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Don’t have chickpeas or realized you’re all out while you’re making a recipe that calls for them? Here are the best chickpea substitute options worth trying!
Chickpeas also known as chick peas, garbanzo beans or Bengal gram are yellow, brown, green or black odd shaped beans from the pea family.
Chickpeas have a beany, earthy, starchy and slightly nutty flavor with a creamy, but also mildly grainy texture like cooked potatoes.
Chickpeas are what is used to make the popular hummus, but, it also works great in hearty soups, salads, casseroles, falafels and stews.
But, what if you’re about to make a recipe that call for chick peas and you have none? You must be wondering if you can actually replace garbanzo beans or chickpeas in a dish.
The good news is that chick peas are quite easy to replace. All that is needed are other beans that have either a similar flavor profile and or texture to chick peas.
There are at least 10 easy substitutes for chickpeas or garbanzo beans. These include black beans, soya beans, edamame, cannellini beans, mung beans, green peas, great northern beans, butter beans, navy beans and lentils.
Each will be discussed in more details below, including substitute ratios and the recipes they work best in.
Best chickpea substitute ideas
Black beans
Black beans can easily replace chickpeas in a recipe. Black beans also called turtle beans or frijoles negros have a mild and creamy taste with a soft, meaty texture.
These beans work well in tacos, soups, casseroles and salads.
Use a 1:1 ratio of chickpeas to black beans in your dish.
Soya beans
If you have soya beans on hand, then these can be used in place of chickpeas as well.
Soya beans can be described as having a grassy, beany, slightly sweet and slightly nutty flavor.
Use soya beans to replace chick peas in falafels, salads and soups.
Use a 1:1 ratio of soya beans for chick peas in your recipe.
Edamame
Edamame is another way to replace chickpeas in a recipe. Edamame is immature soya beans and has a flavor that can be considered mild, buttery, sweet, and nutty.
Use edamame to replace chickpeas in hummus, stir-fries, dips, stews, soups, and more.
Use a 1:1 ratio of edamame for chickpeas in your recipe.
Cannellini beans
Cannellini beans are another great alternative for chickpeas. Cannellini beans also called white kidney beans have a mild, nutty, earthy flavor and a fluffy texture when cooked.
Use cannellini beans to replace chickpeas in casseroles, dips, salads, stews, and more.
Use a 1:1 ratio of cannellini beans to chickpeas in your dish.
Mung beans
Mung beans can also be used as an alternative to chickpeas. Mung beans also called green gram are very popular in Asian cuisine.
These little beans have a flavor that is nutty and slightly sweet and reminiscent of potatoes, like chickpeas.
Green peas
Green peas make another great chickpea substitute. Green peas also known as garden peas come either shelled, in their pods, or frozen, canned, or dried.
Green peas are part of the legume family which includes chickpeas, beans, and lentils. They are crunchy and sweet and work well in soups, pasta, salads, purees, and more.
Great northern beans
Great northern beans also known as “large white” beans can also be used as a substitute for chickpeas. These beans have a light nutty flavor with a slightly grainy texture.
Like chickpeas, great Northern beans can hold their shape when cooked, and they’re great at absorbing the flavors around them as well.
Use great Northern beans in soups, broths, stews, salads, and even chilis.
Butter beans
Butter beans can be used as a replacement for chickpeas too. These beans are more buttery and creamy than chickpeas, but they can be used in place of chick peas in certain soups, chicken stews, vegetable stews, casseroles, and even hummus.
Navy beans
If you have navy beans on hand you can also use these as an alternative to chickpeas. Navy beans are small whitish-cream-colored beans with a mild, nutty flavor and velvety texture.
While navy beans are not like chickpeas, they can be used as a replacement in recipes like stews, soups, chili, and even bean burgers.
Brown lentils
If you have brown lentils on hand, these can also be used as a chickpea substitute. Brown lentils have a mild, deeply earthy, nutty flavor. Lentils work well in soups and salads to replace chickpeas.
Final thoughts
These are the 10 best ways to substitute for chickpeas in most recipes. It should be noted that none of these ingredients are an exact match for chickpeas, but, they all have some similarities that can work in many dishes that call for chickpeas.
So, if you’re making a recipe that needs chick peas and you are out, is is very likely that you can find one of those in your kitchen!
