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.