The Canned Chickpea Brand That Isn't Worth Your Money

Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are one of the most versatile plant-based sources of protein. They are fantastic vehicles of flavor in a multitude of dishes, both hot and cold — from a warming Moroccan stew to a vegan spin on a tuna salad. Chickpeas, like most beans, are sold both dried and canned. The dried version requires soaking the beans (usually overnight) and cooking them for up to two hours. The canned chickpeas, on the other hand, are ready to eat as soon as you drain them out of the can, saving you significant time. With a plethora of grocery store chickpea brands competing for shelf space, Tasting Table tested 12 canned chickpea brands and ranked them worst to best. The lowest ranking on the list? Iberia.

Iberia chickpeas are fairly small, which could be the reason why they came out so dry when our taste tester attempted to roast them. Roasted chickpeas are a delicious crunchy snack, but unfortunately, Iberia's canned chickpeas lacked crispiness. Another issue was the flavor — our tester found the other brands had a noticeably better flavor, while Iberia was too sweet and overall tasted a bit off. There was another area where this brand's canned chickpeas didn't do well: The aquafaba was too thin. Aquafaba is the leftover chickpea water (or the liquid inside the can) that can be whipped to a texture akin to egg whites, making it the main ingredient in vegan meringues.

If you check the ingredient list of Iberia canned chickpeas, you'll notice a controversial additive: disodium EDTA. It's primarily there to prevent discoloration of the chickpeas, so that when you open the can, all the beans have the same light beige color you're expecting to see. Disodium EDTA is commonly used in food products as a preservative and is approved by the FDA as safe within a certain limit. So, what makes it controversial? Some research suggests this additive could irritate the digestive system of people suffering from pre-existing gastrointestinal diseases, on the basis of an animal study that showed disodium EDTA having a significant inflammatory impact on the GI tract of mice.

If you're looking to buy a tasty can of garbanzo beans that doesn't contain disodium EDTA, you'll have more luck in the canned goods section at Whole Foods. Tasting Table found their 365 organic chickpeas as the best of the tested bunch, thanks to a pleasant flavor, perfect texture, and thick aquafaba. The next time you're craving a comforting chickpea orzo soup or making simple homemade creamy hummus, that's the brand to look out for.