30 simple canned chickpea recipes

Or less…Alright, one of these simple canned chickpea recipes actually takes longer. But overall, they’re all versatile, fast and jus notable. On the list, we’ve got one-pan meals, fresh chickpea salads, a few comforting chickpea soups and even a vegan chickpea dessert. Plus some appetizers and sides using canned garbanzo beans!

Healthy And Simple Chickpea Recipes

Didn’t want to point it out, but there’s a competition on this blog: lentils vs. chickpeas. And it turns out, chickpeas win. We've been making so many healthy recipes with garbanzo beans, it’s insane. Probably because we always have a few cans of chickpeas around. Finish one, buy three. That’s the squirrel’s motto.

Chickpeas are just so simple to use, so filling in Mediterranean recipes, spicy dishes, soups, salads…anywhere.

Today we wanted to celebrate the chickpeas win, by creating a little collection of some of our favorite hearty recipes using canned chickpeas.

We usually use canned chickpeas when we cook, because convenience, but you can totally use dried chickpeas that you’ve soaked and cooked yourself for all of these recipes below.

So if you’ve ever wondered what to do with cooked or canned chickpeas, from now on, this is the place you come to when you need ideas.

Simple one-pan Chickpea Recipes

We’re starting with some tasty dinner ideas that you can make in no time with minimal cleanup. These plant-based meals might be fast, but they’re going to win you over with their wonderful flavors!

1. 15-Minute Mediterranean Chickpea Skillet. This healthy vegan dinner is so fast and so good! Chop up some bell pepper, zucchini, add garlic and tomato to your canned chickpeas and you’re halfway there.

2. Vegan Chickpea Quesadillas. Oh, this old thing? It’s only one of our favorite fast meals to make with chickpeas. Absolutely love it with our garlicky “guacamole” too.

3. 20-Minute Chickpea Soup Recipe. A warming vegan soup that you can make with few ingredients in 20 minutes on a cold day? Yes, we want it.

4. One-Pan Chickpeas with Mixed Vegetables. Broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic all made it into this tasty and fast chickpea skillet recipe.

5. One-Pan Mediterranean Chickpeas. Canned chickpeas, feta cheese, olives and garlic are just some of the ingredients in this healthy vegetarian dinner.

6. 15-Minute Spicy Chickpea Skillet. Chickpeas, green beans and spinach all come together to make this fast high-protein vegan recipe. It’s spicy, it’s flavorful and it’s so tasty.

7. Spiced Chickpea and Broccoli Soup. If you need to use up some broccoli and have a can of garbanzo beans, try this one! It’s full of healthy things and is comforting.

Vegan Wrap Recipes With Chickpeas

There’s a special place in our heart for wraps! What can we say, we just love our food wrapped in some flat bread, sue us. Therefore in this collection of chickpea recipes we're dedicating an entire section for vegan wraps made with garbanzo beans. They’re fast and simple to make, tasty and filling!

8. Mediterranean Chickpea Wraps. If making falafel for dinner is too much work for you as well, make these vegan Mediterranean chickpea wraps! They’re filled with hummus, chickpeas, a fresh salad and are so flavorful and simple and fast!

9. Curried Chickpea Lettuce Wraps. These curried chickpea wraps are light, yet full of flavor. Pair with some mashed avocado or garlicky tahini sauce for a fast and simple plant-based dinner.

10. Lazy Chickpea Wraps. If you’ve already made the 15-minite spicy chickpea skillet recipe, why not wrap it in a tortilla with some avocado sauce and extra vegetables? It will take it over the top!

11. Simple Vegan Mashed Avocado Chickpea Wraps. Next on our list of simple chickpea recipes are these vegan chickpea wraps. They’re SO satisfying! Like, seriously satisfying and you have to try them.

12. Notable Hummus Veggie Wraps. Pretty sure you’ll be amazed with this simple recipe: hummus, zucchini garlic sauce, some chickpeas and a salad. Simple, yet tasty!

Chickpea Power Bowl Recipes

One of our absolute favorite ways to use canned chickpeas is to make scrumptious power bowls like the ones below. And, being a huge fan of the Mediterranean diet, these are usually Mediterranean-inspired and solid for the warmer months when tomatoes and cucumbers are in season.

13. 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl. The star of the show…this Mediterranean bowl is slowly getting pretty full of itself, everybody loves it and wants to take it home…Cannot blame you, it’s pretty notable with that hummus, tzatziki and salad.

14. No Cook Healthy Lunch Bowls. This is a recipe you can whip up with chickpeas, artichokes, vegetables and hummus for lunch when you don’t know what to eat and you’ll be surprised at how good it is!

15. Spicy Mediterranean Chickpea Lunch Bowls. We'd say, this is one of our favorite lunches ever. 10/10. With avocado, hummus, herbed chickpeas, a fresh salad. This toasted chickpea recipe is spicy, healthy, flavorful, so fast, so simple and filling.

16. Roasted Vegetable Healthy Lunch Bowls. Adding some roasted vegetables can seriously elevate a meal. Pair with fresh vegetables, herbs and sprinkle garlicky cashew sauce all over to make these flavorful chickpea bowls.

Healthy Chickpea Salad Recipes

Now we’re coming to one of our favorite fast ways to use canned garbanzo beans – in chickpea salads. Not only are the chickpea recipes in this section fast and simple, but they’re also incredibly healthy! So if you’re a fan of salads, here are some ideas you’ll want to make again and again and again.

17. Tomato Basil Chickpea Salad. This salad is solid for summer when you have tons of sweet and juicy tomatoes. Basil, onions, toasted sesame seeds and even a carrot also make it into this chickpea salad recipe. It’s a surprising combination that works perfectly.

18. Avocado Feta and Chickpea Salad. Fresh, filling, savory and just satisfying! This salad recipe with chickpeas, avocado and feta needs no dressing and is so refreshing for lunch!

19. Chickpea Sandwich Salad. This vegan sandwich salad with chickpeas has a surprising ingredient, which is a peach, sorry for the spoiler, but it tastes so good in there.

20. Healthy Tomato, Spinach Chickpea Salad. This is such a healthy, vibrant and tasty tomato chickpea salad! It’s a great side dish, but also a simple light lunch idea for summer.

21. Tomato Chickpea Salad, The Third. Yep, we made another one with chickpeas and tomatoes. Basil, cucumber, bell pepper and some scallions all make it into this healthy Mediterranean summer recipe.

22. Mashed Chickpea Salad. You will love this mashed chickpea salad on some toasted bread, or the lighter version: in a lettuce wrap.

23. Tomato Garlic Chickpea Salad…and arugula, fresh mint, onions and peppers…this salad is filling, fresh and satisfying.

24. Spiced Chickpea And Shrimp Salad. For a more filling main dish salad, add in some extra protein – spicy shrimp is a great choice here!

Fast Chickpea Recipes

Next in our collection of simple satisfying canned chickpea recipes, we reserved a special place for some meals you can make in 5-10 minutes. Because sometimes, that’s all the time we’ve got for cooking.

25. Mashed Chickpea Bruschetta.

These mashed chickpeas are great on some toasted bread! And you don’t actually need to mash them, just put everything into a food processor, pulse and it’s ready. The recipe is great for a snack, lunch or even dinner if you add some salad on the side. Recipe here.

26. 5-Minute Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce. You can make these chickpeas in no time with some tomatoes or tomato paste, garlic, olive oil and some herbs. Serve on some toasted bread for a fast and simple meal.

27. Simple Hummus Recipe. Ah, yes, you can also make hummus using garbanzo beans, we forgot.

28. 10-Minute Chickpea Scramble Lettuce Wraps. If you thought tofu and eggs were the only two things you can scramble, you need to try this chickpea recipe! It’s better.

29. Simple Spinach Chickpea Cakes. We love these patties! They’re a great vegetarian dinner when served with some salad, hummus and a garlicky sauce!

30. 5-Minute Spicy Chickpeas.

Chickpea Dessert Recipes

Lastly, make room for dessert. Yes, you read that right, there are plenty of tasty chickpea recipes that you can have for dessert. This is just one of them.

31. Healthy Peanut Butter Chickpea Blondies that you need to try! You are going to love these peanut butter blondies and won’t even know there are chickpeas in the recipe. They’re fudgy and peanut-buttery.

Add Chickpeas To Your Daily Diet

As you can see adding chickpeas to your diet can be simple and satisfying! Garbanzo beans are a high-fiber high-protein food and that means that they’re great to keep you full for longer periods of time. They also have a low glycemic index, are rich in vitamins, minerals and have a moderate amount of calories.