Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas - one bite is delightfully crispy with a slightly tender inside, the next bite gives a loud satisfying crunch, then fingers must be licked to get all the salty goodness off. Repeat. You're welcome.
Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas are one of my all-time favourite easy salty snacks. There are many recipes for roasted chickpeas floating around but from my recipe testing, many of those recipes resulted in squishy, mushy, or burnt chickpeas, and not crispy crunchy. I'm ALL about the crispy crunchy.
After a lot of recipe testing, I discovered the key to crispy crunchy was to dry roast the chickpeas first so they have a chance to get crispy and then season them at the last minute. Boom! Works every time.
This recipe isn't actually new to It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken. I originally posted it a long, long time ago in my very first year of blogging way back in 2013. See the original ugly old picture ↑↑↑.
Back in the good ol' days when I had zero knowledge of food photography and zero knowledge of recipe writing. I used a phone to take pictures, under regular kitchen lights, on the kitchen floor. I had no ingredient measurements of any kind, and only gave a vague idea of what to actually do as "instructions". My how things have changed. ...I mean, well... I still take my pictures on my kitchen floor, but floor food is "professional", right?
Have any of you been following along since then? Let me know in the comments.
But some of those old "recipes" are still my go-to's, like this one, so it was time these chickpeas got a little facelift. (And by little, I mean some serious surgery to make this crusty old recipe into sparkling tempting deliciousness).
Ahhh there we go. So much better.
These little dudes aren't just for snacking either, they also make for a super yummy crunchy salad topper. Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas are best eaten fresh, as they can get a little soft when stored, but don't worry, I promise you will have no problem polishing them off immediately.
To make Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas:
Spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet. It's ok if they are still a bit wet, they will dry out in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, stopping to shake the pan every now and then.
*Make sure you do shake the pan once or twice when the chickpeas are baking, this helps them dry out properly and get crispy.
BONUS TIP: save that aquafaba (the liquid leftover in the can of chickpeas) and use it to make vegan meringues, vegan marshmallow fluff, or vegan confetti cake.
Remove the chickpeas from the oven and carefully add the hot chickpeas to a bowl along with the olive oil, chili powder, thyme, and salt. Toss well to coat the chickpeas evenly.
Spread the seasoned chickpeas back onto the baking sheet and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before enjoying. You can snack on them still warm, or completely cooled.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 19oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- OVEN: Preheat your oven to 375F (190C).AIR-FRYER: Preheat your air-fryer to 350F (180C).
- OVEN: Spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet. It's ok if they are still a bit wet, they will dry out in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, stopping to shake the pan every now and then. *Make sure you do shake the pan once or twice when the chickpeas are baking, this helps them dry out properly and get crispy.AIR-FRYER: Add the chickpeas to the air-fryer. It's ok if they are still a bit wet, they will dry out in the oven. Bake 20 minutes, stopping to shake the pan every now and then. *Make sure you do shake the pan once or twice when the chickpeas are baking, this helps them dry out properly and get crispy.Remove the chickpeas and carefully add the hot chickpeas to a bowl along with the olive oil, chili powder, thyme, and salt. Toss well to coat the chickpeas evenly.
- OVEN: Spread the seasoned chickpeas back onto the baking sheet and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden and crispy.AIR-FRYER: return the chickpeas to the air-fryer and cook another 8 - 12 minutes untiil they are golden and crispy.You can snack on them still warm, or completely cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
Phil says
If you begin with dried chickpeas, would you bake directly after a night of soaking, or would you boil them prior to putting in the oven?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
The recipe hasn't been tested with dried chickpeas, but if you want to use dry, you should soak them for at least 12 hours.
Christiane says
I love them! So addictive!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!
Kayla says
If you suspect your oven might not be as hot as it says, what should you look for to know the dry roasting is complete? Will they be a little brown or how do you know?
Sam Turnbull says
They will be dry, firm, and will make a lot of noise rolling around on the pan! Haha
Rain says
super yummy will defiantly make again.
I didn't have canned chickpeas, so I threw a cup of dry ones with 4 cups of water and 1.5 teaspoons of salt into the pressure cooker with for 52 minutes and left them 20 minutes to relieve pressure before rinsing them and throwing them in the air fryer. They came out great! maybe a bit to crunchy for my taste. probably because they were still warm inside from cooking. When I make these again, I will reduce the 20-minute cook time to 17.
Dee says
This was no what I expected but they are scrumptious.
They are truly crunchy - like a cross between corn nuts and fritos - and I am so excited to have a snack to replace that craving.
Thanks for great recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's a great way to describe them!
Mike says
Thank you for posting this! Soaking dried chickpeas overnight and then boiling them for an hour made such a difference! After only soaking them overnight, they would pop around in the oven and while the remaining ones in the pan still tasted okay, it was very messy & stinky with chickpeas burning on the bottom! Old Bay Seasoning tastes great on them too!
Mike says
Forgot to add .... we used coconut oil on them and the flavor turned out great. Next time will try avocado oil.
Brenda says
Yummy! I store them in a tin or glass jar. I found they stay crispy longer.
Rita says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It's the first crunchy chickpea recipe I've tried where the chickpeas actually come out CRUNCHY - hooray!! I love how versatile these are as you can season them however you want. They're excellent as a snack but also a fun way to add crunch to salads and buddha bowls. Thanks again 🙂
Shana says
These came out very crunchy and tasty! Even without seasoning them they were so addictive that I could’ve just eaten them all right off the pan!
My only complaint is that 30 minutes was too long (at least for my oven). I ended up having to throw out about 1/3 of them because they had burnt. I opted to just season what was left and not put back in the oven, but I think next time I’ll bake them for 20 minutes instead of 30. I also forgot to shake the pan so that might’ve been part of the problem.
Paul Voorend says
I have done a few different batches but have always found they are very firm and hard, almost to the point where it feels like I could break a tooth biting them! Almost as hard as unpopped popcorn.. I'm sure that's nor normal?
I want to persist in trying to perfect the roasting times, but wondering what I may be doing wrong that they always end up being so hard?
I use dry chickpeas that have been soaked overnight, then roast for about 30-35 mins, checking & shaking every 10 minutes.
sarab says
I haven't tried this yet so I can't rate the recipe but I'm reading the comments — She's using cooked chickpeas and it sounds like you're using dry beans that have only been soaked overnight. I can see why they'd be hard. You'd need to cook them first, then do the roasting. I think many people just start with canned because it's faster.
Paul Voorend says
Actually yes this was my exact problem. I have made them again with canned chickpeas... excellent! Thanks for the heads-up 🙂
julie Fox says
I think your problem is you havnt boiled your chick peas. The recipe is for canned chick peas that are pre cooked. after soaking you need to boil for an hour. before the baking.
Paul says
Yes I've already conceded that was my problem. Using canned or cooked beans works like it should.
Jess says
Absolutely love! This is one of my go to’s.
Mark Lo says
I find that the timing varies a lot, depending on the brand or size of the chickpeas. The first time I made these, the timing was perfect. Another brand had much larger chickpeas and I had to double the time to get them crunchy. For anyone who says these don't come out crunchy, try baking them longer, checking every 10 minutes or so.
Janet Clemens says
These are incredible! Completely addictive. I used canned and followed the directions. Subbed garlic salt, smoked paprika and chili powder for the seasonings. Thank you for this recipe. Going to stock up on chickpeas tomorrow and dumping the chips!!!
Carmen says
Omg these are absolutely amazing! The perfect snack! The seasoning is amazing, just a little spice and enough salt, and perfectly crunchy! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Carmen 🙂
Julie says
Made these twice in two days. Used 1/2 teasp garlic powder, 1/2 teasp chili powder, the second time. Looking forward to a cumin/garlic version.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!