Roasted Chickpeas
These spiced & roasted crispy chickpeas take just a few minutes of preparation and are a delicious healthy snack, a salad and soup topper, and an addition to a whole variety of dishes!
I love chickpeas, and they are honestly such a versatile ingredient that can be added to snacks and meals. Whether they are mashed into hummus or falafel, included into hearty stews or now roasted into delicious crispy chickpeas with a variety of seasonings. These baked chickpeas are crispy and perfect for a snack or adding to a variety of meals.
Chickpeas contain a range of nutrients, including protein, which is necessary for bone, muscle, and skin health.
For people who are cutting down on meat consumption, a dish of chickpeas and rice, for example, can contribute a significant amount of protein to the diet. A cup of chickpeas provides almost one-third of an adult’s daily protein needs.
The nutrients in chickpeas may also help prevent a number of health conditions.
Chickpeas are just such an easy addition to meals and help pack in protein and flavour. These crispy chickpeas can actually be flavoured in a variety of ways – including sweet or savory. Within this post, I will go through how to roast chickpeas and some tips to getting them right every time.
Getting the perfect ‘crisp’ factor (and keeping it), for ‘crispy’ chickpeas can be a bit of a struggle – and when I say crispy, I mean crispy! To help you, there are several ‘tips and tricks’ too. That way you have a healthier, great snack alternative.
From how you bake, season and store them – all of these factors can affect how crispy your baked chickpeas end up being.
Tips on how to get it right all the time
The Crisp Factor: Make sure that they are thoroughly dry after cooking (or draining and rinsing from a can). Any extra moisture can lead to ‘chewy’, rather than crispy chickpeas;
Storing them: Store the chickpeas in a ‘loosely covered’ container at room temperature – the airflow will help to keep them crispy. Air-tight containers and/or fridge storage will lead to chewy/mushy chickpeas;
Top Tip* One of the best things I can probably say is that I’ve found that different brands of tinned chickpeas vs cooked at home from dry chickpeas will need slightly different times etc. Especially due to size differences. The best thing is to check on the chickpeas after 30-35 minutes, then continue to bake for longer, if needed – they can quickly go from ‘just right’ to burnt.
However, if you don’t roast them for long enough, to begin with, then this will also make them get chewy faster.
Variations
Spices: Baked chickpeas can be flavoured in a million different ways, and even the spice blend I suggest can be tweaked to get specific flavours. If I want crispy chickpeas that are relatively neutral, then I will often just use some salt and garlic powder, with the occasional addition of nutritional yeast. The recipe on this page is my current favourite spice blend go-to.
Ingredients
* 2 Tbsp of olive oil
* 1 Tbsp of Paprika
* 1 Tbsp of Cumin
Blackpepper
The Method
The first step is to cook your dried chickpeas. This doesn’t even need to be done before making these baked chickpeas as cooked chickpeas will store in the fridge/freezer for long periods of time.
Once cooked (or thawed), make sure to thoroughly dry the chickpeas with a clean tea towel or kitchen towel.
* If using tinned chickpeas then drain and rinse them, then pat dry thoroughly.
** As a quick ‘cheat’ you can always place your plain chickpeas in the oven as it’s preheating for around 5-10 minutes and this will help to dry roast them and dry them before mixing with the herbs/spices and oil.
Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Next, combine all the spices in a large bowl and mix brushing it all. If you know that you prefer certain flavours over others then feel free to tweak the amounts.
Add the olive oil to the spice blend and mix it again.
Next, place the spice coated chickpeas on a baking sheet in a single layer. If needed, use two trays; otherwise, this can affect how crispy they will end up being.
Bake in the preheated oven at 170ºC for about 40-45 minutes. Turn halfway through – or at least jostle them about by shaking the pan, however turning will receive better results.
Check the results after around 30 minutes by taking one out of the oven and leaving to cool slightly. Continue to bake, as needed, until crispy. For me this is usually between 40-45 minutes, however, this can vary of the chickpea size, brand (if using tinned), oven, etc.
If you decide to leave the chickpeas in the oven to cool down for a while, then make sure that the oven door is slightly open. If not, then it can steam up inside and affect the crisp-facto
How to store
Once cooked leave them to cool down completely before transferring to another container. Store at room temperature within a container that is only loosely covered to maintain optimal crunch levels.
While they are best within the first couple of days, you could store them for uo to a week.