Chef’s Kiss: Supermarket Tinned Chickpeas Tested and Rated

Beans are to Spaniards what pasta is to Italians: loved, celebrated and woven into everyday cooking in a way that earns them staple status. In fact, beans are generally held in much higher regard overseas than they are in Australia, but I love cooking with them. They’re versatile, packed with fibre and plant protein, and are great for the soil as they help put nitrogen back in. So I find it slightly mad when people choose to eat highly processed mock meat when such a humble, inexpensive and delicious ingredient is sitting right there in the pantry. Give me a tin of beans any day.

Chickpeas are my absolute favourite bean to cook with. I eat them several times a week: in broths, curries, stews, pasta, soups, stirred through a pasta sauce, piled on toast, whipped into a dip – I could go on. They’re brilliant for a throw-together dinner because if you have a tin of chickpeas in the cupboard, you have the beginnings of a meal. Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) feature heavily in my latest book, Home Food, for exactly this reason. They are, in my mind, something of a super bean.

The very best chickpeas are, of course, the ones you soak and cook yourself. But that requires a little planning and, more importantly, time – two things that aren’t always available on a Tuesday night. This is where canned chickpeas earn their place. They are inexpensive, readily available and, for the most part, do a good job. Jarred chickpeas can be a step up again, particularly for texture and flavour, though they’re more expensive and harder to find. For everyday cooking, a tin is hard to beat.

I’d always assumed there wasn’t much difference between one tin of chickpeas and another. But when I tested eight common brands side by side for this edition of Chef’s Kiss, the differences were surprisingly obvious – not so much on the flavour front, but in just how dramatically the texture varied. Some were soft, creamy and buttery. Others were hard, floury and crumbly. When you’re using chickpeas as a cooking ingredient, that difference matters. I’d be worried about making a hummus from some of these brands for fear of chalky results.

Each product was blind tasted on its own, and I considered the size as well as colour, aroma, taste and texture. A really good chickpea has a lovely earthy sweetness, a gentle nuttiness and, sometimes, an almost chestnut-like quality (especially when you get big chickpeas). I also tasted the canning liquid (aquafaba), as many home cooks use this as an ingredient as a “bean stock” or egg-white substitute, although I wouldn’t want to with some of these brands. 

Then, I incorporated each product into a simple recipe with rosemary, garlic, chilli, tomato paste, white wine and Parmigiano-Reggiano. As well as bringing flavour, the chickpeas do some of the work in creating a sauce: by cooking them and mashing some into the stock, they release their starch and help create a creamy, cohesive texture. 

This recipe was a useful test of whether the chickpea could soften and integrate into the dish, or whether it remained floury, crumbly or separate – which was the case for some of these. You could turn this into a pasta dish by doubling the stock and adding a handful of small pasta, cooking until molto al dente. I like to serve these with extra Parmigiano alongside a peppery rocket salad or spooned underneath a roast chook.

Want more chef-approved supermarket staples? Check out Broadsheet’s Chef’s Kiss series featuring Danielle Alvarez, Brendan Pang, Julia Busuttil Nishimura and more.

Capriccio

Sample price: $1.89 (400g) at select grocers
Ingredients: chickpeas (62.5 per cent), water, salt
Product of Italy

Blind tasting

Appearance: Liquid is somewhat muddy, but the chickpeas are a good, consistent size (around one centimetre). Deep golden colour, plump and well-formed.
Aroma: Pleasant and nutty. Distinctive chestnut-like quality.
Flavour: The best balance of salt and chickpea flavour overall. Pronounced earthy character without overpowering. Seasoning allows the natural flavour of the chickpea to come through. The most chickpea-ish of the lot.
Texture: Creamy, buttery, soft, and with a satisfying texture. Enough structure to hold shape while still breaking down easily when eaten.

Recipe tasting 

The chickpea flavour really shines through with a strong, earthy and savoury profile that holds its own against the other ingredients. A lovely natural sweetness underneath. Chickpeas are creamy and buttery, mashing beautifully and releasing plenty of starch while still retaining some bite when left whole. They become part of the sauce and give it body and creaminess while the whole chickpeas remain tender and substantial. I’d use this anywhere chickpea is the hero – particularly hummus, soups and creamy stews. 4.5/5

New Season

Sample price: $0.89 (420g) at Aldi
Ingredients: chickpeas (60 per cent), water, salt
Packed in Italy from imported and Italian ingredients

Blind tasting

Appearance: Dark and thick liquid. Chickpeas are plump and consistent in size.
Aroma: Sweet and surprisingly aromatic, with a distinct sweet-corn quality. Slightly starchy.
Flavour: Sweet and starchy. Again, this reminds me of sweet corn, with a lovely buttery quality. A natural sweetness that makes these enjoyable to eat on their own.
Texture: The softest and creamiest chickpeas in the test. They have a distinctly buttery texture and break down easily. Would make a great hummus.

Recipe tasting 

Sweet, buttery and distinctly chickpea-like, with a natural sweetness that works well here. Exceptionally soft and creamy. The chickpeas break down easily and release plenty of starch when mashed (maybe a little too creamy). They almost melt into the sauce to create a naturally creamy consistency. Particularly good for hummus, dips, soups and creamy stews where softness and creaminess is the goal. I’d think twice when I want a bit of texture in something like a salad. 4/5

Coles Simply 

Sample price: $0.95 (420g) at Coles
Ingredients: chickpeas (60 per cent), water, salt
Packed in Italy from imported and Italian ingredients

Blind tasting

Appearance: Bright, warm yellow. Generally around one centimetre, with a consistent round shape. Liquid is very clear, making these one of the most visually appealing chickpeas in the tasting.
Aroma: Clean and subtle.
Flavour: Clear chickpea flavour, with a slightly buttery quality and a pleasant starchy sweetness. The flavour is more distinct than other products in the test.

Texture: Slightly firm with enough structure to hold shape; they would be good for salads and dishes where you want the chickpea to remain intact. These could benefit from a little more cooking and seasoning to bring out their creaminess.

Recipe tasting 

The chickpea flavour comes through more clearly, with a subtle buttery sweetness. Chickpeas hold shape but soften nicely when cooked. Mashing some into the sauce releases starch and adds creaminess. The chickpeas contribute both flavour and starch, while still retaining enough texture to feel like chickpeas. Very versatile. Would work equally well in salads, stews or creamy dishes. 3.5/5

Macro Organic 

Sample price: $1.50 (425g) at Woolworths
Ingredients: chickpeas (60 per cent), water
Produced in Italy from imported ingredients

Blind tasting

Appearance: Very cloudy liquid. Chickpeas are generally around one centimetre, with quite a lot of variation in size. Overall, these have some of the smallest chickpeas in the tasting. Skins intact.
Aroma: Slightly off-putting at first, with a metallic, tinny quality, which settled after a few minutes.
Flavour: Mild and clean, with a subtle earthy chickpea character. These lacked overall seasoning and flavour due to the absence of salt, but the underlying flavour was pleasant enough.
Texture: Soft and creamy. Mushy. The variation in size is noticeable when eating and makes the texture feel inconsistent.

Recipe tasting

The chickpea character is mild and gets largely lost. The texture is soft and creamy, although the variation in size makes the texture a little inconsistent. The softer chickpeas mash into the sauce and help create creaminess, although they don’t add a huge amount of flavour. Skins fell off quite a lot and felt papery. Good for soups, stews or hummus where a softer chickpea works well. 2.5/5

Edgell Australian-grown chickpeas

Sample price: $2.20 (400g) at major supermarkets
Ingredients: chickpeas (60 per cent), water, salt
Product of Australia

Blind tasting

Appearance: Exceptionally clear liquid. Chickpeas vary considerably in size, from approximately half to one centimetre. Darkest-coloured of the group, though they looked clean. The colour is earthy rather than bright.
Aroma: Clean and subtle. Mild earthy, nutty quality.
Flavour: Clean and distinct chickpea flavour, with earthy and nutty notes. Tasted slightly green, undercooked. Lacked softness, creaminess.
Texture: Noticeably firm and undercooked compared to the rest. Dense and somewhat chalky, with papery skins. These would be difficult to turn into a smooth hummus without further cooking.

Recipe tasting 

The earthy flavour is noticeable, but there is also a slightly green, raw note that comes through once the stronger flavours settle. When mashed, they remain bitty and chalky rather than becoming smooth and creamy. They add chickpea flavour but don’t integrate particularly well into the sauce; the texture remains quite separate. Feels like they need a longer cooking time – but even when I extended the cooking time here, it felt like it didn’t make much of a difference. Better suited to salads or dishes where you want the chickpea to retain its shape and firmness. I’d recommend simmering in stock before using. 2/5

Annalisa 

Sample price: $1.90 (400g) at Woolworths
Ingredients: chickpeas, water, salt
Produced in Italy

Blind tasting

Appearance: Relatively consistent in size, around 0.8 to one centimetre, although the liquid is quite briny. Generally clean appearance, though chickpeas aren’t particularly vibrant.
Aroma: Mild, almost non-existent compared to the others.
Flavour: Quite flat and lacking chickpea character. Muted rather than savoury or earthy.
Texture: Skins fall away easily when eaten and have a papery quality. Chickpeas are quite floury, with a dry and mealy texture. The liquid lingered in the throat.

Recipe tasting 

Chickpea flavour is quite muted and gets lost among the other ingredients. Not much earthiness or savouriness. Floury and mealy, with papery skins. When mashed, chickpeas don’t become particularly smooth and leave some graininess behind. Chickpeas add some body but don’t become part of the sauce as smoothly as some other products. Maybe roast these with lots of spices instead. 2/5

Woolworths 

Sample price: $0.95 (400g) at Woolworths
Ingredients: chickpeas (60 per cent), water, salt, antioxidant (ascorbic acid)
Packed in Italy from multiple origins

Blind tasting

Appearance: Chickpeas are about 1.2 centimetres across and have a slightly grey colour. Quite a few broken chickpeas, with many of the skins partially coming away. The liquid is very cloudy and muddy.
Aroma: Almost non-existent.
Flavour: Bland. The liquid has a muddy, damp quality that detracts from any chickpea flavour.
Texture: Crumbly, floury, mealy and dry. Little of the smoothness you want from a good canned chickpea.

Recipe tasting 

The chickpea flavour doesn’t really come through. It’s quite flat and floury. When mashed, chickpeas don’t become smooth and creamy, they retain that slightly mealy quality. They don’t integrate particularly well or become part of the sauce, leaving a slightly grainy texture. I think these need more cooking time, but I’d just avoid altogether. 1.5/5  

La Gina

Sample price: $1.40 (400g) at Woolworths
Ingredients: chickpeas (63 per cent), water, salt
Packed in Italy from multiple origins

Blind tasting

Appearance: Liquid is bubbly, murky and unusually thin. Very little visible starch. Were the chickpeas cooked first, then added to a new brine? Grey and lacking vibrance. Size is reasonably consistent.
Aroma: Unpleasant, with metallic, astringent and dusty notes. My son: “It gets caught in your throat!”
Flavour: Very little discernible chickpea flavour. Flat and muted, with an unpleasant cardboard-like quality. I did not enjoy these at all. This product gives tinned beans a bad name – and might be why some people have bad feelings towards them.
Texture: Very hard and crumbly. Chickpeas feel undercooked, floury and dense, with a dry, chalky texture. Dusty. Lacking the creaminess expected from a tinned chickpea. Cooking couldn’t save these. I’d rather no chickpeas than eat these.

Recipe tasting 

Very little chickpea flavour present. Instead, the flat, cardboard-like flavour remains noticeable despite the stronger ingredients in the recipe. Super mealy, hard, crumbly and floury. Mashing them does not make them creamy; they remain dusty and granular with hardly any starch. They feel separate from the sauce rather than helping to create it, and the unpleasant texture remains noticeable. The skins peeled off, creating an off-putting texture. I wouldn’t use these for a creamy chickpea dish. I wouldn’t use these, full stop. 0.5/5

Creamy rosemary chickpeas by Elizabeth Hewson

Serves 1 as a main, 4 as a side
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch dried chilli flakes
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained
60ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
250ml (1 cup) chicken or vegetable stock
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra to serve
Splash of red wine vinegar, optional
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute until oil is fragrant. Add the tomato paste and chilli flakes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the tomato paste has deepened in colour and the oil has turned a rich red. It will look like it’s separated from the oil – that’s okay. 

Add chickpeas, coating them in that gorgeous red oil. Use a potato masher to roughly mash about one-third of the chickpeas. This releases their starch and will help thicken the sauce. Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes, allowing the wine to reduce.

Add the stock, season and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes to allow everything to cook together, stirring occasionally. You want the sauce to thicken, but for the chickpeas to still be loose.

Remove from the heat and stir through the Parmigiano-Reggiano. I like to add a splash of red wine vinegar to brighten things up, or a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Spoon into bowls, finish with extra Parmigiano, zest of a lemon, and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

elizabethhewson.com.au