Chickpeas

What are they?

Chickpeas are garbanzo beans, the round, beige legume commonly used in Mediterranean and Indian cooking.

They’re one of the most versatile beans you can keep around, working just as well in a salad as they do mashed, blended, stewed, or roasted.

Canned chickpeas are already cooked and weeknight-ready; dried give you more control over texture

Fun fact: Because of its high protein content, the liquid in canned chickpeas (known as aquafaba) can stand in for egg whites; use it to emulsify vegan dressings and mayo, or shake it into cocktails as a foamer.

What’s their flavor?

Taste & aroma: Mild, nutty, slightly earthy

Texture: Creamy inside with a firm skin; can be soft and brothy or crisped and crunchy

Human: These days they are a global staple, showing up in hummus, falafel, chana masala, Spanish stews, and even in Mexican home cooking.

Why should you buy some?

Garbanzo beans are a quiet pantry MVP: cheap, filling, shelf-stable, and extremely flexible.

Their mild nature takes on flavors easily, making them ideal for spice-forward cuisines
You can bulk up dishes easily; mix in a can for extra protein in salads, bowls, wraps, or soups.
Roast them for crunch, mash them for spreads, or simmer them into brothy dishes

Buying tip: Choose low-sodium canned beans so you can season properly. Dried chickpeas are even cheaper and freeze well once cooked. If cooking from dried, older beans may never fully soften, so make sure to use them before they go stale.

What can you make with them?

Hummus (classic, herby, or blended with roasted vegetables)
Crispy roasted chickpeas for salads, grain bowls, or snacks
Chickpea salad (tuna-style, with mayo or vinaigrette)
Simmered into curries, stews, or pozole-style soups (as a hominy substitute)
Smashed onto toast with olive oil, lemon, and herbs

FRAMEWORK OF THE WEEK ✅

High protein salads

Chickpeas really are a great way to bulk up salads, especially when paired with other lean proteins.

This blackened chicken salad (pictured above) is loaded with chickpeas, vegetables, and a green goddess dressing.

The high protein salad template is basically just:

Leafy greens
Legumes (like chickpeas) + lean proteins
Cooked or raw vegetables
Dressing + a few creamy or crunchy toppings

For more examples of high-protein salads, check out our app, which has a full framework guide and extra recipes:

Get the full framework

READER Q&A 🧠

Understanding yeast types

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Question: “How to know when to use the right yeast type? Sometimes recipes call for instant yeast vs active dry yeast, and other times it’s not specified. Are they different? Help.” - Morgan M.

Answer: Short version: you can almost always swap them 1:1.

Active dry yeast (ADY) and instant yeast are actually the same species, just packaged in slightly different forms.

Active dry yeast has larger granules and traditionally needed to be dissolved (“bloomed”) in warm water first.
Instant yeast is milled finer, wakes up faster, and can be mixed directly into flour (no blooming required).

Instant yeast was developed as a more stable, convenient upgrade. It’s generally more reliable for home cooks, stores well in the pantry (and even longer in the fridge/freezer), and behaves consistently across recipes.

It’s much easier to just keep a few packets of instant yeast around than trying to keep a jar of ADY alive in your fridge.

Performance-wise, the difference is minor in most home baking. If a recipe doesn’t specify, instant yeast is the easiest default.

The bigger picture: Other variables in breadmaking, like time, temperature, and hydration, probably matter more, not which dry yeast you grabbed. So if a recipe specifies one or the other, don’t stress and just use what you have on hand.