Oven baked crispy chickpeas

Perfectly salty, crunchy, and healthy.

If you’re after a savoury, flavour-packed snack, these oven-baked crispy chickpeas are the recipe for you. They’re crunchy, perfectly salted, perfectly spiced, and are good enough to literally eat by the handful. Apart from being a popcorn-like snack, they make a tasty sprinkle to liven up all kinds of healthy meals. Think croutons with loads more nutritional value. These oven baked crispy chickpeas have all the protein and heartiness of regular chickpeas, only much more fun. Make a batch or two and have them in your pantry ready to dress up salads, dips, soups or any dish you feel like adding some textural contrast.  Be sure to try this whipped feta with crispy chickpeas. 

Oven-baked crispy chickpeas are very simple to make, and being homemade, you know exactly what’s in them. The only challenge, is making crispy chickpeas that actually stay crispy. You don’t want to be disappointed when you find your chickpeas are soft a day later.

Follow these tips to get the crispiest crispy chickpeas!

1. The most important step is to make sure the chickpeas are absolutely dry. The drier the chickpeas are the crispier they will become! The chickpea skins hold a lot of the moisture, so discard any skins that fall off as you pat them dry.
2. If you want guaranteed crispy chickpeas in your pantry for well over a week, go that extra mile and peel them. A gentle squeeze between your fingers and the chickpea should pop out of their skins. If the skins stay intact after rubbing them dry and don’t slip off easily, don’t worry, they don’t have to be 100% removed. Either way, the chickpeas will crisp up.
3. Olive oil helps the chickpeas crisp up in the oven, so don’t skimp on this.
4. To make chickpeas that stay crispy, you’ve got to bake them long enough to remove all the moisture. Don’t pull them out of the oven until they are golden brown and crunchy.
5. Let the oven baked crispy chickpeas cool fully before storing. Once cool, store in a tight sealing glass jar in a cool dark place. Stored in a glass vacuum canister, oven baked crispy chickpeas stay crunchy in the pantry for over a week!

INGREDIENTS

1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ - 1 teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon good quality salt

METHOD

1.   Preheat oven to 180°C /  375°F.
2.   Line a tray with baking paper.
3.   Rinse and drain the chickpeas, shaking off as much water as possible.

4.   Spread the chickpeas out on a clean kitchen towel. Use your hands to gently pat and roll dry the chickpeas. Some of the skins should start coming off. You can opt to peel the chickpeas or simply remove the skins that come off easily.
5.   Place the dry chickpeas into a bowl. Add the oil and toss to coat. Add the spices and salt then mix until thoroughly coated.

6.   Pour on the chickpeas onto the baking tray and spread into a single layer.
7.   Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes until crispy and dry, shaking the pan halfway. The exact bake time depends on the brand of chickpeas you are using and your oven. Keep a close watch and taste test at 45 mins.
8.   Let cool for at least 30 minutes before storing; the chickpeas will crisp up even more as they cool.
9.   Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 1 week.

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