Healthier Spice Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fibre, especially for vegans and vegetarians who do not get sufficient protein from animal protein. Chickpeas are also such a versatile legume that you can boil them, add them to curries/salads and made them into dips such as hummus, just to name a few. One of my favourite way of eating chickpeas is roasting them. Not only are they crunchy, but they are extremely delicious and addictive.

I tend to only eat roasted crunchy chickpeas when I go to restaurants or cafes where I order salads or hummus which are topped with crunchy chickpeas. I believe most of these chickpeas are actually fried (which is not so good for your body) and hence, they are extra crunchy.

As a result, I have recently started making healthier spice roasted chickpeas which I have experimented a few times to get the spice levels right and the appropriate crunch level. This recipe has a few spices but only minimal amount of olive oil (for those of you who are calories conscious).

I usually make these chickpeas for salad toppers or simply as a snack when I am hungry and looking for a savoury protein packed snack 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think of it.

Ingredients

375g uncooked chickpeas (which is approximately 5 cups of cooked chickpeas);
2 tsp chilli, ground (you can add more or less depending on the spiciness level you like);
2 tsp garlic powder;
2 tsp Italian mixed herbs;
2 tsp cumin, ground;
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground;
Himalayan salt to taste;
1 tbsp olive oil;

Method

Cook the uncooked chickpeas until tender and soft (you can also use canned chickpeas);
Once your chickpeas have cooled, dry the chickpeas with a kitchen towel or paper towel;
Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius;
In a large bowl, mix all the dry spices and salt together;
Add the dry cooked chickpeas and olive oil to the bowl and mix well;
Transfer the spice coated chickpeas into a baking tray and place in the oven to bake (Make sure the chickpeas are well spread on the baking tray with only a single layer of chickpeas on the tray. Otherwise, they won’t cook evenly);
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until slightly darker than golden brown and crunchy. Make sure you check on the chickpeas and stir them every 10 minutes to ensure they cook evenly and don’t burn;
Once baked, allow to cool. Enjoy with your salad for added crunchiness or simply as a snack;
You can also make these chickpeas in an airfryer. Repeat steps 1-5 above and evenly place the spice coated chickpeas in the airfryer and airfry for 20-35 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius or until crunchy. I find that the chickpeas cook much faster in an airfryer due to the well rounded air circulation in the airfryer.