canned Chickpeas: Make it Part of pantry stapes

Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. Chickpeas are a nutrient-dense, plant-based protein and gluten - free food. They are high in protein, folate, potassium and fiber. A half cup of canned beans provides 6 grams of protein. They come dried or in cans. If you use dried chickpeas, they need to be washed, soaked and cooked. Canned chickpeas are already cooked and can be used as is. Canned chickpeas are convenient and are a good pantry staple. The amount of sodium in canned beans varies among different brands. Some cans have 400-600 milligrams of sodium per ½ cup of chickpeas. So, if you are watching your salt intake, it is important to buy canned chickpeas with no added salt or the least amount of sodium as possible. Rinsing canned chickpeas under cold water is another way to help reduce the salt intake. 

Canned chickpeas can be used as whole beans in soups, salads, or stews. Grind them in a food processor to make a paste for meatless burger patties or meatballs. They can be blended for dips and sauces. You can also use canned chickpeas to make sweet treats such as cookies, brownies, cakes or quick breads. Chickpeas take on different flavors easily because of their mild flavor. This is a great product to use in various cuisines such as American, Mediterranean, Latin-American, or Asian.

Our family has started eating more meatless meals. So, I decided to get creative using canned chickpeas, and I am excited to share these recipes with you. You can easily modify these recipes with the ingredients you already have on hand to make them your own. 

If you like crunchy snacks, you will love my crunchy roasted chickpeas. This is a simple four-ingredient recipe. To make the chickpeas crunchy, it is important to pat them dry as much as possible, and to remove the outer layer of chickpea skins before roasting them in the oven. By removing the skin, the extra moisture from inside the chickpeas can easily be dried out when roasting them in the oven. The thought of removing chickpea skins maybe daunting; however, it is simple and easy. To remove the skins, the first step is to toss the chickpeas in a colander after rinsing them with cold water. You will notice some skins will start to come off. After that, line a baking sheet with paper towels and place the washed chickpeas on top of the paper towels. Place another layer of paper towel on top of the chickpeas and gently roll the chickpeas back and forth. The rolling motion will allow more skins to come off the chickpeas. You can also pick up a chickpea and rub it in between your thumb and index finger to take off the skin. Either way, the skins will come off easily and quickly. Discard the skins. Do this while you are waiting for the oven to preheat.

To make my chickpeas crunchy, first, roast them plain in the oven for 20 minutes, then take them out and coat with seasonings. I use oil, mixed seasoning powders and salt. You can customize your own flavors such as garlic or onion powder or dried spices. After you season the chickpeas, place them back onto the baking sheet and bake for another 12 minutes. If you bake them 8-10 minutes, the chickpeas will be crispy outside and chewy inside. If you want a crispy and crunchy texture throughout the chickpeas, baking them for 12 minutes is a must. Let them cool completely before eating. Did you know they make great croutons as well?! This is a definitely a healthy, crunchy and high protein snack for the whole family.

If you want a pasta dish that is creamy and nutritious, try my creamy pesto pasta, another four-ingredient recipe. It is high in protein and fiber. The secret to make this creamy pasta dish is to remove the chickpea skins and to puree the chickpeas with aquafaba (the liquid inside the canned chickpeas). For this recipe, the skins can be removed by just tossing the chickpeas in a colander while rinsing them. There is no need to worry if these chickpeas break apart during the toss since we will be pureeing them in a food processor. Discard the skins. The pesto sauce and the parmesan cheese you use will provide lots of flavor and saltiness so there is no need to add additional salt. You can use any type of pasta you like even though this recipe calls for bow tie pasta. Serve this pasta as a side dish. You can add more vegetables to this recipe to increase your vegetable intake. Mushrooms, spinach, asparagus or bell pepper will go well with this dish. 

If you are looking for a dessert with a good amount of protein, you will love my high protein vanilla cake. This cake is fluffy, soft and has about 7 grams of protein per serving. So, not only can you eat this as a healthy dessert, you can also eat it as your healthy breakfast! You can make a vegan and fat-free whipped topping using aquafaba from the can to go with the cake. My cake recipe also gives instructions on making this whipped topping. Give it a try, you will be amazed!

I like fluffy and light cakes. I know cake flour is the best for making that type of cake. However, I wanted another option, because I did not want to buy and store another item in my kitchen pantry. From my research, adding corn starch to all-purpose flour and sifting them together is a way to mimic cake flour. I found if I sift the flour mixture less than four times, my cake would come out dense. So, sifting the flour mixture four times is a must. Another key ingredient to make my cake fluffy is to add whipped cream and gently fold it into the cake batter. This makes a big difference with the cake texture.

Instead of buying whipped cream, I made my own aquafaba vegan, fat - free whipped cream. This may sound strange, but it works and tastes great. For me, using ¾ cup of aquafaba whipped cream in this cake recipe is just right. Too little or too much whipped cream will make the cake very dense (not enough lift) or soggy (too much liquid) respectively. You can add other flavors to this cake mix such as cinnamon, nutmeg or even chocolate chips. The applesauce in this recipe provides moisture to the cake, and also acts as a partial fat substitute. If you use only applesauce without any fat, the cake will come out dry (yes, I tried). Keep in mind that the foam from the aquafaba whipped cream will get deflated after two hours. So, I would not use it as a whipped cream frosting on the whole cake if you can’t finish the cake within an hour. When you serve the cake, I recommend putting the whipped cream on the side or on top of each slice of the cake. The good news is that you can re-whip the aquafaba foam after it is deflated. Use your hand mixer and mix on medium high for a few minutes, and it will become whipped cream again. I re-whipped the same batch of deflated aquafaba whipped cream three times. Each time the whipped cream came back to its original shape and taste. Definitely no food waste!

 I hope you will give these recipes a try, and let me know which one is your favorite.

Happy Eating