Roasted chickpeas make a great protein-packed vegan snack! Enjoy them on their own, or add them to your favorite healthy dishes for crispy texture.
If you like chickpeas, you’re going to LOVE this roasted chickpeas recipe!
It’s no secret I’m a fan of chickpeas – they’re a great addition to soups, stews, salads, sandwiches, you name it. Not only are they a good vegetarian protein source, but they can also bump up the textural contrast in a dish. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, though, you know that I’m not a fan of mushy food. Sometimes I’m craving something crispy in a salad, and chickpeas’ soft texture won’t satisfy me.
Enter: roasted chickpeas. They still have all the protein and heartiness of regular chickpeas, but they’ve become an irresistible salty, crunchy ingredient. Even better, they’re a great healthy vegan snack on their own!
How do I make roasted chickpeas?
Roasting chickpeas is simple! Start with three basic ingredients: cooked or canned chickpeas, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt. Then…
- Preheat the oven to 425° and drain and rinse your chickpeas.
- Spread the chickpeas on a kitchen towel and gently pat them dry. It’s essential to make sure they’re totally dry before you toss them with the olive oil – damp chickpeas won’t crisp up in the oven. Discard any loose skins from the outside of the chickpeas.
- Transfer the chickpeas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and generous pinches of sea salt. Spread evenly on the baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet to your preheated oven and roast until crispy. I start checking at 20 minutes, but it can take up t0 30 minutes for them to become really crisp.
- Remove from the oven and, while the chickpeas are still warm, toss with pinches of your favorite spices.
So simple! Your roasted chickpeas are ready to eat.
Tips & tricks for making the best roasted chickpeas!
Here are some of my favorite tips for making great roasted chickpeas.
- Eat them fast! Roasted chickpeas are best day-of, and they lose their crispiness as time goes on. I aim to finish up a batch by the second day for best texture and flavor.
- Store them at room temperature. Don’t refrigerate these guys. They become chewy quickly! I recommend leaving them in a bowl or jar on the counter, loosely covered with a piece of foil.
- Spice them up! I like to toss my chickpeas with spices right as they come out of the oven. Try using a dash of paprika or your favorite spice mix. Chili, curry, or shawarma spices would all be great here. They’re also delicious with Everything Bagel Seasoning!
I made roasted chickpeas! What should I do with them?
Enjoy them as a snack, toss them in a simple salad, or use them in any of these recipes:
- Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
- Chickpea Shawarma Wraps
- Rainbow Kale Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Tahini Noodles with Carrots & Chickpeas
- Caesar Salad
- Panzanella Salad
- Bright Spring Salad
For more snacks and appetizer ideas, check out this post!
More Plant-Based Proteins
If you love this recipe, try making Crispy Baked Tofu, Marinated Baked Tempeh, or protein-rich lentils next!
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
Equipment
- Baking Sheets (I use these nonstick ones from USA Pan Bakeware)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Sea salt
- Paprika, curry powder, or other spices (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the chickpeas on a kitchen towel and pat them dry. Remove any loose skins.
- Transfer the dried chickpeas to the baking sheet and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and generous pinches of salt.
- Roast the chickpeas for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Ovens can vary, if your chickpeas are not crispy enough, keep going until they are!
- Remove from the oven and, while the chickpeas are still warm, toss with pinches of your favorite spices, if using.
- Store roasted chickpeas in a loosely-covered container at room temperature. They are best used within two days.
Im doing it now and it’s like popcorn in the oven. I turned down the heat to 300 and cooked for a total of an hour. It did make a huge mess but my 8 year old liked it so it’s a win if I can get her to try new things.
These are so tasty but they explode and make a huge mess in my oven. Anyone else having that problem?
Have you tried coking them on a griddle?
Needed 7 more minutes to truly get crunchy, but it is quite tasty.
Hi, so glad you enjoyed the chickpeas!
I have never tried making my own roasted chickpeas. This sounds delicious and so easy to make!
Hi Marysa, I hope you love the roasted chickpeas!
Great recipe! Making it for the 2nd time since I enjoyed it so much the first time. Thank you!
I’m so glad they turned out well!
Hi again. How do I go about having my comment removed from your recipe? While I appreciate everyone’s feedback, I only stumbled across your website after searching for information on Google. Ever since posting my comment (from over a year ago, I think) – I keep getting notifed about the replies.
Had I known this would be an ongoing, continuous discussion – I would have never commented. In fact, I am sincerely, truly sorry that I did. I was having a “bad mood” moment, and have *long* since moved past from it all.
So please, if at all possible – please remove *all* of my comments and let me live my life in peace.
Thank you
Hi Meghan, can you let me know what recipe you left the original comment on? I’m so sorry for the trouble.
You can adjust your notifications so you don’t get notified when additional comments are added. It may be possible to go back to your original post and uncheck the box that says “notifiy me of follow-up comments via email.”
Hello
I roasted my rinsed canned chickpeas with some olive oil, salt and paprika. I let them cool mostly and put them in a Tupperware container uncovered in the fridge to finish cooling. Should I store them in the pantry instead for crispy texture? Or the fridge for longer shelf life?
The article says they lose the crispness if you put them in the fridge. Just put them in a bowl, loosely covered with foil. Don’t expect more than 2 days counter life.
Are they supposed to be soft in the middle?
Hi Pat, the middles will be somewhat softer than the outsides of the chickpeas. If they’re much softer than you’d like, I’d roast them longer.
Can I get the nutritional information for the chickpeas?
Hi Jennifer, we don’t post nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
Mine popped all over the oven and then started to burn! What did I do wrong?
Hi Patti, ovens can vary, I wonder if your oven temp is accurate? I’ve heard of this happening but it’s never happened to me. You could try turning the temp down and roasting for longer (until they’re just golden).
These roasted chickpeas are awesome! Tasty, crunchy, high protein, high fiber and low calorie! I eat them to satisfy my cravings for chips . Much healthier!
I’m so glad you loved them!
I followed your recipe exactly as written – except 5 minutes into roasting my chickpeas I noticed that a smokey-roasted smell was coming from my oven.
According to a quick Google search, the smoke/ignition point for extra-virgin olive oil is around 320° F and “light” olive oil around 374-405° F.
This is my first time ever trying to make roasted chickpeas (ever) – so I admit I could be acting a lot over cautious right now. I’m also fairly certain it isn’t an issue with my stove/oven either. Do you/anyone have any feedback and/or suggestions for help (please and thank you)?
I use sheet pan recipes with EVOO all the time at 425 and have never had an issue. Hope that helps 🙂
Try tossing with a little olive oil the last 5 minutes, good time to add your spices so they stick. I put mine in the oven “naked” to start.
well, all ovens are a little different. I roast in my oven at high temperatures to 500 and have no issues.
Could you not put these in a airfryer?