19 Recipes Featuring Chickpeas

Coconut Chickpeas with Winter Squash
Photo: Johnny Miller

Delicious chickpea recipes, from Israeli hummus with paprika and whole chickpeas to lamb meatballs with red pepper and chickpea sauce.

01 of 19

Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce

Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce
Constantine Poulos

Chef Missy Robbins of Brooklyn's Lilia restaurant swaps chickpeas for pasta in her riff on spicy pomodoro. She finishes the dish with a shower of fresh herbs and salty pecorino cheese.

02 of 19

Spiced Chickpeas with Yogurt and Pine Nuts

Spiced Chickpeas with Yogurt and Pine Nuts

More people should eat chickpeas at breakfast: The legumes have lots of folate, essential minerals and fiber, which helps regulate blood sugar. The chefs at Marisa May's restaurant, SD26, sometimes make these stewy, savory chickpeas for her when she hasn't had a chance to eat something filling at home.

03 of 19

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
© Eva Kolenko

F&W's Justin Chapple makes his healthy vegetarian sandwiches with plenty of chickpeas, onion, lemon juice and dill.

04 of 19

Kale Caesar with Fried Chickpeas

Kale Caesar with Fried Chickpeas
Eva Kolenko

This tangy Caesar salad from F&W's Justin Chapple is topped with light, airy and supercrunchy pan-fried chickpeas.

05 of 19

Chickpea Stew with Spinach and Chorizo

Chickpea Stew with Spinach and Chorizo
© Quentin Bacon

This stew, like all those in Catalonia, starts with a sofrito, a thick sauce made with sautéed onions and tomatoes. Once you get all the ingredients in the pot, there's not much to do besides enjoy the aroma wafting from this hearty, spicy, soupy stew as it slowly cooks.

06 of 19

Israeli Hummus with Paprika and Whole Chickpeas

Israeli Hummus with Paprika and Whole Chickpeas
© AMIT GERON

Before opening Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia, chef Michael Solomonov visited hummus parlors all over Israel trying to find the best recipe. "Hummus is the hardest thing to get right," he says. "It has to be rich, creamy and mildly nutty." To make his hummus luxuriously smooth, he soaks the chickpeas overnight with baking soda to soften them. While Americans now flavor hummus with everything from pureed red peppers to fresh herbs, Solomonov says among the fanciest garnishes you can find in Israel are whole chickpeas, paprika and lemon-spiked tahini, used for hummus masabacha.

07 of 19

Chickpea and Swiss Chard Chili

Chickpea and Swiss Chard Chili
© Eva Kolenko

This smoky, rich chili from F&W's Justin Chapple is a simple one-pot dish.

08 of 19

Spicy Chickpea Soup

Spicy Chickpea Soup
© Stephanie Foley

Chickpeas are rich in both types of dietary fiber, which are important for maintaining heart health and for stabilizing blood sugar levels. Pam Anderson uses them as the base for this Indian-flavored creamy (though cream-free) soup, which she prepares by first pureeing it, then simmering it, to save time. "Pureed beans give you richness without having to enrich the soup," she says.

09 of 19

Curried Spaghetti-Squash-and-Chickpea Toasts

Curried Spaghetti-Squash-and-Chickpea Toasts.
© David Malosh

Spaghetti squash gets its name because once it's cooked, you can use a fork to pull the flesh into long, thin strands. Jonathon Sawyer makes his own curry and cooks his own chickpeas for this vegetarian dish, but this simplified recipe calls for store-bought curry paste and canned chickpeas. Sawyer roasts the seeds from the squash and uses them as a garnish; pumpkin seeds from the supermarket are a fine substitute.

10 of 19

Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy

Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy. Photo © David Malosh
© David Malosh

This classic Punjabi dish, called masaledar chholay, is often served as part of a big Sunday lunch, along with raita, naan and salad.

11 of 19

Orecchiette with Greens, Mozzarella and Chickpeas

Orecchiette with Greens, Mozzarella and Chickpeas
© John Kernick

Pair with a fruit-forward Pinot Gris.

12 of 19

Indian-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Yogurt and Herbs

Indian-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Yogurt and Herbs
© Petrina Tinslay

Chef Jerry Traunfeld, inspired by a trip through India, flavored this creamy chickpea salad with aromatic herbs and Indian spices, among them mustard, cumin and fennel seeds.

13 of 19

Lamb Meatballs with Red Pepper and Chickpea Sauce

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Nancy Silverton got this hearty meatball recipe from Matt Molina, the former chef de cuisine at Campanile. When the meatballs are almost cooked through, she pushes them to one side of the skillet and adds the ceci (Italian for chickpeas). That way everything soaks up the flavor of the luscious roasted red-pepper sauce.

14 of 19

Spiced Lamb-and-Rice Dressing with Chickpeas

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Instead of the more common bread-based dressing, Sam Mogannam's mother, Mariette, always serves turkey with this hearty, savory Palestinian stuffing, traditionally used as a filling for grape leaves or halved zucchini.

15 of 19

Carrot-and-Chickpea Salad

Carrot-and-Chickpea Salad

Chef Charles Kelsey tosses chickpeas and carrots with a deliciously unusual combination of smoked paprika, cumin and cilantro.

16 of 19

Lemony Chickpea Bruschetta

Lemony Chickpea Bruschetta

Chickpeas are a fine source of protein and heart-healthy folic acid. Here, they're pureed until creamy and flavored with preserved lemon, typically sold at specialty food stores.

17 of 19

Crispy Chickpeas

Crispy Chickpeas
© Dave Lauridsen

To make these addictive snacks, chef Jason Travi tosses canned chickpeas with flour, coriander and cumin, then fries them. He loves popping them into his mouth while he's watching football.

18 of 19

Chickpea-Chile Flatbreads

Chickpea-Chile Flatbreads
© Rob Howard

Suvir Saran rolls the savory flatbread dough into a cone shape before griddling, flattening it to create extra-flaky layers.

19 of 19

Coconut Chickpeas with Winter Squash

Coconut Chickpeas with Winter Squash
Johnny Miller

Starchy, slightly sweet plantains are a natural addition to winter squash. Here, New York chef JJ Johnson simmers both, along with canned chickpeas, in coconut milk that's steeped with aromatics. The result is creamy, fragrant, and so comforting.

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