Recipes with Chickpeas: Let’s Cook Them!

Feel like trying some new chickpea recipes? It will be difficult to choose among these! Chickpeas are the star of the show here and many recipes of traditional Italian cuisine feature them, as well – from the North to the South – but they are also the base for Middle-Eastern dishes such as hummus and falafel.

Dried or canned, it doesn’t matter! We’ve compiled a list of our favorite chickpea recipes – from many versions of chickpea pasta to our delicious originally crafted recipes like chickpea meatballs or ideas for chickpea flour.

Discover our suggestions for cooking chickpeas below. Then check out some more tips and tricks in our photo gallery above!

Recipes with chickpeas: canned or in a glass jar?

Did you forget to soak your dried chickpeas in water for 12 hours? Don’t worry! If you want to use pre-cooked chickpeas in a jar or can, it’s important that you drain the excess water. Sometimes canned chickpeas contain additives like sugar or salt, so it’s best to rinse them well under running water before using them in a recipe.

How to use chickpeas with any recipe

Pasta and chickpeas are certainly among the most popular recipe combinations to feature chickpeas, but this versatile legume can also be combined with many other dishes, too! Soups and creamy vellutate made with vegetables, for example. 

Then there’s rice and other grains that are also ideal recipes when combined with chickpeas. You can even add them to salads for a more complete and healthy dinner! Chickpeas are also particularly popular combined with fish, especially shellfish like shrimp or prawns.

Among the best spices and herbs to use with chickpeas are cumin, paprika, rosemary, oregano, sage and thyme.

Recipes with black chickpeas

Black chickpeas are typical legumes from Southern Italy, hailing in particular from Puglia and Basilicata. Their flavor is more intense than classic chickpeas, and they pair well with vegetables, fish, and ingredients with a more delicate taste.

Chickpeas and meat

Originally, chickpeas – and all legumes, for that matter – were used as an alternative to meat, thanks to their nutritional properties and their richness in vegetable proteins, fiber and vitamins. From a nutritional point of view, legumes can replace meat and they’re considered ideal for a vegetarian diet, but chickpeas are also highly appreciated in recipes paired with pork – especially in soups featuring the two ingredients.

Recipes with chickpea flour

Processed chickpeas can also create a very versatile alternative to flour – plus it’s gluten-free so it’s great if you have celiac disease! Chickpea flour is used to prepare traditional recipes, such as Ligurian ‘gachas’ and Sicilian ‘panelle,’ but it can also be used instead of wheat flour for other recipes like gnocchi, fresh pasta, omelettes, and gluten-free crepes.