Are Chickpeas Keto Friendly? (FULL ANALYSIS)

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are popular legumes similar to pinto or cannellini beans. They are known to be filling and healthy and can be an excellent addition to salads or roasted for snacking. And everyone knows them in the form of a famous hummus dip. But are chickpeas keto-friendly?

When following the ketogenic diet, most approaches suggest staying under 30 grams of carbohydrates per day (*). If you wanted to include chickpeas in your daily intake, you would only be able to eat a tiny amount, less than one 28-gram serving.

If chickpeas aren’t ketogenic-friendly, what about some popular foods made from chickpeas, like hummus or falafel?

How can you make these ketogenic-friendly?

And what are the alternatives to chickpeas that won’t kick you out of ketosis?

Keep reading to learn more!

Are Chickpeas Healthy?

Chickpeas are a type of food that is popular in some parts of the world. They are also known as legumes and are often found in dishes like hummus and falafel.

They are good for you because they contain a lot of important things that your body needs, like

• Fiber,
• Complex carbohydrates,
• And protein.

Eating chickpeas helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable, which is important for people with diabetes.

Apart from having balanced macronutrients, chickpeas contain many vitamins and nutrients, including:

• Folate,
• Iron,
• Phosphorous,
• Calcium,
• and Vitamin C (*).

This nutritional profile gives chickpeas health-boosting benefits. Chickpeas may help prevent various chronic diseases, such as

• Cardiovascular disease,
• Heart disease,
• and type 2 diabetes. (*)

How Many Carbs Are There In Chickpeas? Are Chickpeas Keto Friendly?

Chickpeas are usually considered a healthy food. But if you are following a keto diet, then it might not be the best food for you.

That’s because chickpeas have 13 grams of net carbs per 2-ounce serving. With the keto diet being a low-carb diet, that means it would be hard to fit in those chickpeas into your daily meals.

In fact, if you ate the whole 2-ounce serving, that would use up more than one third of your allowed amount of carbs for the day.

And keto diets usually recommend under 30 grams of carbs each day.

Also, it’s important to keep track of when and how many carbs you’re eating while on a keto diet.

That’s because having too many carbs at once can prevent your body from getting into and staying in a special state called ketosis.

In this state, your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose, which helps you get the benefits of a keto diet like weight loss.

Which Beans Are Keto Friendly?

If you’re on the keto diet and want to satisfy your craving for beans, don’t worry! There are plenty of options that can work for you.

Black soybeans have only 2 grams of net carbs per one-ounce serving, 10 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fat.

They may taste a bit different than chickpeas, but still make a delicious and filling dish.

Peas and lentils could be other alternatives. They both contain a good amount of fiber and protein, with moderate amounts of carbs.

• 14 grams in peas and 24 grams in lentils per 1 cup serving.

Those numbers sound high, but even so they are still much more suitable than chickpeas if you’re following a low-carb diet.

Is Hummus OK on Keto?

While chickpeas can be an excellent addition to salads and side dishes, hummus is the most popular form in which people enjoy garbanzo beans.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip made from cooked chickpeas blended with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini, a smooth paste made from sesame seeds.

Hummus has great nutritional value and impressive health benefits. It has been linked to improving blood sugar control, better digestion, fighting inflammation, and lowering the risk of heart disease (*).

How many carbs this dip packs in?

For a half-cup serving, hummus will set you back with 16 grams of carbs. Again, not very ketogenic-friendly.

But hear us out. That doesn’t mean that all the hummus is off-limits on keto. At the same time, the store-bought hummus will probably be too high in carbs to be compatible with keto diet recommendations.

You can make homemade keto-hummus that meet the needed requirement of net carbs per serving.

How Can You Make Low-Carb Hummus?

This famous dip forms a big part of Middle Eastern cuisine, and hummus means “chickpeas” in Arabic (*). But that doesn’t mean that hummus can only be made from chickpeas.

While buying hummus from the supermarket attracts with its convenient, most products contain sugar and other unwanted additives.

Making your dip version will give you complete control over the ingredients.

You can also adjust the number of chickpeas you use or whether you use chickpeas for your recipe.

Swapping chickpeas for roasted veggies or other legumes will significantly impact the resulting amount of net carbs, fiber, and protein.

Even though making dips from scratch often seems like a lot of hassle, hummus is different.

You only need a few ingredients and a food processor or a blender, and you can eat your keto hummus in minutes.

Get Recipe: forgetsugarfriday.com

Ideas for Keto-friendly Hummus

Creating a delicious keto-friendly version of classic hummus is easier than you think!

With just a few swaps, you can make a low-carb version that still has that same delicious flavor.

Cauliflower makes an excellent substitute for chickpeas and adds the creaminess needed to create a perfect dip.

Or opt for lentils or other low-carb ingredients if you want something different.

Then just add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and you have yourself a tasty dip.

Eat it with celery sticks or keto crackers for a satisfying and most importantly guilt-free snack! Give it a try – and don’t forget to let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Other Chickpeas Alternatives

What are some of the other alternatives to chickpeas?

Dips

If a recipe calls for hummus or another dip, don’t worry – there are plenty of keto-friendly options to choose from. Guacamole, sour cream, yogurt and mayonnaise are all delicious high-fat, low-carb alternatives that will keep you in the keto zone.

Falafel

If you’re craving falafels, you can swap the chickpeas for cauliflower or other vegetables low in carbs.

Consider using other legumes, like lentils that would be easier to fit into your keto carb budget. We recommend coating them in almonds for that crispy satisfying texture.

Make sure you use Middle Eastern spices for an authentic flavor.

Chickpea recipes

for recipes that call for chickpeas, like curries or Middle Eastern dishes, we recommend using mushrooms.

They are versatile, low in carbs and calories, and can absorb a lot of flavor from spices, making them suitable for many recipes.

Thinking outside of the box

If you are not afraid of experimenting, the next time you get a chickpea craving, try boiled peanuts instead.

This can sound unusual, but boiled peanuts have a similar texture to chickpeas, making them suitable for various recipes.

So, Can You Eat Chickpeas On Keto?

If you are following a low-carb, keto diet, then it may be hard to include chickpeas into your meals. Chickpeas are healthy but they contain lots of carbohydrates, which is not suitable for the diet.

But don’t worry! There are plenty of other yummy options that can still satisfy your craving for a hearty dish without breaking the rules of the keto diet.

Black soybeans, for example, have only 2 grams of net carbs per one-ounce serving and make a great substitute for chickpeas.

Peas and lentils also contain good amounts of fiber and protein with more moderate amounts of carbs.

You can even modify regular hummus recipes to make them ketogenic-friendly and enjoy a high-fiber snack!

Or swap regular chickpeas in dishes like falafel or curry with veggies like cauliflower or mushrooms . This will reduce carbs and calories while keeping that delicious flavor we all love.

So there’s no need to give up on those favorite dishes just yet!

With these few tricks here and there, you can still enjoy tasty chickpea flavors while having fun with your low-carb diet.

Do you have any tips or tricks for making chickpeas keto-friendly? Let us know in the comments below – we’d love to hear your ideas!