Legumes have high nutritional value and play an important role in traditional diets throughout the world. Consumption of legumes has been linked to reduced risk of diabetes and obesity, coronary heart disease, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and gastrointestinal disorders. Some biotechnological processes such as germination are considered both simple and economical to improve the nutritive and functional value of legumes due to the increase in the bioactive compounds and related antioxidant acitivity. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important grain‐legume crops in the world. Chickpeas contain high levels of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, unsaturated fatty as well as bioactive compounds.The aim of this study was to optimize the germination conditions of desi chickpea seeds that would maximize the antioxidant activity (AoxA), total phenolic (TPC), and flavonoid (TFC) contents. To optimize the germination bioprocess, response surface methodology was applied over three response variables (AoxA, TPC, TFC). A central composite rotable experimental design with two factors [germination temperature (GT), 20–35ºC; germination time (Gt), 10–240 h] in five levels was used; 13 treatments were generated. The sprouts from each treatment were lyophilized, tempered, and ground to obtain germinated chickpea flours (GCF). The best combination of germination bioprocess variables for producing optimized GCF with the highest AoxA [ABTS: 14,435 □mol Trolox equivalents (TE) / 100 g simple, dw; ORAC: 15,143 □mol TE/100 g sample, dw], TPC [217.69 mg Gallic acid equivalents (GAE) / 100 g sample, dw], and TFC [122.61 mg Quercetin equivalents (QE)/100 g sample, dw] was GT= 34ºC/Gt=171 h. The germination bioprocess increased AoxA, TPC, and TFC in 146–178, 98, and 111 %, respectively. The germination is an effective strategy to increase the TPC and TFC of desi chickpea seeds for enhancing functionality with improved antioxidant activity. The chickpea germinated flour or extract might be recommended for use as a source of natural antioxidants in functional foods.Domínguez‐Arispuro DM1, Cuevas‐Rodríguez EO1,2, Milán‐Carrillo JM1,2, Garzón‐Tiznado JA1, Canizalez‐Roman VA1, Gutiérrez‐Dorado R1,2, Reyes‐Moreno C1,2*1 Programa Regional de Posgrado en Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas (FCQB), Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS), Ciudad Universitaria, AP 1354, CP 80,000 Culiacán, Sinaloa, México.2 Programa de Posgrado en Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, FCQB‐UAS, Cd Universitaria, AP 1354, CP 80,000 Culiacán, Sinaloa, México.(*) C Reyes‐Moreno, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Calle Lichis Ote 1986, Col La Campiña, CP 80,060 Culiacán, Sinaloa, México, e mail: creyes@uas.edu.mx