Here is one of our favorite chickpea recipes, perfect for summer! A healthy lunch or easy dinner, quick to whip up in under 20 minutes. Serve it warm or chilled. Gluten-free & vegan-adaptable.
Easy Chickpea Recipes To the Rescue!
- During the summer months, meals are pretty simple around here. We relish being outside, and sometimes we just want a quick, healthy meal that is nourishing and comforting. Pesto chickpeas are just the ticket!
- Chickpeas are full of fiber, protein, and nutrients, while being creamy and satisfying. We love all their health benefits and as chefs, we include this delicious legume whenever we can. See all our latest chickpea recipes here!
- Tender warmed chickpeas are tossed with herby pesto, topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, red onions, and briny Kalamata olives. Add toasty pine nuts if you like, and voila, dinner is ready. So easy! And of course, you can serve this chilled like a salad.
Pesto Chickpeas Ingredients
- Pesto: Made from scratch with garlic, nuts, olive oil, pecorino or parmesan, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and basil. Or for a nut-free version, try our basil pesto recipe! Or in a pinch use store-bought pesto.
- Chickpeas: Use canned, but for best results, cook the chickpeas from dried.
- Cherry tomatoes: Add sweet, juicy, summery flavor.
- Kalamata olives: Add a briny taste that contrasts nicely.
- Red onion: For a sharp, pungent bite.
- Garnish: Toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of pecorino or parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan.
Variations
- Serve over grains or pasta: Serve pesto chickpeas over a bed of grains, like farro, bulgur, quinoa, or Middle Eastern Rice, or toss with pasta.
- Sub tomato confit: To elevate this dish even more, serve with tomato confit instead of fresh cherry tomatoes.
- Serve with a Mediterranean dip: Spread a dip, like tahini yogurt sauce or baba ganoush, over the plate beneath the chickpeas.
- Make vegan pesto: Sub vegan parmesan for the cheese to make this dish dairy-free.
How to Make Pesto Chickpeas
1. Make pesto. Add garlic, nuts, and olive oil to a food processor. Pulse until garlic breaks down, then add parmesan, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and basil. Pulse until desired texture, but avoid making it completely smooth.
2. Steam and soften the chickpeas. Place chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in a pot with salted water or broth and cover. Warm gently for a few minutes to steam and soften the chickpeas. Drain excess liquid (or leave it in if you prefer!). Let cool for a minute or two. This step is optional—you can use cold or room temperature chickpeas.
3. Toss chickpeas with remaining ingredients. In a large bowl, toss chickpeas with pesto, along with tomatoes, kalamata olives, and red onions.
4. Garnish. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves (or other fresh herbs like parsley or dill), and a sprinkle of pecorino, parmesan or vegan parmesan.
Chef’s Tips
- Cook the chickpeas from dried. The flavor is richer, and the texture is softer than canned chickpeas.
- Make nut-free pesto by subbing sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds for the nuts.
- Go for contrast by using cold and warm elements, like warm chickpeas with cool tomatoes and onions.
- For a beautiful presentation, leave out some of the tomatoes, olives, and onions to place on top of the dish.
- Feel free to serve it chilled. Let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld together even further.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Serve cold or bring to room temperature before serving. Great for meal prep!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with warm, crusty bread or flatbread to scoop up every bit of pesto! Serve over grains or greens to make a bowl or salad. For a little extra protein, top with soft-boiled eggs, grilled halloumi, or mozzarella balls.
FAQs
Yes! Chickpeas are tender and have a mild flavor, lending themselves to all kinds of sauces. Pesto gives them a cheesy, nutty taste.
Grilled chicken, grilled shrimp or grilled tofu would make a lovely addition for a heartier meal.
In addition to pesto, cool components like Greek yogurt, and fresh ingredients like tomatoes, olives, and onions are great pairings.
Hope you enjoy this quick and easy Chickpeas with pesto! Let us know what you think in the comments!
More Favorite Chickpea Recipes
Pesto Chickpeas: A Quick Easy Dinner Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main, beans and legumes, vegetarian dinner, lunch recipe
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Here is one of our favorite chickpea recipes, perfect for dinner or lunch! Quick, healthy and easy to whip up in under 20 minutes. Serve it warm or chilled. Gluten-free & vegan-adaptable.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 3 cups chickpeas, cooked (2 x 14-ounce cans, drained)
- 1/4 cup water, salted or broth
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of lemon, anda sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan
Pesto
- 2–4 medium garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup nuts (walnuts or pine nuts, hempseeds, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts or whatever you prefer)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves, 2 1/2 – 3 ounces
Instructions
- Make the pesto. In a food processor add garlic, nuts, and olive oil, pulse until garlic is broken down. Add parmesan, lemon juice, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Pulse keeping texture, not completely smooth.
- Warm Chickpeas. Place chickpeas in a pan with salted water or broth. Warm gently with a lid on for a few minutes, just enough to steam and soften the chickpeas. Drain excess liquid (or leave it, up to you!). Let cool a minute or two. (You can skip this step and just use chickpeas cold or at room temperature.)
- Combine. Add chickpeas to a large bowl, toss with pesto, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and red onions.
- Season. Taste, adjust salt and lemon juice to taste.
- Garnish with a squeeze of lemon, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, and a sprinkle of parmesan or vegan parmesan.
Notes
Tip: Leave out a few tomatoes, olives, and onion slices to scatter over the top for a nice presentation.
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Feel free to chill and serve cold.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup
- Calories: 503
- Sugar: 9.3 g
- Sodium: 201.8 mg
- Fat: 33.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.3 g
- Fiber: 10.5 g
- Protein: 14.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
It’s another great recipe! I make this on Sundays sometimes to bring to school for my lunch during the week. It’s fast, easy, and versatile. I always use a pesto, and throw in any veggies I need to clean out. The original is the best though!
Perfect Heather, love that you play around with it. Appreciate your review!
Our first menu from Feasting at Home and it was fantastic! We are pescatarian and Feasting at Home offers us meals that are simple and delicious.
Wonderful to hear this Donna! Appreciate you taking time to let us know.
This one has been added to our favourite’s list. Even the reluctant non-meat eater enjoyed it. Followed recipe as is, except I toasted the chickpeas in the air fryer for a bit. Also made your pesto as it always turns out well. Served everything over farro. Easy meal to cook on a very hot summer day
Sounds great Cindy! Thanks for taking time to leave a review.
Quick question. Can’t seem to find hemp seeds. Would hemp hearts work as well!
Yes, we use them interchangeably! Hemp seeds and hemp hearts are the same thing, just make sure they are not in the shell.
Hubby and I loved it! I’m going to try it with the basil pesto next time. I made it with some spinach walnut pesto I made this morning so I didn’t lose the spinach. While spinach pesto is milder, I just added some more crushed garlic to the mix! We liked the dried chickpeas that I soaked and cooked much more than the canned ones. I had never used them before. Gave it a much nuttier flavor! This was amazing!
Hi Sharon, glad you enjoyed this! I agree with home cooked chickpeas, so good.
It would be healthier with less oil
You are welcome to adjust the amount of pseto you add to the chickpeas, but pesto does require a certain amount of olive oil.
Would be good to know the potassium in this recipe. Sounds CKD friendly.
Hi Richard, it does list potassium, but as a percent of daily total. There is not an option in this nutrition calculator to add the actual amount.