When we went plastic-free, we cut store-bought snacks. Those processed foods come packaged in plastic in one way or another—either in plastic bags, or in plastic bags tucked inside cardboard boxes or individually wrapped in plastic and then stuffed into yet more plastic bags. So we started making more snacks from scratch—stovetop popcorn, crackers, dips for crackers. Salty, savory, nutty and addictive roasted chickpeas are another tasty, easy homemade snack.
I do enjoy cooking but since I have to make our snacks, we snack less—I can cook only so much!—which has benefited our health. And the snacks I do make are fairly nutritious. I haven’t tried to replicate Doritos on this blog… This snack contains chickpeas, olive oil, spices and salt. So you can eat these without guilt. In fact, you might feel guilty if you don’t eat these, because…
Chickpeas and hummus are an easy means to help consumers meet the recommended 1.5 cups of legumes per week. Four tablespoons (~100 kcal) of traditional, chickpea-based hummus per day provides approximately 2 cups of legumes per week and ~25 grams of dietary fiber—a shortfall nutrient in the diets of many adults and children. This same amount also provides approximately 14 g of plant protein per week, as well as many other essential vitamins and minerals… Consuming chickpeas and/or hummus may help prevent or offset the development and progression of several chronic diseases (CVD, type-2 diabetes, etc.) and promote healthier functional outcomes (e.g., weight management). — The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
We eat lots of chickpeas—in hummus and Indian dishes—so I cook lots of them at once in my pressure cooker and almost always have an extra jar of them on hand (so convenient!). If pressure cookers terrify you, cook chickpeas in a slow cooker or in a pot on the stove.
Pressure cooker models differ but to give you an idea of how quickly they cook dry beans and legumes, in mine, chickpeas turn out quite firm when I soak them for about five hours before cooking, bring to pressure in my pot for two minutes and then turn off the heat. I find they turn out very soft if I soak them for longer than that (in which case, I make hummus).
For the batch of roasted chickpeas featured in this blog post, I chose cumin, oregano and a bit of cayenne from my spices. Spices for Indian dishes go well with these also—turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, curry powder. A chili blend would taste great too—crushed dried chillies, cumin, oregano, coriander, cloves, allspice.
After cooking your beans, drain and rinse, pat dry, toss with olive oil, salt and spices and roast at 400ºF for about 30 minutes or until a rich, golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Eat them while they’re still warm. They will keep in a jar but they taste best straight out of the oven.
Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas (yields about 5 cups cooked)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
1. Soak chickpeas for at least six hours. Cook in a pot, a slow cooker or a pressure cooker.
2. Drain, rinse, pat dry and place cooked chickpeas in a medium-size bowl.
3. Combine olive oil, salt and spices in a small bowl.
4. Pour olive oil mixture over chickpeas and toss.
5. Dump chickpeas out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Give the sheet a few shakes to spread out the chickpeas evenly in a single layer.
6. Roast at 400ºF for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes.
7. Chickpeas are ready when they have turned a rich, golden brown color.
These taste best immediately after roasting. If you have leftovers however, transfer them to an airtight container, store at room temperature and eat within a week.
Thanks for this. I’m becoming more and more conscious of my plastic consumption and am horrified by how much plastic I use that can’t be recycled. This post is timely for me, because I was just thinking about snack foods and, while I don’t snack much, it’s nice to have some around.
Thanks for checking it out Cece. I think snacks might be the worst offenders as far as plastic packaging goes. So many of them are also packaged in single servings. I have some other snacks listed in my recipe index if you’re interested. Enjoy your plastic-free snacks! ~ Anne Marie
We make roasted chickepeas from chickpeas we can and then soak in a solution of half brine, half olive oil. I’ve used both olive and pickle brine in the past. We salt once they are out of the oven because the brines vary in saltiness. I love that we are using up old brines and getting a great snack.
Thank you for this Sara! What a great idea to use up brine for these. I have lots of it too. I’ll use some for the next batch. Brilliant! ~ Anne Marie
Great idea!
These look yummy! I’m looking for some holiday gift type snacks to give away. I was thinking crispy nuts. Would you recommend these if they are best eaten only out of the oven? Do you have any other simple/unusual recipes you could recommend? These look like they’d make a great party food! Thank you!
Hi Danielle, these would be perfect for a party but not so much for gifts I don’t think. They just taste SO much better straight out of the oven. But if you think your recipient would like this idea, you could give them a jar of cooked chickpeas (tell them to keep them refrigerated until they use them, which would be within several days) and a jar with the olive oil and spices mixed in and instructions for baking these–sort of like a zero-waste meal kit. I think granola in a jar makes a nice gift. I would love that myself. I would also love anything fermented. Preserved lemons would make a nice gift but you’d have to start them a month in advance. Oh and vanilla extract. That takes a couple of months to steep. I have links for all of these in my recipe index. You’ve reminded me I need to get to work for the holidays! ~ Anne Marie
Yay! Thank you. I thought it would be fun to do a gift swap for ZWasters. What items you’d love to receive. Of course FOOD is always a GOOD ONE!!! So yes to ferments, and even some small loaves of bread, preserved lemons, tomatoes. Looked through your recipes and thought those garbanzos would be SO GOOD w/your Bloody Mary ferment mix. I’ll be doing a flat of tomatoes this weekend so I’m going to try that!!!! I also thought a seasoned dry soup mix in a mason jar, mixed dried apple/pears, aloe vera plants… You know… The sky’s the limit…But simple and easy is a must!
This is great! I’m actually able to purchase dry garbanzo beans in bulk so I’m wondering, is there any preparation I need to do before starting this recipe? Or are canned and dry beans interchangeable in this recipe? Thanks Anne Marie!
Thank you 🙂 I would say they are interchangeable but the dry will likely taste better. They have so much flavor. Enjoy!
We just made these and I can verify that yes, they are good! We didn’t eat them all at once so I put the leftovers in the fridge. Still taste great to me even hours later! I’m a snacker so it’s so exciting to have this recipe to go back to! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Rachel. I just saw this now. I’m so glad you liked them. Thank you 🙂 ~ Anne Marie
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Do you know what size baking sheet I’ll need to make this as described? I’ll buy one later this week.
Hi Ian, mine is about 18″ x 14″. Enjoy! ~ Anne Marie
Thanks, this is a great size to spread items like this out.
How did they turn out?
Yummy! I made a batch with just salt and olive oil, to start. Out of 6 of us, only 2 liked them. My husband is not home to try them yet. I will be adding this to our snack stash!! Thanks!
Thank YOU! So glad you enjoyed.
I love oven roasted chickpeas but while roasting some of them popped and made a mess in the oven. Any tips on how to avoid this?
[…] Roasted chickpeas […]
I am buying a new freezer after a few years without, also a slow cooker. Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I want to develop my cooking skills at age 63!
Made this with the smaller, dark Khala Chana beans and tasted great. I started nibbling and before I knew it I ate some more and then some more… Quite addictive! Thanks for the heads up on this healthy snack. It’s in my repertoire now and will be repeated often!