpeas work equally well as fresh.
No chopping, no problem—this vinaigrette-laden, hardy salad of chickpeas, torn olives, parsley leaves, and crumbled feta is happy to hang out in the fridge, without wilting, for days.
Carrots, spice, and everything nice—ginger-perfumed couscous, garlicky chickpeas, hearty almonds—star in this grain salad. (Sub in vegetable stock or even water, for the chicken stock.)
Sheet-pan salads are a quicker-than-quick, nearly dish-free way to dinner (score!). This one's full of hearty kale, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, apples, and cheddar cheese.
Crispy-edged waffles filled with creamy chickpeas, all topped with an herbaceous tomato salad and creamy tahini dressing.
If you can smash a clove of garlic, you can have dinner on the table—in just 15 minutes.
In this traditional Trinidadian treat, fluffy flatbreads envelop curried chickpeas. Serve as-is, or with your favorite kicky hot sauce.
Hearty, coconutty, and just green enough, with warming heat from ginger and an umami boost from sun-dried tomatoes.
A tangle of pasta, creamy chickpeas, and a dusting of Parm are all you need for this fantastic meal.
Name me a silkier, creamier, completely vegan-ier soup—I'll wait. And while I'm waiting, I'll be slurping this coconutty number from recipe developer Hetty McKinnon.
Chickpeas drink up fruity olive oil and become their best selves, surrounded by tangy capers, oil-cured olives, feta, and wheels of lemon. They're perfect with a crusty piece of bread (better to sop up the herby olive oil with!), cooked pasta, or simply on a spoon.
This stew just screams "fall," but we're happy to whip it up any time of year. A few choice cans (chickpeas and pumpkin puree, if you please) and boxes (broth, plus teeny-tiny pasta shapes) make this one-pot wonder a total breeze.
We want to put ginger-garlic-chile paste in everything—not least, this streamlined version of the classic Indian standby, chana saag. Canned chickpeas and quick-cooking spinach make this recipe simple as can be.
Sunday sauce, reimagined. Chickpeas and porcini mushrooms give it heft and earthiness in a similar way as pork, veal, or beef would.
Speed and riffability are the name of the game here. If you don't have lemongrass or Makrut lime leaves, feel free to go forth without 'em. If you don't have a fresh tomato on hand, use canned. If you want to add some green vegetables into the mix, we wouldn't say no to that either! A big handful of chopped kale or Swiss chard would be right at home.
"A hidden gem of a recipe," "amazingly good," and "really just perfect" are some of the community votes of confidence you can keep in mind when you simmer chickpeas in this Genius bread sauce.
26. Chickpea Pot Pie
Creamy filling, flaky topping, comfort all around. What could be better than this pot pie?
Chickpeas give these muffins silkiness and structure, but you won't even know they're there (in a good way!). The resulting treats have the added benefit of a whole lot of protein and serious staying power.
With fragrant cinnamon and just enough sugar, roasted chickpeas can take a sweet turn, too. Go on, give 'em a try!
Believe it or not, chickpea flour makes a good substitute for eggs when you’re craving an omelet for breakfast or dinner. Plus, it’s so much cheaper! It gets a cheesy flavor from nutritional yeast and is served alongside a crisp fennel and radicchio salad.
Veggie burgers don’t need a whole basket of seasonal vegetables and grains to come together. For these, all it takes is chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, and marinated artichoke hearts. These three ingredients offer all the flavor and meatiness of a much more complicated recipe for half the cost and work.
I can’t peel my eyes away from this vibrant tomato chickpea salad. “The ripest tomatoes meet the crispiest chickpeas meet the jazziest mayo sauce. Juicy and crunchy, sweet and spicy, the combination of textures and flavors is special, especially when considering the effort-to-reward ratio,” writes recipe developer EmilyC.
Think of this as a 2021 version of panzanella salad. Pita chips work in place of the usual croutons, and a juicy blend of cucumber, peaches, and plums work in harmony for a vibrant summer bite. Crispy chickpeas add enough protein that you could easily eat this for lunch or dinner.
For a vegetarian alternative to chicken salad, make these chickpea salad sandwiches, which feature layers of mashed chickpeas, ribbons of raw carrots, and sliced roasted beets.
“The heartiness of chickpeas and the earthiness of beets, lifted with a splash of vinegar, make a most satisfying meal, but when shaped into cakes and topped with garlicky, dill-packed yogurt, they reach a whole new level of deliciousness,” says recipe developer Amy Chaplin.
Just when you thought you were over roast chicken, our brilliant recipe contributor EmilyC brought us this earthy presentation of chicken marinated with tahini, cumin, honey, and paprika. Chickpeas and Medjool dates are roasted alongside the chicken legs, absorbing all of that sweet, smoky flavor.
Dress up chickpeas with a whole lotta herbs (we’re talking three cups total of parsley, cilantro, and mint), plus a little bit of lemon zest and tahini for our new favorite falafel-inspired veggie burgers.
This understated ingredient list calls for one specialty product—fresh nettles, which have a bitter, slightly tangy flavor that asserts itself into sautéed cheesy chickpeas.
In less than 30 minutes, this rapid-fire chicken and chickpea dinner comes together. Even better, the whole dish is made in a single cast-iron skillet, which makes clean-up a breeze too.
Earlier this month, we celebrated the launch of Food Editor Emma Laperruque’s very first cookbook, Big Little Recipes (yes, you can purchase it through our Shop.) Today, we’re celebrating all over again, this time with a gluten-free macaroni and cheese that uses chickpeas instead of pasta.
This is the ultimate “clear-out-your-fridge” kind of meal, using up an assortment of root vegetables, a little bit of pasta, a couple cans of chickpeas, a cup of white wine, and chopped herbs. It’s a wide array of flavors that taste like they were always meant to be together.
Five ingredients have never tasted so good. Food Editor Emma Laperruque relies on “toasting” the miso in a sauté pan to bring out all of its complex, savory qualities, just as you would with tomato paste.
Look, we consider all of our recipes to be the best and anything “fall-inspired” to be our coziest. But this one takes the cake, err stew, thanks to it’s undeniably satisfying combination of maple syrup, aleppo pepper, soy sauce, and lime juice.
What's your favorite way to cook with chickpeas? Let us know in the comments below!