This simple chickpea bread transforms soaked chickpeas into a surprisingly fluffy yet hearty loaf that’s gluten-free, grain-free and toasts, dips, and slices well!
Guess who’s back with another fun gluten-free bread? After quinoa bread, lentil protein bread, and oatmeal seed bread, my recent chickpea crackers recipe led straight to this fluffy, savory flourless chickpea bread. Unlike most chickpea bread recipes, mine uses whole dried chickpeas, not chickpea flour. The result is surprisingly bread-like (soft and fluffy!) with a savory nuttiness and just enough texture to feel hearty and satisfying.
Even better, this loaf is yeast-free, requires no kneading or rising, and is incredibly easy to make. It’s also grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, oil-free, AND high in fiber and some protein. Plus, its savory, nutty, almost buttery flavor is perfect for slicing, toasting, and dunking.
If you love creative chickpea recipes, don’t miss my chickpea tofu, chickpea cookie dough, or chickpea blondies.
The Ingredients
- Chickpeas: Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, provide the best texture (like in falafels!) for this whole chickpea bread.
- Psyllium husk powder: Use POWDER, not whole psyllium husk. Otherwise, blend them into a fine powder first. This helps mimic wheat dough’s elasticity and softness.
- Ground flaxseed: To bind the loaf while adding nutrients.
- Leavening agents: This yeast-free chickpea bread uses both baking powder and baking soda for rise and fluffiness without yeast.
- Vinegar: Like apple cider vinegar (or lemon/lime juice).
- Salt
- Water
For the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information, read the recipe card below.
To Flavor The Bread
This savory, soaked chickpea bread makes a versatile canvas.
- Herbs: For falafel-inspired flavor, add plenty of fresh parsley and cilantro with optional dill/mint. Rosemary, thyme, or Italian seasoning also works.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder is a simple way to add savory depth. However, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, and/or cayenne/red pepper flakes also work. Blends like curry powder also work. Coarse sea salt over the top is also delicious.
- Nutritional yeast: For a cheesy, umami flavor.
- Chunky add-ins: Like a few finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, preserves lemon peel, and/or olives. Pat them dry.
How to Make Chickpea Bread
- First, soak the dried chickpeas overnight (9-12 hours) in plenty of water until they have noticeably expanded and roughly doubled in weight. Then, drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Next, preheat the oven to 360F/180C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend the chickpeas and water in a food processor until smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the ground flaxseeds, psyllium husk powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Then, pour the vinegar directly over the baking powder and baking soda.
- Blend again, scraping down the sides if needed. The batter will thicken quickly.
- Transfer the dough onto the prepared pan and shape it by hand into a round loaf, lightly wetting your hands to smooth the top and sides.
- Score the top with a knife. Lightly wet the surface again, optionally sprinkle with flaxseeds, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
When ready, a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.
- Let the chickpea bread cool completely, then slice and enjoy!
What To Serve With Chickpea Bread?
Enjoy this hearty vegan chickpea bread for topping, toasting, and sandwiches, including:
- Buttered (with vegan soups, stews, and vegan cheese fondue)
- Breakfast toppings (like scrambled tofu and/or sauteed mushrooms)
- Cheese (vegan cream cheese or vegan ricotta cheese with fresh veggies)
- Avocado (Use it for many delicious avocado toast variations)
- Mezze (like hummus, lentil hummus, garlic white bean dip, etc., with cucumber, tomato, olives, roasted red peppers, pickles, etc.)
- Bruschetta style (with tomato, salt, and olive oil)
Storage Instructions
Store: In an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Whole or sliced, with parchment between the slices, in a Ziplock for 3 months. Thaw on the counter for several hours or use the defrost setting in a microwave/toaster.
FAQs
Can I make canned chickpea bread?
No. Soaked raw chickpeas behave very differently from cooked canned chickpeas. They still contain their natural starch, which provides structure and binding when baked. Canned chickpeas are much softer and can’t create the same bread-like texture.
Can I omit the psyllium husk powder?
No, this is an important binder and affects the texture of the bread.
Can I change the shape or size of the loaf?
Absolutely! Feel free to make different-shaped and sized loaves/ a baguette. Adjust baking time accordingly.
Recipe Notes
- For the best results: Use metric measurements for the best accuracy.
- When soaking chickpeas: Make sure the chickpeas are covered with plenty of water, as they swell a lot and absorb a lot of liquid. Then drain thoroughly and rinse to remove any ‘raw’ flavor.
- Shape the loaf: It isn’t like yeast dough, so shape it to your desired shape. It rises wonderfully, but won’t spread.
- Don’t slice too early: Cooling helps ‘set’ the loaf.
More Gluten-free Bread Recipes
- The BEST gluten-free bread
- Keto flaxseed bread
- Red lentil bread rolls
- Gluten-free seeded bread
- Gluten-free French Bread
- Easy Gluten-free Pita Bread
- Gluten-free Naan Bread
If you try this chickpea bread recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in recreations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan—I love seeing them.
Chickpea Bread (Gluten Free, No Yeast)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) dry chickpeas (not canned) (400 g after soaking for 9 hours)
- ¾ cup (180 ml) water
- 4 Tbsp (40 g) psyllium husk powder (not whole psyllium husk)
- ¼ cup (25 g) ground flaxseeds
- 1/2-3/4 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ Tbsp (16 g) vinegar or lemon juice/ lime juice
Instructions
- You can watch the video for visual instructions.First, soak the dried chickpeas overnight (9-12 hours) in plenty of water until they have noticeably expanded and roughly doubled in weight. Then, drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Next, preheat the oven to 360℉/180℃ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend the chickpeas and water in a food processor until smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the ground flaxseeds, psyllium husk powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Then, pour the vinegar directly over the baking powder and baking soda.
- Blend again, scraping down the sides if needed. The batter will thicken quickly.
- Transfer the dough onto the prepared pan and shape it by hand into a round loaf, lightly wetting your hands to smooth the top and sides.
- Score the top with a knife. Lightly wet the surface again, optionally sprinkle with flaxseeds, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Let the chickpea bread cool completely, then slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
I followed your recipe and added some cherry tomato pesto to it- it looks and tastes amazing. Thank you as always for another delicious recipe
This makes me so happy, Gabrielle! That sounds amazing, cherry tomato pesto in this bread is such a great idea. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for your lovely feedback. 🙂
Can’t leave an actual review since I haven’t made it yet. Asking if I can add dates and nuts to the batter before baking?
Hello Lauren! You can add some, but keep it moderate. A few finely chopped dates and nuts will work best. Adding too much can make the bread heavier and affect how well it rises, so start with a small amount and adjust from there.
Dear Ela, I tried it: DELICIOUS. I followed the exact recipe. The bread came out exactly like showed in your video.
I’m a big fan of your recipes. .Thank you for such hard work continuing proposing gluten free vegan recipes. All the best. Isabelle
Yay, I am so glad it turned out incredible!! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Isabelle! 🙂
I love all your recipes
Thank u for being there for us
Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me, Betina. 🤍 I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes and I’m glad I can be here for you.
I have made bread with lentils in the past and very much looking forward to trying your chickpea recipe. can I use a blender instead of a food processor? is there a difference in preparation?
thank you very much!
Yes, you can use a blender. 🙂
Just keep in mind that the dough thickens very quickly because of the psyllium husk, which is why a food processor is usually easier.
What you can do is blend the chickpeas with the water in your blender first. Then transfer that mixture to a bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients, and simply mix everything with a spatula. That works very well.
can you use tin chickpea instead of dry?
what can you use instead of vinegar or lemon/ lime juice as I’m allergic to all of them?
Hi Fiona. No, canned chickpeas won’t work here. I explain in detail in the FAQs why this bread only works with dried soaked chickpeas.
Regarding the acid, you can simply leave out the vinegar, lemon or lime completely. In that case also leave out the baking soda. Just keep the baking powder as written, or use a little more if you tolerate it. The bread will still bake and hold together well, it will just be a bit more compact and less airy.
thanks for the information. Will definitely be trying it out.
I made the bread as directed, cooked it around 40 min. The loaf turned dark; almost purple. What might cause this?
That can actually depend a lot on the brand and type of psyllium husk you use. Some brands hardly change the color at all, others make the bread turn very dark, and some can even give it a purple or greyish tone. It’s totally normal and doesn’t affect the safety or quality of the bread, just the appearance. If the color bothers you, you can try a different brand of psyllium husk next time — many lighter-coloured ones will keep the loaf looking more golden.
Thank you! The taste is delicious, just the purple color surprised me!
So glad you like the taste 🙂
Thx for the recipe. Can I use chickpea flour instead? How much more water would I need to add, and how many grams of chickpea flour. I regularly make wraps with half lentil half chickpea flours for my grandson.
Since I haven’t tested this recipe with chickpea flour, I can only make an educated guess and you’d need to experiment a bit on your own.
Try starting with 200 g of chickpea flour (2 cups) and then add water gradually until the dough looks like it does in my video.
It might not work out this way, so I’d suggest trying just half of the recipe first to test it.
I clicked on send too quick……..
Tf I use these recipes as buns,is there a rule of thumb with regards to cooking times and temperatures,and thankyou for being so patient with us all!
You’re very welcome. Yes, use the same temperature as in the loaf recipe, just shorten the baking time to around 25-35 minutes depending on their size. Small buns are often done closer to 25 minutes, bigger ones more like 30 to 35. They should feel firm on the outside and sound slightly hollow when you tap the bottom. Let them cool completely before cutting, they set up more as they cool.
would any of your bread recipes workin a bread machine
Hi! Some do, but it really depends on the specific recipe. This one, not so much. This is not a yeast dough but a very fast-setting batter with psyllium, flax and baking powder. It thickens within minutes and needs to be shaped and baked right away, which bread machines don’t handle well.
If you really want to try it, only use the machine as a “baking oven”: prepare the batter as written, transfer it directly into the greased bread pan and start a bake-only program without any kneading or resting time.
But honestly, the regular oven gives much better results for this recipe.
i see that you have already had lots of questions, so here is mine.
I don’t keep baking powder in my pantry, and always use baking soda and apple cider vinegar instead. I see that this recipe has baking powder, baking soda and vinegar. Do you suppose there is a way to omit the baking powder and still get the rise?
Thank you for this recipe!
Sure, that can work 🙂
Baking powder is a combination of baking soda plus an acid, so in this recipe it simply gives a bit of extra lift and softness. You can omit it and slightly increase the baking soda and vinegar instead. The bread will still rise, it may just turn out a little more rustic and dense, but still very tasty.
Thanks so much for your kind words and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Well, I made it! I guessed and increased the baking soda to 1 tsp and increased the ACVinegar to 2 TB and omitted the baking powder entirely. The loaf turned out light and very springy.
i am a big fan of your lentil bread recipe, to which I add both dates and either maple syrup or honey. So I do miss the sweetness in this recipe. I am going to make it again today and add a little sweetness.
Also I did use my vitamix for the initial blend of the flaxseeds and chickpeas with the water. This worked well,but of course I had to remove this mixture from the vitamix before adding the rest of the ingredients. I can see why the psyllium powder is so important in this recipe.. Luckily I had sone on hand..
Thank you again for creating this recipe!
So happy to hear it worked out so well for you, Cathy. 🤍
Adding a little sweetness is a great idea. A tablespoon or two of maple syrup or date syrup will fit in perfectly without changing the texture much.
And yes, psyllium is really the magic here. It’s what gives the loaf that real bread like structure. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and I’m really glad you’re enjoying the breads.
Amazing, thanks! Any way ofusing chickpea flour instead?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it could work if you adjust the water.
Can i omit using psylium husk?
No, Shan. The recipe won’t work without it. You can check out my gluten-free seeded bread recipe that uses chia seeds instead of psyllium husk, however, it’s a different texture.
Could this be baked in a loaf pan to make it more like sandwich bread size?
Hi Tomi, I believe you can bake it in a loaf pan for a classic sandwich bread shape. Just line the pan with parchment paper. Once it feels firm and a skewer comes out clean, carefully lift the loaf out of the pan and place it directly on the oven rack or back on the baking sheet. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes so the sides and bottom can dry out and get nicely set. This gives you a better crust and a sturdier slice for sandwiches.
Love this recipe. It is so healthy. I often add a few dates into the food processor and a couple tablespoons of Monkfruit sweetener for a sweeter bread.
Hi Lorrie, do you maybe mean one of my other bread recipes? Because I only posted this one a few hours ago. It’s brand new. 🙂
Hi… the bread looks great… can I replace the baking soda with another ingredient?! I’m very sensitive to the strong smell of the baking soda… so asking…
Hi! Maybe use more baking powder instead, that should work fine.
I cannot find video link.
Hi Nancy, the video is included in the post, but it won’t show if you’re using an ad blocke. Try disabling it first. If it still doesn’t appear, you can also try a different browser or check out my YouTube channel (Elavegan) to watch it there. 🙂
Can I use canned chickpeas?
Hi Diana, no canned chickpeas won’t work here. I describe it in detail in the FAQs in the blog post above. 🙂
Can we use canned chickpeas?
Hi Judy, canned chickpeas cannot be used. I describe it in detail in the FAQs in the blog post above. 🙂
Hello, thank you for this great recipe.. Can I use ground chia seeds instead of flax?
Hi Hülya, I haven’t tried ground chia seeds in this recipe yet, but it could work fine. It might be a little bit denser, though. Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂
Since this was mentioned have you or anyone tried with chia instead of flax? crossing my fingers would be good to know as I can’t eat flax seeds
Hi Trish, I only posted the recipe a few hours ago, so nobody had the chance to make it yet, as the chickpeas need to be soaked overnight. I only tried flax so far. 🙂