From Better Homes and Gardens

For a savory, slow cooker vegetable casserole recipe, try this combination of beans, polenta, radicchio, and spinach.

Vegetable Casserole

From Vegetarian Times

If you like the deep-fried chickpea patties in Mediterranean restaurants, you'll love this lighter version. Pair them with a crisp, slightly fruity rose or white wine to complement the dried spices in the mix. Serve with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and warmed pita rounds.

Homemade Falafel

From Swanson Broth & Stock

Flavorful vegetable broth is the secret ingredient in this creamy chickpea appetizer spread. It makes a tasty dip for bread, pita chips, crackers or sliced vegetables.

Hummus

From Pepperidge Farm

Unexpected guests at your doorstep? Don't worry...this delicious hummus recipe uses on-hand ingredients to make a delicious dip in just 15 minutes...and it gets even better when served with toasted dark wheat bread triangles.

Whole-Grain Toast Triangles with Hummus

From Better Homes and Gardens

This spicy beef and vegetable stew can be made in the slow cooker.

New Mexico Beef Stew

From Fine Cooking Magazine

Creamy Chickpea Soup with Crisp Chorizo

From Food & Wine

Before opening Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia, chef Michael Solomonov visited hummus parlors all over Israel trying to find the best recipe. "Hummus is the hardest thing to get right," he says. "It has to be rich, creamy and mildly nutty." To make his hummus luxuriously smooth, he soaks the chickpeas overnight with baking soda to soften them. While Americans now flavor hummus with everything from pureed red peppers to fresh herbs, Solomonov says among the fanciest garnishes you can find in Israel are whole chickpeas, paprika, and lemon-spiked tahini, used for hummus masabacha.

Israeli Hummus with Paprika and Whole Chickpeas

From Food & Wine

Oven-dried tomatoes give this simple stew an astounding depth of flavor. Serve it with greens; roasted meat or poultry like lamb, beef, or chicken; or with pan-seared snapper, halibut, or shrimp.

Lemony Chickpea and Oven-Dried Tomato Stew

From Food & Wine

Chickpeas are a fine source of protein and heart-healthy folic acid. Here, they're pureed until creamy and flavored with preserved lemon, typically sold at specialty food stores.

Lemony Chickpea Bruschetta

From Food & Wine

Starting with dried chickpeas instead of canned ones makes all the difference in this citrusy side dish. Although soaking and cooking the chickpeas takes a bit more time, the effort is minimal.

Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Carrots

From Food & Wine

Chef Jerry Traunfeld, inspired by a trip through India, flavored this creamy chickpea salad with aromatic herbs and Indian spices, among them mustard, cumin, and fennel seeds.

Indian-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Yogurt and Herbs

From Food & Wine

Butcher-shop owner Tanya Cauthen likes flavoring supremely tender braised lamb with a North African spice blend that includes cumin and fennel seeds. Lamb shanks are great for serving at dinner parties, since they look so dramatic, but lamb stew meat -- cut from the shoulder or the leg -- is equally delicious. Or, for a less gamey flavor, substitute beef short ribs.

Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas

From Pepperidge Farm

These delicious sandwiches feature a medley of fresh vegetables, ripe olives and tasty hummus served on a slice of whole grain bread.

Open-Faced Mediterranean Sandwiches

From Fine Cooking Magazine

You can make the couscous an hour ahead and keep it in a covered stainless-steel bowl over a pot simmering water.

Couscous with Chickpeas & Pistachios

From Food & Wine

Chickpeas are rich in both types of dietary fiber, which are important for maintaining heart health and for stabilizing blood sugar levels. Pam Anderson uses them as the base for this Indian-flavored creamy (though cream-free) soup, which she prepares by first pureeing it, then simmering it, to save time. "Pureed beans give you richness without having to enrich the soup," she says.

Spicy Chickpea Soup

From Food & Wine

Rajat Parr was born in Kolkata in 1972 and didn't leave until he was 22, which explains why Indian flavors are such a big part of his cooking. This salad, for instance, is a twist on the classic Indian street food called chana chaat.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

From Food & Wine

For this appetizer, Pierre Gagnaire cleverly weaves together two major ingredients, shrimp and chickpeas: He quickly sears shrimp and uses the shells to make a stock to flavor the hummus. He then uses chickpeas to make the delicate cracker garnish. At his eponymous restaurant in Paris, it's part of a dish called Orientale, inspired by his walks in the desert. (He takes those walks when he's cooking at Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire in Dubai and his newest place, Twist, in Las Vegas.) "I like the silence. The wind. The simple rhythm of the days," he says.

Sauteed Shrimp with Shrimp Hummus

From Ladies' Home Journal

Dress up your next chuck roast or round roast with tomatoes, chickpeas, cumin, garlic, and coriander for this hearty meal.

Pot Roast with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

From Family Circle

Fans of zucchini and chickpeas will enjoy this vegetarian recipe. Italian-seasoned tomatoes and red pepper flakes add flavor and a hint of spice.

Zucchini & Chickpea Ratatouille

From Fitness

Toss the spices and chickpeas together and bake to create a super simple snack that's also high in fiber and nutrients.

Indian-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas

From Better Homes and Gardens

For an even faster salad, use already made hummus rather than make it.

Hummus with Cucumber and Tomato Salad

From Family Circle

Healthy and delicious, this simple vegetarian pasta recipe makes the perfect weeknight meal.

Escarole with Caramelized Onions & Chickpeas

From Better Homes and Gardens

The flavor for this vegetarian slow cooker dish can vary depending on the brand of curry powder you use. Try several until you find your favorite.

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Curry

From Family Circle

This 30-minute pasta recipe is a terrific combination of Mediterranean ingredients. Broccoli rabe, with its slightly bitter taste, pairs deliciously with sweet Italian sausage.

Broccoli Rabe, Chickpeas and Sausage

From Food & Wine

Christine Manfield drew from her travels to plan the menu at her Universal Restaurant in Sydney; she created this fragrant stew after a trip to Morocco's High Atlas Mountains.

Chickpea Tagine