Roasted chickpeas: Easy vegan snack

Roasted chickpeas are a terrific, protein-packed snack or salad topper. They are lightly seasoned with nutritional yeast flakes and salt. Perfect for when you’re craving something crunchy, salty, and satisfying. Vegan and gluten-free.

Roasted chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are a warm & delicious snack. They’re super satiating by the handful. Or add them to a salad or pasta dish.

They are inexpensive and easy to make in the oven with just a few simple ingredients.

(Have an air fryer? You can use that instead with this air fryer chickpeas recipe.)

What kind of chickpeas should I use?

For this roasted chickpeas recipe, you can use homemade or canned beans.

One thing to keep in mind is that chickpeas vary in softness depending on how long they were cooked. Made-from-scratch beans can be al dente or very soft, depending on how much time they spent in hot water.

Even from one brand of canned chickpeas to another, you’ll having varying degrees of softness. That will affect how long the chickpeas need to roast to achieve the same level of crispiness. Softer chickpeas take a longer amount of time to get crispy.

Trader Joe’s canned garbanzo beans are on the denser side. So they get crispy in about 20 minutes, while Field Day brand chickpeas are softer and take longer.

How to make them

Here’s what you’ll need: drained chickpeas, nutritional yeast flakes, oil, and salt.

Blot the beans dry on a clean kitchen towel.

Put them onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet.

Drizzle with oil. Then toss with nutritional yeast flakes and salt.

Spread the chickpeas across the baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, stopping once or twice to shake the pan.

Make them your own

You can make roasted chickpeas your own by varying the cooking time and seasonings.

• If you like them crunchy on the outside & creamy on the inside, cook around 20 minutes.
• If you prefer them crispier throughout, cook between 25 to 30 minutes.
• Omit the nutritional yeast flakes if you’re not a fan or can’t access it.
• Replace extra virgin olive oil with your preferred oil.
• Instead of salt, use your favorite seasoned salt like Fox Point or Slap Ya Mama.

Add a sprinkling of any of the following herbs or spices:

• Granulated garlic
• Granulated onion
• Dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Curry powder
• Paprika or smoked paprika

Keep in mind that the chickpeas will shrink a little as they cook, so any seasonings will intensify in flavor as the surface area of the bean gets smaller. I recommend starting with a sprinkle of seasoning and working up from there.

Ways to enjoy them

There are so many ways to enjoy these roasted chickpeas. They can be eaten on their own as a snack or used as a topping for a larger dish.

• Eat them by the handful right out of the bowl
• Sprinkle them on top of kale salad
• Add them as a protein component to bowtie pasta salad
• Use them as a topping on a pesto rice bowl
• Include them in your dinner of artichoke pesto pasta
• Have them with roasted asparagus & sautéed spinach

Roasted chickpeas

Put these roasted chickpeas everywhere. Eat them as a snack, put them on salads, or throw them into pasta salad. Crunchy, salty, and packed with protein, it's the snack that improves almost any dish. 

Makes 1 cup roasted chickpeas.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Snack

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: easy snack, salad topper

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 48kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup chickpeas drained and rinsed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or your preferred oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ Pinch salt

Instructions

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• ▢
  Move drained chickpeas to a clean kitchen towel, and blot dry. (Wet chickpeas don't roast as nicely as dry.)
• ▢
  Put chickpeas on the parchment paper covered baking sheet. Toss them with extra virgin olive oil, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt.

  Spread the chickpeas across the baking sheet, making sure they aren't touching.
• ▢
  Put baking sheet in the oven and roast chickpeas for 20 minutes, stopping once or twice to shake the pan so that the chickpeas roast evenly.

  If you'd like them to be browner & crispier, continue cooking for 5 to 10 more minutes until they reach your desired level of crispiness.
• ▢
  Remove from oven and serve.

Video

Notes

If you'd prefer to use an entire can of chickpeas, simply add a touch more of oil, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt. Everything else stays the same.

You can use either made-from-scratch or canned beans for this recipe. Keep in mind that some chickpeas are softer than others. Softer chickpeas tend to take longer to achieve the same level of crispiness on the exterior.

Vary the seasonings to suit your tastes. Good options include granulated onion, granulated garlic, curry powder, paprika, cumin, and/or your favorite seasoning salt.

The chickpeas will shrink as they cook, intensifying the flavor. So start with a small amount of seasoning & work up from there.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 48kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Tried this recipe?Tag @cadryskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #cadryskitchen!

Content, recipe, and photos updated June 23, 2021. Originally posted September 20, 2014.