Five Insanely Delicious Ways To Use Garbanzo Beans
Garbanzo beans a.k.a. chickpeas have become increasingly popular over the last few months, and honestly it's about time. This legume has been cultivated as far back as 3500 B.C. and has been a diet staple in the Middle East. Garbanzo beans can provide excellent nutrition benefits and are also known for being affordable, delicious and great for food storage. Thanks to the International Year of Pulse other countries are honing in on these amazing beans as well. Even with all the buzz, if you are not familiar with garbanzo beans they can be intimidating to cook with. Garbanzo beans can used for millions of recipes and dishes, they can be the star of the show or just a nice touch. You can also use the canning liquid or cooking liquid to make a vegan egg replacer called aquafaba. Since garbanzo beans lend themselves in so many directions here are the top five ways to utilize garbanzo beans.
1. Lemon Garlic Hummus
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Hummus might as well be synonymous with garbanzo beans. The creamy dip is healthy and packed full of flavor. If you walk into your typical grocery store, you will find roughly 12 different flavors of hummus; and for every flavor there is a use. You can use hummus as a dip, sandwich spread, pizza sauce and in mashed potatoes. If you tried hummus and thought it wasn’t for you, try homemade hummus. Homemade hummus packs such a creamier texture and more pronounced flavor profile, once you go homemade you won’t go back to the store.
2. GARBANZO SUMMER SALAD WITH CREAMY DILL DRESSING
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Salads, making a chef salad? Add some garbanzo beans. Garbanzo beans are great for salads. When making a classic three bean salad add some garbanzo beans for an unexpected twist. Try making a 5 minute chopped garbanzo bean salad or a bacon broccoli and garbanzo bean salad. Really with garbanzo beans in the salad it is almost impossible to go awry.
3. Honey Roasted Garbanzo Beans 
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Roasting Roasting garbanzo is a simple way to make an amazing snack. They end result is a healthy version of a corn nut, but they can be used for so much more than just a snack. Pinterest has hundreds of flavor ideas; they can be used for snacking, croutons in your salad or garnishes on your favorite soup. The most popular flavor ideas are garlic Parmesan, cumin and garlic, honey roasted and sriracha roasted garbanzo beans.
4. Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake (oil-free)
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Desserts, looking for a way to make your sweet treats more nutritious? Try adding garbanzo beans. Boggled by the idea of legumes for dessert? A simple and great recipe to try is a cookie dough dip with garbanzo beans and no egg or a chocolate protein cookie. Feeling more adventurous try an aquafaba mousse or garbanzo bean truffle. Garbanzo beans have a mild flavor that allow them to be utilized in many ways and recipes without most people be any the wiser. Garbanzo bean flour or gram flour is another great way to make desserts that are gluten free.
5. Garbanzo Bean Soup with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil
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Soups, if you are new to using garbanzo beans at home, this is one of the best way to introduce garbanzo beans into your diet. You can add them to a soup recipe you already love or you can try something new. Recipes range from Italian garbanzo bean soup to garbanzo bean chili and so much more. The time required to cook garbanzo beans becomes easier to manage when using them in a soup.