Flavor of the week: Chickpea, the versatile legume

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are versatile legumes used in soups and stews as well as salads. They are also the main ingredient in falafel and hummus and are an increasingly popular snack served fried and seasoned.

Chickpeas have been growing across menus over the past few years, especially as a meat replacement and as a gluten-free substitute in pasta and pizza for starchier ingredients. Aquafaba, the viscous liquid that is a byproduct of soaking dried chickpeas, is increasingly being used as a thickener and emulsifier to create vegan versions of mayonnaise and other sauces, condiments and dips.

Like all legumes, chickpeas are high in protein and relatively low in carbohydrates.

Market research firm Datassential reports that chickpeas are found on 16.2% of menus in the United States and 84% of the population knows the ingredient.

Click through the gallery to learn more about this Flavor of the Week and see how one chain is using chickpeas on its menu.