Is Chickpea Flour More Nutritious Than Regular Flour?
Chickpea flour contains more protein than regular white flour and more fiber. But if you’ve seen the headlines recently about the health benefits of chickpea flour, there are some serious caveats you should be aware of.
What’s all the talk about chickpea flour?
The headlines, sometimes implying that chickpea flour may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, are based on recent research . In a study, buns made with a specific type of flour made from chickpea resulted in a lower spike in blood glucose than buns made with regular white flour.
But the flour in the study was not the kind of chickpea flour you might find at the grocery store (often called gram flour or besan). It has been specially formulated to preserve the integrity of plant cells.
Cell walls are made of fibers, and plant starch is contained in the cell walls. When you eat whole foods (like real chickpeas), it takes longer for your body to digest the starch that’s inside your cells. However, grinding the cells into flour makes the starch more readily available and absorbed faster.
So, research has shown that this particular, unusual type of intact chickpea flour (brand name PulseON) slows down the digestion of volunteers a bit, which is good if you’re trying to cope with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. … They haven’t tested chickpea flour in grocery stores.
What about regular chickpea flour?
However, this research may have piqued your interest in regular chickpea flour. The good news is that even grocery store foods are rich in protein and fiber and can work well as part of a healthy diet. Here’s how nutrition facts stack up:
One cup of chickpea flour (92 grams) contains:
- 356 calories
- 21 grams of protein
- 6 grams of fat
- 53 grams of carbohydrates, including 10 grams of fiber
By comparison, one cup of all-purpose white flour (125 grams) contains:
- 455 calories
- 13 grams of protein
- 1 gram of fat
- 95 grams of carbohydrates, including 3 grams of fiber
And a cup (120 grams) of whole grain flour contains:
- 408 calories
- 16 grams of protein
- 3 grams of fat
- 86 g carbohydrates, including 13 g fiber
Thus, chickpea flour contains more protein than any type of wheat flour, although it has slightly less fiber than whole wheat. It also has fewer calories per cup. So if you like the way macros are compared and don’t mind experimenting with a different flavor profile, chickpea flour is worth trying.
How to use chickpea flour
When you search for recipes, looking for “chickpea flour” typically comes across American-style recipes that use chickpea flour as a substitute for other ingredients — these egg-free vegan frittats , for example. Meanwhile, looking for “Besan” is likely to pull up Indian recipes like this , including its traditional use in Pakora (fried dough stuffed with vegetables or meat).
If you want to make baked goods, you can substitute a little chickpeas for regular wheat flour, but find a recipe that accounts for the difference in texture. You may need to add wheat gluten or use a flour mixture. Either way, keep in mind that eating more fiber than usual can be a recipe for an upset stomach, so take your time to make any new dietary changes.