Soups, Stews and Curries To Make With That Forgotten Can of Chickpeas

Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, as they are sometimes called) are one of the most versatile beans, used in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines. Their flavor is pretty mild, somewhat earthy, and excessively versatile.

But not all cans are the same, so we conducted some testing in the Milk Street office to determine which brand of canned chickpeas was our favorite, and learned that we prefer canned chickpeas that are creamy and soft, but not mushy. They should blend up smoothly, but also hold their shape in a soup. A chickpea can be many things, and standup to many flavors. Given some inspiration, it might become the easiest ingredient in your pantry to use up.

Boost your broth

Soups are one of the first meals that come to my mind when using up an old can of beans, and we have plenty to choose from that contain chickpeas. Blended chickpeas can give a soup body, like in our Chickpea and Garlic Soup with Cumin-Spiced Butter.

Another favorite is this Persian Chicken, Chickpea and Yogurt Soup with Toasted Orzo. I love it for its simplicity and short ingredient list— plus, it’s slow cooker-friendly.

We have two different Italian chickpea soups that embody what we love about Italian cuisine—namely, that it’s affordable, hearty, and requires few ingredients. The Tuscan Tomato-Pancetta Chickpea Stew utilizes the starchy liquid in the can of chickpeas to provide even more body to the soup, a technique we often apply to our bean soups recipes. This Tuscan Chickpea and Pasta Soup, or Striscia coi Ceci as it is known in Italy, translates as “strips with chickpeas” because it’s made with broken bits of pasta.

Our Chickpea, Chorizo and Spinach Soup is essentially a dump-and-stir soup with minimal steps and a short ingredient list. Spanish dry-cured chorizo infuses the broth with smokey, garlicky flavor and paprika that gives the soup a red hue.

Another soup with a vibrant, orange-red broth is our Pasta e Ceci. This soup-stew hybrid boasts loads of chickpeas, greens and pasta in a tomatoey broth.

We nicknamed our Garlic and Cilantro Soup with Chickpeas (Açorda Alentejana) “pesto soup” because it starts with a puree of cilantro, jalapeño, and parmesan. This soup is equal parts bean-y, cheesy and broth-y. We garnish it with homemade croutons for added crunch, and soft cooked eggs for even more richness and body. It takes humble ingredients such as canned chickpeas, bread and eggs and turns them into a deeply satisfying and comforting bowl.

We have a few options for meatier, chickpea soups like our Turkish Lamb and Bulgur Meatball Soup, which includes a recipe for a zippy mint oil for drizzling on top. The Harissa-Spiced Beef and Pasta Soup (Libyan Shorba) has boneless short ribs and orzo pasta to give it tons of body. And Turkish-Style Chicken Soup with Yogurt, Chickpeas and Bulgur is our take on Turkish wedding soup and it’s both light and satisfying, using both chickpeas and bulgur for substance and texture.

Stews from around the globe

Stewing chickpeas is a common method of preparation in many parts of the world and we have traveled to learn about several of them. This Curried Eggplant and Chickpea Stew is our version of Indian chole baigan, an eggplant and chickpea curry. We use loads of tomato paste in ours to build flavor quickly.

Stewed Spinach and Chickpeas with Lemon are a Levantine-style, fully vegetarian dish with loads of alliums. Of if you prefer a meatier entree, try our Mochitlán-Style Beef Stew with Red Chilies and Chickpea. It’s inspired by huacaxtoro, a Mochitlán stew made for a yearly festival celebration of the town’s patron saint. It’s typically made with slow cooked bull meat, but our version uses chuck roast and comes together quickly in a pressure cooker.

We also have a Moroccan Beef, Tomato and Chickpea Stew (Harira) that is traditionally served during Ramadan as a way to break the fast. If you’d prefer fish, try the Moroccan-Spiced Fish with Chickpeas. It’s inspired by chraime, a Moroccan Sephardic stew of fish with a spiced tomato sauce.

“Tagine” refers to a shallow Moroccan earthenware pot with a conical lid, but also the stew that is cooked in that pot. Our Cauliflower and Chickpea Tagine can be made in a dutch oven and contains ras el hanout, a complex Moroccan blend of warm spices. If you can’t source ras el hanout, we suggest a substitution of cumin with some cinnamon.

Classic curries you may not have heard of

Chickpeas are an affordable, vegetarian protein that make up the bulk of many curry dishes, like our Chickpea and Tomato Curry, which is inspired by chana masala. We learned to make Coconut Curried Chickpeas and Potatoes from London-based food writer Meeha Sohda. This dish builds richness and depth of flavor quickly from canned coconut milk and other smart pantry ingredients. Markut lime leaves and Sambal oelek, an Indonesian chili paste, bring big, bright flavors. The entire recipe comes together in under 45 minutes.

The Afghan-Style Chickpea and Tomato Curry utilizes vinegar at the end of cooking to brighten and lift the earthy flavors of the canned chickpeas. Our Hot-and-Sour Curried Chickpeas are inspired by khatte chole, a popular Indian street food. This dish is commonly made with Amchoor, a dried green mango powder that adds tang, but our version uses a quick-pickled mix of chopped onion and jalapeño to bring the sour.

If you want to incorporate more veg in with your chickpeas, we have a Chickpea and Carrot Curry that swaps out the potatoes in a traditional Indian curry (chana masala aloo) for carrots. The pops of orange color add sweetness, but feel free to stick with tradition and use potatoes, or perhaps opt for a combination of both.

While most curry dishes with chickpeas are vegetarian friendly, we do have an option that includes ground meat. The Ground Beef and Chickpea Curry, or keema chole, can be made with beef or lamb and comes together in under an hour. Serve it alongside warm flatbread and garnish with plain yogurt and sliced jalapeños.

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Willow Montana

Willow Montana is the Production Manager of Digital Media at Milk Street. Willow spends their days coordinating and planning video shoots, managing schedules and overseeing the execution of digital projects. They studied Baking and Pastry Arts at Johnson and Wales University and worked in restaurants while putting themself through six more years of college. They hold a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in English Literature and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Publishing and Writing. Willow is a firm believer in living a slow, quiet life and making things by hand. When they aren’t following the developers around with a camera at the Milk Street office, they may be found at home shaping loaves of sourdough, caring for dozens of houseplants and, occasionally, out in the wild at a punk rock show.