Oven baked crunchy chickpeas seasoned with smoked paprika, garlic, cumin, and cayenne. It’s a protein packed snack!
Prior to this snack, my only knowledge of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) was hummus. And then Alex told me about crunchy chickpeas.
Where was this awesome snack during my teens?! They taste like corn nuts but a heck of a lot healthier! Confession: once upon a time I was addicted to the deep fried corn kernels that is known as Corn Nuts. I could have sure saved a lot of calories eating baked chickpeas instead of fried corn kernels. What can I say? I had really bad, unhealthy eating habits in high school.
These crunchy chickpeas came about as I was deciding what snacks to bring to Coachella this year. Last year, we didn’t plan ahead of time and we ended up with a dozen doughnuts, a giant bag of kettle corn, and an equally large bag of lime tortilla chips to snack on in the hotel room. I am definitely not allowing that this weekend.
These baked crunchy chickpeas are super easy to make. The most time consuming part is removing the thin outer skin of the chickpeas. Although, you can skip that step if the skins don’t bother you.
Next is deciding what spices to use. I used a combination of smoked paprika, salt, garlic powder, roasted cumin, and cayenne pepper. I like it. A LOT. The said spices provide a nice savory and rounded flavor.
Next time, I’m going to experiment with ranch (because I LOVE RANCH). You can also take the sweet route and use cinnamon, sugar, honey, etc. The possibilities are endless!
As you read this, I will be soaking up music and sunshine in Indio. YAY for weekend one of Coachella! Stay tuned next week for my Coachella travel guide.
Crunchy Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 15 oz can no-salt added garbanzo beans, (also called chickpeas)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Remove outer skin. This can be easily done by rubbing or gently pinching off the outer skin. Pat chickpeas dry and place in a clean bowl.
- Drizzle oil over chickpeas and toss to coat. Arrange chickpeas on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, salt, garlic powder, roasted cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Remove chickpeas from oven. Sprinkle spices over chickpeas and toss to coat. Return to oven and bake for another 15-17 minutes until chickpeas are toasted and crunchy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
These look so good I can’t wait to try them.
Hi Eric! Hope you like them. Let me know if you try out a different spice combination!
What a great idea! I’ll have to admit, my knowledge of chickpeas was also that they’re used for hummus, as well as additions to some Arabic rice dishes. But chick peas as a snack … I’m digging the idea!
Who knew chickpeas could be so versatile! :)