While chickpea flour is an ingredient traditionally used in many Indian cuisines, it has gone on to become incredibly popular in many other countries around the world due to its very unique earthy and nutty taste and texture that can help to elevate the flavor of many different types of foods, especially baked goods which it is most commonly used for.
Since it is also packed full of healthy nutrients along with being much lower in carbs and calories than regular wheat flour, chickpea flour is one of the best alternatives you can use, so with that being said, here are 15 delicious chickpea flour recipes that you can make for yourself today.
15 Best Chickpea Flour Recipes
1. Chickpea Crust Pizza
If you’re a fan of thin-crusted pizza which has a mild amount of crunchiness to its texture, you’re going to love chickpea crust pizza. It is naturally grain-free, requires no yeast, and can be heated up on the stove in a matter of minutes.
If you want to add an extra layer of crunch to this pizza, you can even throw it in the oven towards the end of its cooking cycle, making for an easy-to-make pizza that makes full use of the nutty texture and aroma of chickpea flour.
2. Chickpea Flour Banana Bread
While many people love banana bread for how sweet and moist it is, along with the many nutritional benefits that come with eating it, it can be easy to make it a little too soft to the point where it becomes a bit too easy to tear apart and the sweet flavors become far less recognizable.
Chickpea flour is the perfect antidote to this issue since it keeps the bread fairly crunchy while adding to the fruity taste that makes banana bread so beloved, and if you want to add even more crunchiness, you can even throw some chocolate chips into the mix.
3. Indian Lentil Meatballs
If you’ve never had the pleasure of trying some Indian lentil meatballs before, they are not only bursting with a spicy and vibrant flavor thanks to the red lentils and curry powder that forms their core, but they are also very nutritious and vegan friendly, making them a great alternative to regular meatballs which contain high amounts of saturated fat.
The chickpea flour in this recipe helps to add a slightly more earthy and natural taste to the meatballs while also making them slightly firmer in their texture.
4. Chickpea Omelet
When it comes to vegan breakfast options, you can’t get much better than a chickpea omelet which is completely egg-free and does away with all the saturated fats.
Chickpea is perfect for making the base of an omelet since it manages to make it both dense and fluffy, making it a sheer joy to bite into.
Be sure to sprinkle a dash of black salt over the omelet if you want to try and imitate the egg flavor that makes omelets so tasty.
5. Vegan Chickpea Chicken Wings
A huge reason many people will use chickpea as their batter of choice is because of how it strikes the perfect balance between being soft enough to bite into while still having enough firmness to make each bite crunchy, and if you’re a fan of wings, you’ll be happy to know that it works incredibly well as a high-protein and gluten-free batter for these fan-favorite snacks.
This recipe even mixes the chickpea flour with plant-based milk to make the batter that much more creamy while the extra spices help to keep the wings hot and delicious.
6. Chickpea Flour Pancakes
Chickpea pancakes are one of the healthiest light snacks you can make, especially when you spread a layer of crunchy veggies across the top of the nutty chickpea base, and since they can be made in as little as 10 minutes, their perfect for whipping up when you’re on a break from work, or as a satisfying protein-filled breakfast snack to start your day off right.
7. Chickpea Dumplings In Curried Tomato Sauce
This recipe puts a chickpea spin on the “dharan ji kadhi” which is a traditional Indian dish that covers soft and chewy dumplings in a thick and slightly spicy tomato sauce which is made from a mixture of red onions, jalapeno peppers (see also “Best Jalapeno Recipes“), curry powder, a few other ingredients that make this a vibrant treat that can be made in virtually no time at all.
The chickpea dumplings have a slightly more solid texture than the regular dumplings which are often used in this recipe, however, the chiles and greens help to give it a very pleasant and tasteful aroma that is hard to resist once you taste it for the first time.
8. Noodle Salad With Tofu
Since it is often used as a form of batter or as a base for certain foods, it can initially seem a little strange to add chickpea flour to a salad, however, this recipe simply uses it as a coating over the delicious and incredibly nutritious medley of ingredients that you can find at the core of each bowl.
The sour taste of the tofu really steals the show in this recipe, although it never overpowers the rest of the ingredients since the rice noodles, scallions, and peppers all help to even out the overall flavor of this hearty dish.
9. Chickpea Flour Tortillas
With just 2 cups of chickpea flour, some sea salt, a few cups of water, and a little bit of arrowroot starch, you can make a much healthier and even tastier alternative to regular tortillas which are perfect as a wheat flour substitute when you want to leave any gluten out of your cooking.
They are just as soft as the real thing while still being firm enough so that they won’t tear apart too easily, which can always be a worry if you’re planning to stack them full of tasty pieces of meat and other ingredients.
10. Crispy Chickpea Pakoras
Pakoras are a popular street food in many parts of South Asia and are essentially vegetables that are deep-fried to give them an incredibly crunchy texture with a core that is a little softer, but that can also be fairly firm depending on the type of veggies you use.
Many people actually prefer to use chickpea flour than any other batter since it lends this popular snack a much lighter and more refreshing flavor that makes for the perfect mid-week treat, and the best part is they can be made in just a handful of minutes.
11. Salted Chickpea Chips
If you’re prone to snacking on a few chips as a quick way to satisfy some late-evening cravings, why not leave the saturated fats behind and make some chips of your own using chickpea flour instead?
Not only is it much healthier, but the flour adds just about the same amount of crunch as if the chips were fried, making for the perfect healthy substitute.
12. Chickpea Gravy
While this recipe says that it uses garbanzo flour, this is simply another way of saying chickpea flour, and when the flour is mixed with as many herbs and vegetables as are included in this recipe, the gravy it creates is just as juicy and thick as you would expect, while also tasting a little more earthy in its flavor, which certainly isn’t a bad thing.
13. Kadhi
Kadhi is a thick type of soup that is very popular in North India and has also started growing in popularity in many other parts of the world, and while it is most beloved for the sour and nutty flavor that it gives off thanks to the skinned black chickpeas and peppercorns used in many recipes, using chickpea flour as part of the broth makes the flavors pop even more.
14. Chickpea Flour Popovers
If you’ve ever prepared popovers before, all you need to do is switch out the wheat flour for chickpea flour and you’ll have popovers that are a little more savory in their taste and even crunchier than usual.
Top these delightful bite-size snacks with some fresh fruit or even a little bit of jam if you’re enjoying them for breakfast.
15. French Chickpea Fries
Also known as Panisse in the South of France, these small and delightful fries are made out of a combination of chickpea flour, water, and a little hint of butter to even out the crunchiness of their exterior, and since they require barely any flour to make, you can easily use any leftovers you may have.
Summary
Next time you’ve got some chickpea flour and aren’t sure how to use it, try whipping up these recipes that are all delicious and can be made in just a few minutes.
