Chickpea flour, also know as garbanzo flour, gram flour or besan is simply a flour made from ground dried chickpeas. It’s one of my favourite store cupboard essentials and something I use very regularly. Whenever I post a picture on Instagram and mention chickpea flour I find I get a lot of questions about how to use it so hopefully this “All About Chickpea Flour” post will be helpful for those of you new to the ingredient and perhaps give a few more recipe ideas to those already familiar with it. My love affair with chickpea flour began a few years ago when I first tried “socca”, a traditional French flatbread recipe. Since then, I’ve discovered its versatility. It’s high protein, gluten-free and supposed to be more digestible than other legume flours (like soy flour), so suitable for pretty much everyone. 
Pesto-Ricotta Tofu Omelettes with Cherry Tomatoes
It’s widely available these days, in Indian, Italian and French stores as well as health food stores and even some supermarkets. I tend to buy the Dove’s Farm brand as I can buy it locally but you can also make your own! I haven’t tried doing so yet as it is pretty cheap to just buy the flour readymade but if you’re into making things from scratch all you need is a high-powered blender, spice blender or food processor, and dried chickpeas. Process/blend on high for a few minutes then sift the fine flour to remove any unground chickpea pieces. This is definitely not an exhausted list as there are so many ways to use chickpea flour and I’m discovering more all the time.
Chickpea Flour Veggie Scramble
1. Vegan Omelettes and Scrambles I add chickpea flour to tofu omelettes to make them a little sturdier and easier to flip. You can also make vegan omelettes exclusively with chickpea flour like this one from the Fat Free Vegan. Newer to me, but even easier to make is the chickpea flour scramble which is essentially the same batter as for a chickpea flour omelette but scrambled up in a pan with any vegetables you like thrown in the mix. I’ve made a few variations on this including Mexican and Mediterranean style scrambles. Here’s a base recipe you can adjust to your tastes and what you have to hand.
2. Veggie Burgers. It works wonderfully as a gluten-free/ grain-free binder for veggie burgers. Just add a few tablespoons to your mix of beans, grains, veggies, etc.
Kidney Bean, Sweet Potato & Quinoa Patties
Sweet Potato, Red Lentil & Sesame Patties
3. Quiche. I’ve made a few variations of this vegan and soy-frree Chickpea-Veggie Quiche before and recently tried this Chickpea-Cauliflower Crustless Quiche (pictured below) which turned out great.
Chickpea-Cauliflower Crustless Quiche
4. Pakora and Bhaji. Chickpea flour is used a lot in Indian cooking, often as a batter for pakora and bhaji. I’m a little wary of deep-frying so these Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras from Tess Challis’s “Radiant Health, Inner Wealth” via the taste space, were perfect for me.
5. Indian desserts. Chickpea flour isn’t just for savoury dishes. Try these vegan Besan Ladoo (sweet chickpea flour balls with cashews and raisins) from Vegan Richa.
5. Crackers. One of the easiest options for using chickpea flour as you don’t have to worry about raising agents or how “rustic” they look. When cooked, chickpea flour is pretty mild in taste so you can play around with different cracker flavours and add-ins.
Chunky Black Bean Dip and veggies on Simple Chickpea Flour Flatbreads
6. Socca/Savoury Pancakes. I mentioned that I discovered chickpea flour when making socca. This Italian flatbread is one of those tasty recipes which goes well with so many things. You can adjust the amount of water to make it thinner or thicker to your liking. Eat it all on its own, with various dips, use it for scooping up curries and wrapping around fillings or even for a gluten-free pizza base. This is the basic “recipe” I use. It can be made as a large pancake or several small ones.
- 1/2 C Chickpea Flour
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Pinch of chili flakes
- Pepper
- 1/2 C Water
- (Fresh herbs, other spices, etc.)
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Whisk in the water until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour desired amount of batter onto a lightly oiled pan over medium heat and cook until dry around the edges. Flip and cook through.
- Cook time will vary depending on the size of your flatbreads/pancakes
- Warning: RAW chickpea flour tastes awful so I don't advise taste-tasting your batter!
Simple Chickpea Flour Pancake topped with Roasted Peppers, Red Onions & Dukkah
7. Gluten-free Baking. Chickpea flour is often one of the flours in commercial all-purpose gluten-free flour mixes and you can combine it with your own favourite flours to make your own mix too. A good blog to check out for chickpea flour breads is The Edible Perspective. A couple of Ashley’s chickpea flour recipes I’ve made and enjoyed are the hearty Cinnamon-Coconut Raisin Bake and Socca Bake. These Chocolate Cupcakes also look incredible and are made entirely from chickpea flour!
8. Pancakes. You can make sweet pancakes with chickpea flour as well as savoury ones. I just use the same recipe as above, omitting the spices, using non-dairy milk instead of water and normally adding a little vanilla, cinnamon and sweetener. You can also simply combine chickpea flour with another flour for a higher-protein pancake, such as in this recipe from Choosing Raw.
9. Soup. This Leek and Chickpea soup uses chickpea flour to thicken it as well as whole cooked chickpeas.
10. Hummus! When you have no chickpeas cooked nor even a lonely can hanging out in your cupboards you can still get your hummus fix with a hummus made from chickpea flour instead of whole chickpeas.
Have you tried any of these ideas? How do you like to use Chickpea flour? If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, Please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere: I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter!
what a great list of chickpea uses! all of your recipes look delicious. i love chickpea flour, too!
Such a great ingredient. It’s come to the rescue on many occasions when I need a fast, healthy meal.
Thank you so much for this post, it’s *awesome*! I’ve only ever used chickpea flour to make pizza bases (which I love), so I’m excited to try out some of your other ideas, especially as I’m trying to up my protein a little. Thanks again.
Great to hear Kim. There’s 10-12 g of protein in just half a cup of chickpea flour so it’s definitely a good ingredient to use if you’re looking to up your protein. A chickpea flour scramble is one of my go-to high protein meals 😀
You’ve hit on all of our favourite uses for chickpea flour. I am looking into muffins, too, so we’ll wee how that experiment goes.
Oooooh muffins. Hoping the experiment turns out well. I’ll be looking out for them!
This is a great round up! I need to make socca! Thanks for linking me
Thanks Jo. I used chickpea flour even more when doing the anti-candida diet. High protein, gluten and grain free and filling!
Thanks for this post Emma
I love chickpea flour omelettes and they are so quick to make! I made a cake once using chickpea flour and made the mistake of trying the batter! I was worried about how it would turn out but it is amazing how cooking it changes the flavour. I planned to make a black bean salsa this week and was not sure what to have it with. I now know! I will be making these flatbreads 
So pleased it’s helpful Nicola and hope you like the flatbreads
I keep seeing chickpea flour in the grocery store, and I’m always so tempted to buy it, but I never do. I should really try it out sometime!
You really should! I can’t believe I was ever without it. You can do so much with it.
Very informative post Emma and great flatbread recipe and links to your other posts - I’ve been using gram flour for years now, it adds extra protein to any dish and works beautifully in baked goods as you will see when I post a recipe this week. Tonight I even used it to make vegan, gluten free Yorkshire Puds with our Sunday Dinner though I’ve a little work to do on that recipe yet to perfect it!
It really is a fantastic naturally gluten free flour.
So excited about your Yorkshire pudding recipe! Definitely something I miss but I haven’t got round to trying out a vegan version.
Glad the post is helpful.
Chickpea flour has to be one of my favourite gf flours - it has a great texture compared to a lot of other flours I have tried and like you say has lots of good nutrients. I found it strong tasting when I first used it in muffins but have learnt to work with the taste.
I have made socca but in the oven which I loved. I love it in a yeasted gf pizza, make smoky chickpea crackers, and have had great success making brownies with chickpea flour instead of regular wheat flour. I love all your ideas - must try the scrambled chickpea flour scramble.
I can hardly believe I ever made do without it now! I’m interested in your muffins and definitely the brownies! Will be having another browse on your blog later…
I am excited to try this as a wrap for refried beans! Great ideas!
It’s great for wrapping anything in! Mmmm now you’ve got me craving Mexican…I’m thinking refried beans, salsa, guac and salad all wrapped up 😀
This is great, thank you for all of the tips ☺️ I always besan flour in my cupboard for Indian recipes but I haven’t experimented with it further.
Glad it’s helpful Elaine. It’s definitely worth having a play with it. It’s a pretty multipurpose ingredient
Gram flour ( chick pea flour) is one of my absolute favourite kitchen items, it’s so versatile! I like the look of your bright and moist patties too. I love to use gram flour in kadhi, I’ve used it as a face pack too, x
A face pack! That’s so fun! What a great idea.
I love chickpea flour - like you have highlighted so nicely, it is such a versatile ingredient. I think flat breads / savoury pancakes are my most frequent use but I must try it in sweet pancakes too!
Savoury pancakes are how I most often use it too I think, though the chickpea flour scramble is creeping up there in my favourites.
I love chickpea flour so much and it’s definitely my favourite and most versatile egg replacer.it can do almost anything! I have a flour mill which also grinds chickpea flour. Very convenient!
Oooh a flour mill sounds fancy! I just use my tribest personal blender for grinding flours but it can only do a little at a time and I’m a little scared I’d break it with chickpeas.
This is fantastic Emma and all those photos look mouth-watering delicious! Such great ideas, I’m intrigued by the scramble and hummus especially! I use it for omelettes, socca and recently a pudla but mostly I use it in curries and as an egg replacer in baking. It is such a hero flour!
Glad it’s helpful Poppy. I’m intrigued how you use it in curries? And you must try the scramble!
I love chickpea flour, it’s so cheap and lasts for ages as well. I make socca quite frequently, and usually add it as a binder for veggie burgers or falafel.
It really is a super ingredient. As much as I use it it does seem to last me ages too.
I tend to use this flour in a limited way, but you’ve given me some great ideas!
Great! That’s what I was aiming for
Love this post Emma! I’m a huge fan of chickpea flour and it was wonderful to be reminded of all the delicious recipes you’ve made using it (definitely pinning this post so I can try them later!). For years now, I’ve used it to make savoury socca pancakes (I always thought socca originated in Nice rather than Italy though!) and sweet pancakes for breakfast. I also use it in falafel and for making baked red onion bhajis (so good!)
Whoops! I don’t know why I wrote Italian! I must have got mixed up with farinata, the Italian equivalent of socca. I must check out your bhajis. They sound delicious.
I have yet to try chickpea flour, but this post has got me wanting to rush to the store to get some!!! Celeste
You need to Celeste! Run run to the store now! 😉
Chickpea flour is one of my favorite “secret” ingredients! It’s so incredibly versatile, for both sweet and savory recipes, I don’t know how I ever managed without it now. Of course, I over-purchased green pea flour so I’ve been substituting it for my beloved chickpea flour right now, but the same concepts still apply. Bean flours rule! Thanks for giving my quiche a shout-out, by the way. 😉
Thank you for this post, as I love chickpea flour! Your socca looks divine. I also use chickpea flour to make Shan tofu or Burmese tofu. A quick (3-4 hrs. to chill) way to get ‘tofu’ when you’ve run out. Thanks again.
What lovely little flatbreads. I’ve been looking for some different quick after-work meal ideas..these are perfect!
Coincidentally, I’ve just bought a 1kg bag of chick pea flour, so your post’s really well timed for me! I had a craving for socca, and after eating a chick pea flour scramble the other day at a restaurant, I have a hankering to try one at home. Thanks for the pointers!
Perfect! Where did you have a chickpea flour scramble out? I’ve never seen anything like it on a restaurant menu.
Great post Emma! I love besan
Thanks Suzanne
Hope I gave you a couple of new ideas.
I need to start cooking my way through my pantry nd I have some chickpea flour to get through! I have a standard socca and pancake recipe, but I love the idea of a scramble to change things up! Thanks for the ideas lady
Oh those pantry clean ups! Mine is a huge mess of ingredients. I’m going away for a month so I’ll have to think about a good tidy when I return.
Definitely try the scramble. It’s even quicker and easier than socca/pancakes.
I love chickpea flour! I made an omelette with sauteed mushrooms and onions for dinner tonight. I love how quickly it comes together. I definitely want to try other ideas on your list, great post!
Such a versatile ingredient. Hope you enjoy some of the other ideas Anna
Thanks so much for this list! I think I will try to make my own with the dry blade vitamix
-xo-
Glad it’s helpful Francesca! The dry blade on your vitamix would be ideal for making chickpea flour.
Thanks for all the wonderful info
Just happen to have a bag of chickpea flour in the pantry I’ve yet to break open…
So pleased to hear it’s helpful Michelle 😀 Let me know how you get on with the chickpea flour!
I cant wait to try this flour in some of my baked goods, thx for sharing!
Thank you so much for this. I am surprised that chic pea flour makes such delicious bread items. It has this unexpected subtle sweetness. The simple flatbread is the best tortilla ever.
So pleased you like it Judith! I love how versatile - and healthy - chickpea flour is.
Is it safe to eat raw chickpea flour without cooking it? Ive made a hummus without cooking it….but now wandering if its not supposed to be good for digestion???
Hi Stephanie, I’m not sure whether it’s actually unsafe but it’s definitely not very tasty! The chickpea flour hummus I linked to above is actually cooked.
You can make raw hummus with soaked and sprouted chickpeas just not the flour. Hope that makes sense
Thanks for getting back to me. …one thing that I have tried and tastes yum is fermenting the chickpea flour over a few days. …it tastes really tangy and cheeselike actually! X
Sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing.
I recently had some chickpea (besan) flour delivered and found the flavour to be very strong and unpleasant.. I’ve used chickpea flour before and not found this unpleasant flavour.. Have you had the same occur? Could it be old product gone bad? Or are their different varieties?
It tastes awful uncooked so maybe that was the problem? How did you use it? I haven’t found too much variation with different brands/kinds.