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Craving a simple, crunchy, savory snack that’s good for you? These Crispy Roasted Chickpeas fit the bill. They’re packed with protein and fiber and have the most satisfying crunch that’ll make it hard to stop snacking.
These also make the best topper for soups and salads. Sprinkle a handful on your vegan Caesar salad or tomato soup as a whole food, plant-based substitute for croutons. They add a wonderful textural element.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
- Cooked chickpeas. Generally I use canned chickpeas for convenience, but you can also cook them yourself. If you are cooking them from dry, make sure not to overcook them — overly soft or mushy chickpeas will take much longer to crisp up.
- Olive oil. Or use any vegetable oil you like. Technically these can be made oil-free, but in my opinion the texture is vastly better with a little drizzle of oil. It helps them crisp up and brown, and it prevents them from having a chalky texture once cooked.
- Salt and pepper. I prefer to keep the seasonings simple with salt and pepper. Feel free to experiment with any of your favorite spices, such as garlic powder or paprika. If you plan to use a seasoning blend that contains sugar, note that you’ll have to keep a more careful eye on the chickpeas as they cook to make sure the sugar doesn’t burn.
How to Make Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
Tip 1: Thoroughly dry the chickpeas beforehand
This is key when it comes to getting your chickpeas super crispy all the way through. Thoroughly rinse the chickpeas in a colander or sieve, and then pour them out on a clean, lint-free kitchen towel.
Use the towel to remove as much of the moisture from the surface of the chickpeas as possible.
After patting them dry with a towel, another thing I’ll do is to spread them out on a cookie sheet and let them sit on the counter for about an hour. This is just another step that dries the surface even further. Try this out if you have attempted to make roasted chickpeas before but can’t seem to get them *actually* crispy.
Once they’ve had a chance to dry out on the counter, transfer them to a bowl to toss with the oil, salt and pepper. Then spread them back out on a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated 425°F oven.
Tip 2: Stir them often while baking
This step is very important when it comes to getting the chickpeas to cook evenly! The chickpeas closer to the edge of the cookie sheet will brown much faster, because the lip of the cookie sheet holds the heat from the oven.
That’s why it’s so important to give your chickpeas a good stir to redistribute them every 10 minutes while cooking. Closer to the end of the cook time, you may even want to stir them more often (every 5 minutes or so).
If you don’t mix them at least a few times, the chickpeas around the edge will get super dark (and maybe even start to burn) before the ones in the center of the sheet get a chance to dry out and crisp up. Not ideal.
Tip 3: Let them cool on the counter slightly before enjoying
The roasted chickpeas will continue to cook and crisp up even more once you remove them from the oven and give them a chance to cool for 5-10 minutes.
When you take them out of the oven, you can give one a taste test. It should be crispy already; otherwise, they will need extra time. But they will crisp up *even more* after cooling slightly.
Tip 4: Check your oven temperature!
Every oven is a little different, and these variations in temperature can alter the exact cook time by a few minutes! If you are consistently having issues with this recipe, it may be worth it to purchase an oven thermometer to see if your oven is actually at the temperature you think it is.
Recipe FAQ
My chickpeas are burning
It’s important to monitor the chickpeas, especially close to the end of the cook time, and pull them out when they’re looking deep golden brown. Take them out early if they appear to be getting too dark.
If only some of the chickpeas are burning, you probably need to stir them more often throughout the cook time. Check out the previous section for more details.
My chickpeas are crispy on the outside but not in the center
If they are still fairly light golden brown in color, I recommend adding extra cook time 2-3 minutes at a time to help crisp them through.
If they look like they are getting too dark but still aren’t crispy in the center, there’s a good chance you need to dry them out more before roasting them. Try Tip 1 in the section above — after towel-drying them, let them sit on a cookie sheet on the counter for an hour or two. This will help evaporate some of the extra moisture before roasting.
How to store crispy roasted chickpeas?
These are best eaten the day they’re made, but they can be stored at room temperature for a few days. I recommend keeping them either in a bowl covered loosely with foil, or in a container with the lid on very loosely. They start to re-absorb moisture and become chewy when refrigerated or tightly sealed.
More Vegan Snacks
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas drained and thoroughly rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- After draining and rinsing chickpeas, use a clean, lint-free kitchen towel to dry them as thoroughly as possible. This is key to getting the crispiest roasted chickpeas.
- Optional, but helpful: Once you've dried the chickpeas with a towel, spread them out on a cookie sheet and let them sit on the counter for about 1 hour. This will dry out the surface even further, making it easier to crisp them up in the oven. If you're doing this step, start preheating the oven about 15 minutes before the hour is up.
- Add the chickpeas to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- Spread the seasoned chickpeas out on the lined baking tray.
- Roast the chickpeas for 45-50 minutes, or until evenly browned. Important: Take the tray out of the oven every 10 minutes and give the chickpeas a good mix, and spread them back out. This will help to ensure they will all cook evenly. The chickpeas near the edge of the pan will brown faster, so this will also help prevent any of them from burning.
- At the 40 minute mark, start checking the chickpeas every 1-2 minutes. By this time they will be mostly crispy and can go from browned to burnt rather quickly. Depending on your oven and how dry you got your chickpeas to begin with, it could take 45-50 minutes.
- Once you take the chickpeas out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes on the tray. During this time they'll continue to crisp up.
- The chickpeas are best enjoyed that day, but they can be stored for a few days. If keeping them in a container with a lid, leave the lid on loosely; if keeping them in a bag, leave it just barely open. This will help the chickpeas stay crispy.
I did this yesterday, and my family love it. Thanks Sara for amazing ideas and recipes