Are chickpeas gluten-free? Yes, and so is chickpea flour

Yes. Chickpeas are naturally gluten-free. So is chickpea flour, also called gram flour or besan.

What to know

• Dried chickpeas can contain stray cereal grains from farming and processing; pick through and rinse them.
• Chickpea flour is milled, sometimes in mills that also handle wheat. A gluten-free label tells you the flour was produced for it.
• Dishes: hummus is usually gluten-free (the pitta isn’t); falafel depends on the recipe and the fryer; farinata and socca are made with chickpea flour and water.

Keep reading

• Is hummus gluten-free?
• Is falafel gluten-free?
• Are lentils gluten-free?

Sources: EU Regulation 1169/2011 (Annex II: cereals containing gluten, and the exemptions for wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose and wheat-based maltodextrins), Coeliac UK, Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less). Checked 28 September 2026. We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.