I Keep Six Cans Of Chickpeas In My Pantry, Here Is Why

I keep six cans of chickpeas in the pantry at all times and I am not embarrassed about it. They are the one ingredient that can turn into dinner, lunch, a snack, or a dip depending on what kind of day it has been. Nothing else in the cupboard works that hard.

Collage of four chickpea recipes including a chickpea burger, chickpea salad, creamy chickpea curry, and hummus.

Here is every chickpea recipe on the site, sorted so you can find the right one fast. One 15-ounce can drains down to about a cup and a half, which is enough for two good servings or one very enthusiastic one. A cooked cup carries around 12 grams of fiber, which is most of the reason they keep you full so much longer than you expect.

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Chickpea Dinners

Chickpeas hold their shape in a simmering sauce better than almost any other bean, so they are perfect for curries and stews. They soak up flavor while staying firm enough to feel like a proper bite.

Vegan Chickpea Cauliflower Curry

Creamy coconut chickpea and cauliflower curry, all from pantry staples. This is the one I make most often in winter.

RECIPE

Marry Me Chickpeas with Coconut Milk

Marry Me chickpeas with coconut milk. Sun-dried tomatoes and cream make this taste far more indulgent than the ingredient list suggests.

RECIPE

Greek-Style Lemon Chickpea Stew

A bright, lemony chickpea stew that cuts through a run of heavy dinners. Ready in about half an hour.

RECIPE

Spicy Sauteed Cabbage, Kale and Chickpeas Skillet (Vegetarian)

Cabbage, kale, and chickpeas in one spicy skillet. Cheap, fast, and a genuinely good way to use up half a cabbage.

RECIPE

Sticky Sesame Chickpeas

Sticky sesame chickpeas with the kind of glaze you want to eat off the pan. Serve over rice.

RECIPE

Sticky sesame chickpeas with rice and lime wedges.

Curried Chickpea Burger Recipe With Mushrooms

A curried chickpea and mushroom burger that actually holds together on the grill, which is more than most veggie burgers manage.

RECIPE

Chickpea Salads and Sandwiches

This is the lunch section. Chickpeas mashed or left whole make a salad that keeps in the fridge for days without going soggy, which is exactly what you want on a Monday when you are packing lunches in a hurry.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

A chickpea salad sandwich that has genuinely replaced tuna in our house. Creamy, crunchy, and it packs well.

RECIPE

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad (Vegan)

Vegan chickpea tuna salad. Mashed chickpeas plus the right seasonings get you shockingly close to the real thing.

RECIPE

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

A Mediterranean chickpea salad with cucumber, tomato, and feta. Makes a great side or a light lunch on its own.

RECIPE

Mediterranean chickpea salad with vegetables.

Chickpea Pasta Salad Vegan

Chickpea pasta salad that is high in protein and travels brilliantly to a potluck.

RECIPE

Mediterranean Pasta Salad With Chickpeas

Mediterranean chickpea pasta salad, the bigger and more loaded version. This one feeds a crowd.

RECIPE

Chickpea Kale Salad Recipe (With Lemon Tahini Dressing)

Chickpea kale salad with a lemon tahini dressing. The kale softens as it sits, so it is better made ahead.

RECIPE

kale salad with lemon tahini dressing in a serving bowl

Roasted Chickpea Salad With Feta

Roasted chickpeas with avocado and feta. The roasting is what makes this one worth the extra ten minutes.

RECIPE

Sauteed Eggplant Salad With Chickpeas

A sauteed eggplant and chickpea salad, warm and garlicky, somewhere between a side and a main.

RECIPE

Chickpea Snacks and Dips

And then there is the snack category, which is where chickpeas quietly beat everything else. Roasted they go crunchy, blended they go smooth, and either way they keep you full until dinner.

Easy Air Fryer Chickpeas (Crispy!)

Crispy air fryer chickpeas in about fifteen minutes. Dangerously snackable, and infinitely better than the shop-bought version.

RECIPE

Wooden bowl of crispy air fryer chickpeas with a small wooden spoon.

Easy Hummus Without Tahini (5-Minute Recipe)

Hummus without tahini, for when you want hummus but do not have a jar of tahini sitting around.

RECIPE

Hummus With Roasted Red Pepper

Roasted red pepper hummus, sweeter and smokier than plain, and a very good dip for raw vegetables.

RECIPE

roasted pepper hummus ina bowl with toppings and green vegetables

Roasted Pumpkin Hummus

Roasted pumpkin hummus. A little unexpected, very autumnal, and it always disappears first on a board.

RECIPE

pumpkin and chickpea hummus in a white bowl on a marble table with white linen

My Best Tips for Cooking With Chickpeas

Chickpeas are easy, but a handful of small habits make them much better. These are the ones worth knowing.

Save the liquid in the can: That cloudy liquid is aquafaba, and it whips like egg white. Even if you are not making meringue, a few spoonfuls stirred into hummus or a sauce makes it creamier without adding fat. I keep it in a jar in the fridge for a few days.
Rinse them properly anyway: If you are not saving the aquafaba, give canned chickpeas a real rinse in a colander. It washes off the starchy liquid that can taste a bit tinny, and it knocks a good chunk off the sodium at the same time.
Peel them for truly creamy hummus: This is fussy and I only do it when I care. Rub drained chickpeas between a clean tea towel and the skins slip off. Blitzed in a food processor after that, the hummus goes silky in a way you cannot get otherwise.
Dry them before roasting: Wet chickpeas steam instead of crisping. Tip them onto a baking sheet, pat them properly dry, then toss with olive oil and smoked paprika. Season after roasting, not before, or the salt pulls moisture back out.
Smash, do not chop: For chickpea salad sandwiches, press them with a fork rather than running a knife through them. You want some left whole and some broken down so the texture is interesting rather than uniform paste.
Dried are cheaper, canned are Tuesday: A bag of dried chickpeas costs a fraction of the canned equivalent and tastes better, but it needs an overnight soak and an hour of simmering. I cook a big pot on a Sunday, freeze it in can-sized portions, and use tins the rest of the week without guilt.

Chickpea FAQs

Are chickpeas and garbanzo beans the same thing?

Yes, exactly the same bean with two different names. Chickpea comes through French and garbanzo comes from Spanish, and which one you see mostly depends on where you shop. I wrote a whole post on chickpeas vs garbanzo beans if you want the longer version.

Do you need to rinse canned chickpeas?

For most recipes yes, unless you are keeping the aquafaba on purpose. Rinsing removes the starchy canning liquid and cuts the sodium noticeably. The exception is a soup or stew where that starch actually helps thicken the pot.

How much fiber is in chickpeas?

Around 12 grams in a cooked cup, along with about 15 grams of protein. That combination is why a chickpea lunch holds you until dinner in a way a sandwich often does not. They turn up all over my high fiber dinners for exactly this reason.

Can you eat chickpeas straight from the can?

Yes, canned chickpeas are already cooked, so they are safe to eat cold from the tin. Rinse them first and they are fine in a salad as they are. Warming them through with olive oil and garlic does make them taste a lot better.

How do you get chickpeas really crispy?

Dry them thoroughly, use enough oil, give them room on the baking sheet, and do not open the oven every five minutes. An air fryer does it faster and more reliably than an oven. They soften again as they cool, so eat them the day you make them.

Before You Go

Start with the hummus if you are new to cooking chickpeas from scratch, or the curry if you want dinner sorted tonight. Then take a look at my high fiber dinners and my best salad recipes for more ways to use up the rest of the can.