If you’re planning several meals in advance, a 1 kg bag of dried chickpeas is a good choice if you can plan time for preparing and cooking them. For a family dinner you need to get ready quickly, choose a large, ready-to-use tin instead. A ready-made recipe is convenient if you like its seasoning, but gives you less freedom to create your own dish. In all cases, check the drained weight, ingredients and storage instructions after opening.
If you batch-cook soups, curries, couscous or stews, a 1 kg bag of dried chickpeas can be used across several meals. A large tin saves you having to plan ahead, but the usable quantity depends in part on its drained weight.
Tinned chickpeas let you prepare a hot meal without allowing for the long cooking time needed for dried chickpeas. A ready-made recipe requires even less preparation, as long as its ingredients and seasoning suit your meal.
To choose how much to serve and see what’s going into your dish, compare the drained net weight where applicable, the ingredients list, salt content, allergens and storage instructions. These details matter especially when you’re choosing between plain chickpeas and a ready-made recipe.
First, decide whether you can prepare the chickpeas in advance. Then choose a format based on the usable quantity you need and how much seasoning you want in your winter dish.
| Criterion | What to check | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| How quickly you can get dinner ready | Choose between dried chickpeas that need preparing and a ready-to-use tin. For a ready-made recipe, check the reheating instructions too. | When dinner is decided on the day, I want to avoid having to start by preparing dried chickpeas. Around 36% of shoppers put speed first. |
| Meals you’re planning | For a 1 kg bag of dried chickpeas, think about how many meals you’re planning and how much time you can set aside to prepare them. | If I’m cooking for several days, I prefer to have a large bag in the cupboard, even if I need to plan ahead for cooking. This is a priority for around 29% of shoppers. |
| How much you need to serve | For chickpeas in liquid, compare the drained net weight rather than the total weight alone. Choose a format to suit the number of people eating and how many leftovers you expect. | For a large sharing dish, I want to know how many chickpeas I can actually serve. This is the main concern for around 21% of shoppers. |
| Seasoned recipe | Check the ingredients list and allergens in a ready-made recipe, as its contents differ from those of plain tinned chickpeas. | If I’m looking for a hot, seasoned side dish, I’m happy to go with a ready-made recipe rather than season every ingredient myself. Around 14% of shoppers would put this need first. |
A 1 kg bag of dried chickpeas can work well for several meals, but not for an impromptu dinner if you haven’t planned ahead for preparing them.
Save dried chickpeas for planned meals; if you’re cooking that evening, look for ready-to-use tins.
The liquid in a tin is included in its total weight, but it isn’t part of the chickpea portion you’ll serve.
If the product is packed in liquid, compare the drained net weights before choosing a format for the table.
A couscous-style recipe contains other ingredients and seasoning too. It doesn’t give you the same freedom to make a soup, curry or purée.
Choose plain chickpeas if you want to decide how to use them yourself. Otherwise, read the full ingredients list for the ready-made recipe.
Instructions vary by product: the product details we checked say Samia 800 g keeps for three days in the fridge, compared with two days for Bonduelle cooked chickpeas 400 g.
Plan how you’ll use any leftovers and follow the temperature and storage time shown on the packaging you buy.
These ranges offer a useful guide to different formats and ingredients. Check the specific product and its label when choosing what to serve.
The retailer offers Carrefour Classic' tinned chickpeas with a drained net weight of 530 g, as well as dried chickpeas and other tinned formats.
The Notre Jardin range includes tins in 265 g and 530 g sizes, as well as a multipack of small tins.
The range includes 1 kg bags of Auchan dried chickpeas and ready-to-use tins, including Samia 800 g and Compal 845 g, as well as a Bonduelle ready-made recipe.
The 265 g All Seasons tin is a small format, rather than a large family-sized pack.
The 530 g Monoprix tin is described as ready to use; its product information lists chickpeas, water and salt.
These products offer two ways to prepare a hot meal: plain chickpeas in a ready-to-use container, and a ready-made couscous-style recipe. Choose the quantity and ingredients to suit your planned dish, and remember that a seasoned recipe is not the same as plain chickpeas.
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This large pack of plain chickpeas is a good choice for a dish you want to season yourself. Check the drained net weight to work out how much to serve; the product information mentions lupin, so check the label if this allergen is relevant to anyone you’re serving.
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This format can work well in a hot meal where the chickpeas are served with other ingredients. Check the drained weight to adjust the portions. The product information says ‘no allergens’, but lists sodium metabisulphite in the ingredients, so be sure to check the jar label if allergens are a concern for anyone you’re serving.
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This ready-seasoned recipe can be served as a hot side dish, but the 400 g is not 400 g of plain chickpeas. Check that the quantity is right for your table, and read the label if soya or cereals containing gluten are a concern for anyone you’re serving. The product information says to use within two days of opening and keep refrigerated.
Save this bag for planned meals: the 1 kg Auchan product needs a long preparation and cooking time. If you’re getting dinner ready on the day, a ready-to-use tin saves you that step.
If the chickpeas are packed in liquid, check the drained net weight. This tells you how much is left once the liquid is drained, rather than the total weight. France’s DGCCRF says this weight must be shown on the labels of relevant products in France.
Follow the instructions for the product you buy rather than assuming the same storage time applies to all tins. The Samia 800 g product information says to keep it in the fridge for three days after opening, while the Joybuy listing for Bonduelle cooked chickpeas 400 g says two days. The DGCCRF advises following the manufacturer's storage instructions.
Read the ingredients list and allergen information on the packaging of the product you choose. The product information for the Bonduelle couscous-style recipe says it may contain soya and cereals containing gluten, while the Monoprix chickpeas listing mentions sulphites.