It is time for the new school year and thoughts of healthy lunch box treats dance through every parent’s head. I was talking to my daughter today as she was pulling hot spiced chickpeas from the oven. Roasted chickpeas are a family favourite, especially for her little boys. I decided that this would be a great idea for a school make-ahead snack. Roasted chickpeas are something that I have made many times using various blends of spices and seasonings, but it was my creative husband who asked, ‘can you make them like those roasted bar nuts?’ Why not? The result is my recipe for Crispy Roasted Chick Peas. For this particular recipe, I opted for kid-friendly seasonings and spices, unrefined sugar, and an optional dusting of maple sugar for extra crunchiness.
Crispy Roasted Chick Peas ready to snack on
Crispy Roasted Chick Peas
CHEF TALK: Crispy Roasted Chick Peas can be mixed together using pantry ingredients and popped into the oven in about two minutes. The first step: drying the chickpeas in the oven, is important in order for the chickpeas to dry enough for the spice mixture to coat the chickpeas thoroughly. This recipe is perfect for school snacks as it is nut free, as well as refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. It is also a good source of protein.
CHEF TIP: One 540 ml can of chickpeas, drained, will yield two cups of chickpeas. Keep the liquid from the chickpeas (called aquafaba) to make egg-free meringues (I will post this technique in a future post soon).
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups chickpeas, drained well (reserve the liquid for another use – see CHEF TIP above)
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or butter)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons of raw cane sugar (or coconut sugar or brown sugar)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon (to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon granular sea salt or kosher salt
- Extra coating: 1 Tablespoon maple sugar or 1 Tablespoon raw cane sugar (optional)
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (350°F if using convection).
- Place the chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes to dry excess moisture.
- Meanwhile, place the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a bubbling boil just as the chickpeas are coming out of the oven. Add the organic cane sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine.
- Put the hot chickpeas into the mixture in the saucepan and toss with a spatula to coat the chickpeas thoroughly. (CHEF TIP: To pour the chickpeas easily into the saucepan, I gather the two ends of the parchment paper on each long side to create an open chute and pour the chickpeas easily into the saucepan).
- Place the coated chickpeas back onto the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer and roast for approximately 30 minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick, bubbly and sticky and glazes the chickpeas nicely with no extra liquid remaining. My oven fan is quite powerful, so do not be surprised if it takes a little longer in your oven. Stir the mixture every five minutes or so while they are roasting. CHEF TIP: If desired, sprinkle the mixture with optional 1 Tablespoon or more of maple sugar or 1 additional Tablespoon of organic cane sugar (for extra crunchiness) at the end of the roasting process. I prefer this technique as it crystallizes on the surface of the chickpeas, creating a sandy appearance.
- Cool the chickpeas for 15 minutes, stirring as they cool to keep the chickpeas separated.
- Once the chickpeas are cooled completely, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, however, I doubt that they will last that long.
NOTES: The convection setting is great because the fan helps dry out and coat the chickpeas so well. Oven temperatures vary with each oven, and that is why I often discuss an internal oven temperature gauge (see Learning Tips). This hangs inside the oven (costing approximately $5 at the grocery). The finished chickpea snack is slightly crunchy on the outside due to the hardened sugar/syrup coating and slightly tender on the inside with a bit of bite.
Crispy Roasted Chick Peas:
Here is your visual step-by-step process to make Crispy Roasted Chick Peas:
Chick Peas are first dried in the oven
Coating the chickpeas with spices and seasonings
Chick Peas coated and ready to roast
Chick Peas are caramelizing and the liquid is reducing
The sugar and spice liquid has reduced sufficiently now to start sprinkling on the maple sugar
Maple Sugar Coated and glazed chickpeas
Crispy Roasted Chick Peas ready for snacking
Crispy Roasted Chick Peas
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 2 cups chickpeas
CHEF TALK: Crispy Roasted Chick Peas can be mixed together using pantry ingredients and popped into the oven in about two minutes. The first step: drying the chickpeas in the oven, is important in order for the chickpeas to dry enough for the spice mixture to coat the chickpeas thoroughly. This recipe is perfect for school snacks as it is nut free, as well as refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy free. It is also a good source of protein.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpeas, drained well (reserve the liquid for another use – see CHEF TIP above)
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or butter)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons of raw cane sugar (or coconut sugar or brown sugar)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon (to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon granular sea salt or kosher salt
- Extra coating: 1 Tablespoon maple sugar or 1 Tablespoon raw cane sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (350°F if using convection).
- Place the chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes to dry excess moisture.
- Meanwhile, place the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a bubbling boil just as the chick peas are coming out of the oven. Add the organic cane sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine.
- Put the hot chick peas into the mixture in the saucepan and toss with a spatula to coat the chick peas thoroughly. (CHEF TIP: To pour the chick peas easily into the saucepan, I gather the two ends of the parchment paper on each long side to create an open chute and pour the chick peas easily into the saucepan).
- Place the coated chick peas back onto the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer and roast for approximately 30 minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick, bubbly and sticky and glazes the chick peas nicely with no extra liquid remaining. My oven fan is quite powerful, so do not be surprised if it takes a little longer in your oven. Stir the mixture every five minutes or so while they are roasting. CHEF TIP: If desired, sprinkle the mixture with optional 1 Tablespoon or more of maple sugar or 1 additional Tablespoon of organic cane sugar (for extra crunchiness) at the end of the roasting process. I prefer this technique as it crystallizes on the surface of the chickpeas, creating a sandy appearance.
- Cool the chick peas for 15 minutes, stirring as they cool to keep the chick peas separated.
- Once the chick peas are cooled completely, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, however, I doubt that they will last that long.
Notes
The convection setting is great because the fan helps dry out and coat the chickpeas so well. Oven temperatures vary with each oven, and that is why I often discuss an internal oven temperature gauge (see Learning Tips). This hangs inside the oven (costing approximately $5 at the grocery). The finished chickpea snack is slightly crunchy on the outside due to the hardened sugar/syrup coating and slightly tender on the inside with a bit of bite.
For further details, including step-by-step instructions, please refer to my original post: https://urbnspice.com/my-recipes/school-lunch-or-after-school-snacks/crispy-roasted-chick-peas/
Did you Make my Recipe?
Tag me @urbnspice on Instagram and hashtag #urbnspice
Courses Snack
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Favourite Kitchen Tools: The Simple Spatula
- Internal Oven Temperature
- Internal Oven Thermometer
- Parchment Paper
__________
You Might Also Like These Kid-Friendly Snacks and Lunch Box Ideas:
The Ultimate Sunflower Butter Snack Bars (Nut-free, Refined Sugar-Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free)
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Muffins
If you give this recipe for Crispy Roasted Chick Peas a try, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.
You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!
Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
Follow me on Social Media
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Chickpeas are probably my favorite legume ever! Tonight we’re having a chickpea stew Indian inspired :-). I would love to have these chickpeas as my snack, and they are great for kids to bring to school. I always appreciate your chef’s tip and chef’s talk, something to learn all the time! Can’t wait for your meringues using aquafaba. I’ve been wanting to try it for some time and never did!
Thank you, Nicoletta! They are tasty and you can certainly alter the spices to suit a more adult palate, although this kid friendly version is quite addictive! I am excited to tell you all about the aquafaba meringues in a future post. I think you will love it!
I’ve never tried roasted chickpeas, but I will now! I think they’ll work for hubby’s lunch, too.
I think you and your hubby will enjoy the roasted chick peas very much, and they are very handy for travel snacks :). Thanks so much for your comment.
Loving the snack theme going on this week!:P I had tried to make these before but didn’t first roast them to dry them out..I was wondering why the spice mix burnt before the chickpeas went crispy!!! I’ll be trying them again, and this time I’ll follow your steps!
Thanks, Markus! It was trial and error for me too until I figured that out – lol. I look forward to hearing how it went for you when you try this technique.
My kids love roasted chickpeas for a snack. They’re favourite is lemon rosemary, but I think they’d love these ones, too. They sound delicious!
Thanks, Natalie! I will also try your version with lemon-rosemary, which is a great flavour pairing. I think your children will enjoy this version as well. I cannot wait to hear your feedback. Thanks for visiting Urb’n’Spice. 🙂
The roasted chick peas tasted great but the texture was still a little soft. Do you think using the convection feature on the oven would work better?
Thank you for trying the recipe, Sheryl. Yes, the convection setting is great because the fan helps dry out and coat the chickpeas so well. Oven temperatures vary with each oven, and that is why I often discuss an internal oven temperature gage which hangs inside the oven (costing approximately $5 at the grocery). The finished chickpea snack is crispy on the side outside due to the sugar/syrup coating and slightly tender on the inside with a bit of bite.