Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

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Simple Crispy Roasted Chickpeas for a Healthy Vegan Snack

Sure, you can buy roasted chickpeas from your grocery store to eat as a healthy snack.

They’re way better for you than potato chips or Hot Cheetos.

But, don’t the things you do yourself just seem better?

Are they actually better? Maybe or maybe not.

But, they’re better to you. Because you gain the confidence and sense of accomplishment by being able to cook a healthy snack yourself. Making crunchy roasted chickpeas yourself compared to buying from your grocery store will provide you more joy with each crunchy bite.

Keep reading to learn how to roast chickpeas so you can eat feel accomplished with each snack-sized bite.

Health Benefits of Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas are a critical component in plant-based diets because of their relatively high protein content. They are also packed with other vitamins and minerals. According to Healthline, chickpeas are rich in folate, fiber, phosphorus, and iron to name a few.

The high protein and fiber content means that chickpeas will help you feel full. Plus, they help keep your blood sugar in check after eating. Chickpeas also have certain characteristics that may help defend against heart disease and cancer.

Chickpeas are one of the healthier carbohydrates to use as a base for your meal. Instead of having a sandwich on white bread for lunch, have a chickpea salad instead. You’ll have much more energy afterwards.

How to Roast Chickpeas

Roasting is a simple way to crank up the flavor on a can of chickpeas or cooked dried chickpeas. Check out this post to learn how to cook dried chickpeas so you can make this recipe using dried chickpeas.

After you have your cooked chickpeas (canned chickpeas are just cooked chickpeas), you’re going to cook them again to remove as much moisture as possible. This will get them nice and crispy.

Here are the steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drain, rinse and dry (this is important!) chickpeas.
3. Place on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
5. Let cool for a few minutes
6. Toss with spices (optional)
7. Enjoy!

How to Use Roasted Chickpeas

I’m certain that you won’t be able to stop eating these little round snacks as you use them on your final dish (if there is one). They’re super easy to eat and add a blast of crunchiness to your dishes. Here are a few ideas on how to use these:

• By themselves as snacks
• Salad toppers
• Sandwich, wrap, or taco add-in
• Topped with yogurt or tahini sauce
• Grain or Buddha bowl additions
• Added to soups

Cooking Tips

How to Get Crispy Chickpeas

One of the primary issues when roasting chickpeas is failing to get the chickpeas crispy. You deserve a crunchy snack, so every bite should have maximum crispiness. So, here are some juicy crispy tips.

Crispy Tip #1

Dry the chickpeas as much as possiblewith a kitchen towel after rinsing. Try to get as much moisture off as you can by patting and rolling the chickpeas around. This will also help with the next tip.

Crispy Tip #2

Remove any loose skins. You’ll notice some of them coming off as you dry with a towel. You can also go one-by-one and remove the skins from each chickpea, but that is way too much work for me.

Crispy Tip #3

Arrange chickpeas spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet. This should be done for anything you are roasting to allow the heat to circulate around the food.

After you have put your chickpeas on the baking sheet, give it a good shake. This will help to evenly distribute the chickpeas.

Crispy Tip #4

Allow them to cool on the baking sheet. If you immediately put the chickpeas in a bowl, they’ll be sitting on top of each other. Since they’d still be hot, they’ll steam and lose crispiness.

Crispy Tip #5

Eat immediately or let cool completed and store in an unsealed jar or bag at room temperature. Unfortunately, they’ll start to lose their crispiness after a day or two.

Roasted Chickpea Variations

Roasted chickpeas are perfect for adding different spice combinations. The key here is to add the spices after cooking or else they won’t get as crispy.

Here are some delicious spice combos to try.

• 1/2 tsp. paprika and 1/2 tsp. cumin (used in this recipe)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Chinese 5 spice, curry powder or za’atar
• Or 1 tsp. of another seasoning of your choice

Ready for Snacktime?

Snacks get a bad rap in the healthy food department. And rightfully so. They’re typically loaded with unhealthy fats, sodium, and empty calories.

But, not these roasted chickpeas. Show your family and friends that snacks don’t have to be unhealthy by making them. If you have the ability to make snacks healthy, then you’ll be able to making anything healthy.

Next, you’ll need to get your hands on some high quality chickpeas. But, are you tired of always going to the grocery store?

Sometimes, you just don’t have the time or energy to go grocery shopping with your busy lifestyle. While I was researching the best ways to get chickpeas, I found Thrive Market.

For a few dollars a month, you get membership only access to their huge inventory of organic, non-GMO products at 25-50% below retail prices. It’s like if Costco, Amazon, and Whole Foods had a baby. And you can try it risk-free for 30 days!

Get $20 in shopping credit when you purchase a Thrive Market membership through this link.