Roasted crispy chickpeas make the perfect healthy snack or salad topper! This recipe is full of tips to make sure that your garbanzo beans actually turn out extra crunchy and perfect.
Crispy Chickpeas
Have you ever had roasted chickpeas? Oh my gosh, they are something else and are truly delicious.
I’m loving this recipe as a healthy alternative to fried chickpeas. They take a bit of effort, but it’s so worth it. They’re just legitimately the best.
They’re kind of like the perfect snack/salad topper/totally worth obsessing over food. Except they’re healthy. And it’s totally acceptable to eat a whole handful of them and share them with all your health-conscious friends and family. But mostly they’re just really really good.
You know what they actually remind me of? In Canada the potato chips have all these wild and amazing flavors that I never saw when I lived in the United States. These remind me of a bag of those super flavorful chips, except they’re actually good for you. Win-win.
Should I Use Canned or Dried Chickpeas?
I’m using canned chickpeas because it saves so much time, but this recipe would also work so well with garbanzo beans you soaked and cooked yourself. Just make sure not to overcook them. If they’re too soft, it will take a long time to get them crispy.
A few people have asked, so I do want to note that it’s important to soak and cook chickpeas before baking them. They do need to be rehydrated before we make them crispy (and turn them the perfect little naturally gluten free crouton replacement).
How to Make Roasted Chickpeas Crispy
There are a couple of important steps when you’re roasting your chickpeas. Chickpeas tend to be a little tricky, and they don’t seem to like to crisp up. If you follow these steps, you’ll have much better luck getting the perfect crispy chickpeas for topping your salad.
Rinse the chickpeas so you get all of the liquid they were stored in rinsed on. Then (and this is important), make sure the chickpeas are completely dry before you move on to the next step.
We’re doing our best to get rid of as much moisture as possible, so anything we can do to help them along is super helpful. I think the easiest way to dry them is to pat and rub them with a paper towel.
Take the time to remove the skins. I know this seems tedious, but it’s SO worth it. Those little skins hold all the moisture in, which makes it impossible for roasted chickpeas to crisp up.
If you don’t want to waste the skins, I’ve heard you can toss them in oil and bake them at 350 F for a nice little snack. I haven’t tried this yet, so if you do, please let me know in the comments how it turns out!
Season the chickpeas after they’re finished baking as soon as they come out of the oven. Aside from the oil and salt, any other seasonings are best added after the chickpeas have come out of the oven. Too many seasonings while they’re baking will just act like the skins would’ve and trap too much moisture in.
Last but not least, let them cool before you eat them. They’ll crisp up even more as they cool!
What Temperature Should I Bake Them At?
Bake them at 350 F (176 C). If you bake them at a higher temperature, the outside will burn before the inside has a chance to dehydrate at all. If you bake them at a lower temperature, they’ll take forever and won’t make much progress in the crispy department.
How Should I Season Them?
I love making crispy spiced chickpeas with my shawarma seasoning, but they would also taste amazing with my Mediterranean seasoning or za’atar seasoning or everything bagel seasoning (I told you they were super versatile, right?).
The great thing about this recipe is that the flavors are so adaptable! You can toss it in essentially any seasoning you like and it will taste great. You can also keep it super simple and only season it with salt.
How Should I Serve Them?
One of my favorite ways to serve this is as a tasty crouton replacement on salads. Especially on kale salads. Seriously, SO good! They also make a great mid-afternoon snack or yummy appetizer. I haven’t tried this yet, but I think they’d make such a great taco filling, too!
How To Store Them
These are best the first day, but they can be kept at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. The trick is to put them in a lidded storage container, but to crack the lid. The air needs to circulate for them to stay crispy.
Snack Recipes
If you like this recipe, you may love checking out some of our other healthy snack recipes!
Some reader favorites are:
Roasted Crispy Chickpea Recipe
Roasted crunchy chickpeas make the perfect healthy snack or salad topper! This recipe is full of tips to make sure that your garbanzo beans actually turn out extra crunchy and perfect.
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (drained, rinsed, and dried)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 batch Shawarma seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).
- Combine all spices (except for the salt) and set to the side.
- Wash and dry the chickpeas. Remove as many skins as possible. Toss with olive oil and salt, and place on a nonstick baking sheet.
- Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, stirring them halfway through baking (I like to do this by shaking the pan). They’re finished when they look golden brown or when they are crispy when touched.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle your favorite spices over top of the warm chickpeas. Stir to coat the chickpeas in the spices. If you wait too long to add the spice mixture, it will have a hard time sticking to the chickpeas. You can spray a little oil on the chickpeas to help the spices adhere. Taste, and adjust for salt preference.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
Shawarma seasoning is my favorite spice blend for this recipe, but it will taste great with any of your favorite ground spice blends, too. Curry or spicy blends would be great here! You can also choose to omit the additional spices and just use the oil and salt as the seasoning.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 178Total Fat: 6.3gCarbohydrates: 24gNet Carbohydrates: 17.2gFiber: 6.8gSugar: 4.3gProtein: 7.5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
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Looking for more snack recipes? This kale chip recipe from Oh She Glows looks amazing!
Make these easy and delicious roasted crispy chickpeas for a tasty healthy snack!
