Garbanzo beans, which may also be called chickpeas, are a delicious member of the legume family. Instead of having the flat oval shape of most beans, garbanzo bean are a pale cream (though some other colors are available) and mostly round in shape. These legumes were domesticated very early, possibly even 5000-10,000 years ago, and evidence of their use is found in archaeological digs in places like Turkey, France and Israel.

Today we may most associate garbanzo beans with a variety of Mediterranean cuisines. They are the essential ingredient for hummus, are powdered to make falafels, and are used in a variety of soups and stews. Most minestrone soups couldn’t hold their own without garbanzo beans, and you’ll also find them in a variety of Southern Asian cuisines; they’re commonly used in India in certain types of curry.

They’ve also made their way to Spanish cuisines, and thus to many cuisines in Central and Latin America. In the classic Canary Islands dish ropa vieja, a typical accompaniment is garbanzo beans. In the US, we’re used to seeing them in favorite fare like three-bean salad, a mix of kidney, garbanzo and green beans in savory vinaigrette.

The popularity of garbanzo beans may be due to their inherent nutritional value. A cooked cup (164 grams) is an excellent source of dietary fiber, and provides substantial levels of important nutrients like iron and folate. They also are a high protein food, with just under 15 grams of protein per serving. These nutrients are paired with relatively low calories, only 269 per cup.

Garbanzo beans have a light, buttery flavor. They’re not strong in taste, and will readily absorb most other flavors, spices or seasonings. They are easily added to any soups or stews you may have cooking and will provide extra heartiness and excellent additional nutrition.

You can buy chickpeas dried, though more commonly, if you’d like to use them right away it is easier to purchase them in canned form. As mentioned, though cream-colored beans are most common, other colors are particularly lovely and can make for fantastic visual appeal. Other colors have flecks of red or black, or are fully green or fully red. Color is only part of the difference, since there are two overhead varieties of garbanzo beans. Those lighter in color and also somewhat larger are called kabuli, and smaller ones that are not as smooth and darker in color are called desi.