34 Reasons Chickpeas Deserve a Place in Your Pantry

The seasoned chickpea mixture for this falafel should have a coarse texture. This will ensure a crisp shell and a moist interior. Get the recipe for Falafel With Tahini »

Sprouted Chickpea Socca with Herb Salad and Yogurt

Scallops might not be the heartiest, but when you combine them with a chickpea stew you’re guaranteed to stay cozy on cooler nights.

Chana masala is a simple chickpea stew with many variations, eaten by a multitude of people across India.

Potato and chickpeas are flavored with an earthy combination of mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, and chiles in this classic Indian street snack. The savory mixture is topped with crunchy fried chickpea noodles and sometimes dressed in tamarind, mint, or cilantro-yogurt chutneys.

This recipe comes from test kitchen assistant Jake Cohen, inspired by a similar hummus he tried while working at Restaurant Daniel in New York City. Fresh chickpeas provide a vibrant green color and brightness that pair well with the Asian flavors in this dip.

“In Argentina, I fell for the gauchos and their locro—a stew of squash, meat, and hominy. It was creamy and slightly sweet, and its garnishing sauce, made with paprika, provided a festive burst of spice and color” —Virginie Blachere, photographer

Cookbook author Madhur Jaffery describes these spidery-looking cabbage-and-peanut fritters as looking like little Medusa heads, “with the strands of shredded cabbage providing a crunchy, unruly halo.” A popular item in the mess halls of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, they can be served as part of a meal or as a crunchy snack.

Chickpeas are bolstered with spicy sausage and three kinds of meat in a filling stew served at País das Uvas in Vila de Frades, Portugal. Get the recipe for Chickpea Stew with Lamb, Pork, and Veal »

Todd Coleman

Chickpea flour acts as a stabilizer, preventing yogurt from curdling in this aromatic soup.

There are countless varieties of this ubiquitous Indian snack mix, made with varying combinations of nuts, fruit, spices, and other ingredients. Cookbook author Smita Chandra’s version of the addictive nibble is the best we’ve had, with four kinds of nuts (cashew, peanut, almond, pistachio), plus sweet raisins, nutty coconut, and poha, dried flattened rice flakes.

This hearty couscous dish is layered with chickpeas and bathed in a broth fragrant with garlic and lemon, and served with crisp-skinned chicken.

At the heart of this intriguing soup is a matzo-ball-like dumpling made of ground chicken and chickpea flour.

A plate of fluffy couscous is lavished with meatballs, lamb chops, chicken skewers, merguez sausage, and a saffron-scented chickpea stew in this celebratory dish, a staple at Moroccan restaurants in Paris.

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Generous spice, a good dose of olive oil, and chickpeas piled high are the hallmarks of this Galilean-style hummus.

This rich dish features chickpea-flour dumplings, a Sindhi specialty.

This velvety dip is a classic—we like it garnished with pickles and served with plenty of toasted pita chips.

This vibrant okra stew is thickened with chickpea flour.

The batter for this snack has to be of the right consistency—not too wet, not too dry—when you spread it out for rolling, so test a spoonful of it on a plate first.

Light enough for a summer dish, this terrific soup is also delicious in the winter months made with Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) mussels instead.

Gently browned cipollini onions add an unexpected hint of caramel sweetness to this hummus, deepening its earthy flavors.

Chef Jim Leiken of DBGB in New York City serves pesto-spiked mayonnaise as a dipping sauce for fried calamari, cauliflower, and chickpeas.

Slow-cooked vegetable dishes like this one, a cumin-and paprika-spiced stew of beans and tomatoes, are a standby in many parts of the Middle East. Here, tomatoes and green beans release some of their flavor into the cooking liquid, creating a rich broth.

This bright, slightly spicy salad is great served alongside roasted chicken.

A tangle of fried mushrooms provides textural contrast and a savory boost to this silky hummus.

This rosemary-scented chickpea-flour crepe is a mainstay of southern French markets.

The recipe for this zesty Iraqi salad, which uses pickled mango, comes from the cart Aladdin’s Castle Cafe.

We took inspiration from falafel when developing these burgers—but unlike the dense, often dry deep-fried chickpea fritters, this sautéed patty is both light and rich in texture, with added depth from roasted garlic.

Any way you make it, there is nothing like falafel’s first bite: the crisp-fried exterior giving way to a creamy center of seasoned mashed beans, garlic, and parsley.