Crispy roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
When I have the urge to nibble on something crispy and crunchy, I will make my homemade roasted cashews, roasted almonds or sesame crisps to satisfy my craving. Lately, I had added one new found healthy snack to my list.
Roasted chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are the snack that I am currently addicted to. They bear a little resemblance to those fried chickpeas (kacang putih) sold by Indian hawkers during my yesteryears. Although it’s a roasted version, I was pleasantly surprised to find these beans incredibly crispy and crunchy, providing me with all the satisfaction of chips. Besides that, they also packed with protein, calcium and fiber too! Best of all, you need only little effort to make them. Yes, it will work on canned beans and not dried beans. There are simply two reasons why I prefer to use canned beans. First, canned beans are pre-cooked, hence they can be used instantly. This can shorten the time for preparation and cooking tremendously. Second (and most importantly), the texture will be crispier and crunchier. Those roasted dried beans have a harder texture that can burden your jaws to munch. These are my personal findings after I had done some experiments with both types of beans. Furthermore, I don’t have much luck with the use of dried chickpeas as all of my past attempts had failed to meet my expectation. 😥 They were either soft in the center or got burned. Why? I don’t know. Nevertheless, I still included both methods in my recipe for you to do your own comparison. I would love to hear your findings too.
This is a very versatile recipe. You can pick any seasonings you prefer, be it sweet or savoury. I had used a combination of paprika, garlic, cumin, cinnamon and black pepper. This spice mix is not overpowering and makes a gentle introduction to the wonderful world of herbs and spices for your kids. I had also included some of my favourite roasted chickpeas recipes at the end of this post for your references. If you still can’t decide which one to follow after going through the list, then I would suggest that you start with the three basic ingredients which are salt, pepper and olive oil. But, I must forewarn you that this snack is highly addictive!! If you are preparing it for a large group, then it is safer to double or triple the amount as they can vanish in no time!!
On a separate note, I was requested by my son to showcase his masterpiece creation inspired by Vincent Van Gogh “Starry Night” when shooting for this post. Hope you will like it too! Today, he turns SIX officially, and it is also the same wonderful day that I got promoted to be a “Mama” six years ago!! 
Some of my favourite roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans) recipes:
- The Kitch (15 ways to flavor roasted chickpeas)
- Fat Free Vegan (chili roasted chickpeas from dried beans, curry roasted chickpeas from canned beans)
- The Shape Magazine (cayenne pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano)
- Steamy Kitchen (creole seasonings)
- Family Fresh Cooking (many suggested seasonings, and also cute chickpea containers)
- Kalyn’s Kitchen (Moroccan spices)
>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) recipe with step by step photos……..
Loved the food styling… very colorful and playful….
My friend used to buy this roasted chickpeas and i love crunching those…
FA: Thanks for your wonderful compliments! Maybe you can make some for your friend now. 😉
Yum…. don’t have to buy from the “kacang putih” man anymore! 🙂
Alice: My friend, I haven’t met a “kacang putih” for many decades. lol!
Yummy snack! I love chickpeas for soup, but haven’t tried to bake them. Let me try try !!! I bet my husband will get addicted too. 🙂
Christine: I love chickpeas for soup too. Hope it will suit your hubby’s taste bud. 😉
I was actually planning on making these for snack today. I will be trying your spice mix, it sounds delicious. I always use dried chickpeas and find the only way they work for me is to soak them overnight in salted water. In the morning I rinse them and cook them in the crock pot until soft.
Annette: Oh, what a co-incidence!! Thanks for your kind sharing. 😉
I love how roasted chickpeas can take on just about any flavor profile you wish and still be delicious! Way better than chips if you ask me!
Joanne: Yes, I can’t agree more. 😉
I will use canned chickpeas to make this too. My hb is not a fan of garbanzo beans in dishes as he does not enjoy the mushy starchy texture but I think kacang-putih style may change him *evil grin*
Tigerfish: Hope you will convince him to accept chickpeas with this recipe. 😉
to cook dried chick peas, soak overnight as usual, then use a rice cooker. I never measure the water or time them, just fill it up plenty, and keep an eye on them. you can smell when they’re done. if the water gets low they will burn. you can stir them once or twice to make extra sure they’re not burning on the bottom. to check them, let one or two cool and then bite into them. should be soft enough to eat.
Karen: Thanks for your kind sharing. What a great idea to use rice cooker! 😉
What a great snack! I just barely started cooking dried beans in my pressure cooker and this would be a great use for some of my extra. Thanks!
Nicole: Thanks! Yes, give it a try! 😉
I’ve tried something similar to this with garam masala. It was amazing! This looks so good!
Charissa: Thanks!! 😉
Ok, so I just made these, because I LOVE anything chick pea. They are very nice, but I need you to tell me how you remove the skins without resorting to one at a time!! This was so time consuming I am not sure I will do it again, even for the fab result.
Jo: Thanks for dropping by. It’s quite easy to discard the skins. Give it a try! 😉
Hello,
I hated discarding the skins as well. What happens if I do this recipe with the skins? Do the chick peas burn / not become so crunch etc? Has anyone tried making this with the skin?
Ankur: The chick peas will not be burnt with the skins but may not be as crunchy as the ones without skin. It’s no harm trying the recipe with the skins on. I had previously tried to remove the skins partially in my first attempts and the results turned out fine too. Maybe you can try the batch by batch method to remove the skin. Hope it helps. 😉
This is fun! I’d love for you to submit this to the M&T Spotlight at http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
Laurel: Thanks for the invitation!! 😉
Yummy snack!!! I love it…I’m sure my family would love it too, they love dried chickpeas, the ones so hard to bite sold in Italy…eheeheh…plus yours are flavored… ^_^
Mika: Thanks! Hope this recipe will suit your family’s palate. 😉
Sure made a great snack!
Ching (LCOM): It is indeed yes. 🙂
This is such a healthy and yummy snack!
Pigpigscorner: Thanks!!
I ｈａｖｅ ｂeen eating too much roasted chickpeas ｌａｔｅｌｙ．．．．Ｑｕｉｔｅ ａｄｄｉｃｔｉｖｅ．．：－））
Angie: Yes, me too. 😉
I’ve heard someone say, somewhere (yes I know, so specific!) that you shouldn’t soak/cook dried beans/peas with salt – salt only after they are cooked… hmmm time for a google search for me….
Evie: Thanks for your kind sharing.
“NO SALT When Cooking Dried Beans
Add NO SALT until the beans are tender and cooked completely. Adding salt will prevent the beans from absorbing water. This is because a bean has an opening that is large enough for water molecules to enter it, but salt molecules are larger and will plug the bean opening, preventing the water to enter… thus you have HARD beans that never seem to cook right. Some say the bean is TOUGH, but the scientific reality is that the bean only got to absorb the water you soaked it in and not the water you cooked it in. ”
“Sort, presoak, rinse, cook… add salt AFTER the beans are tender!”
from: http://www.chezbettay.com/pages/basics1/basics_beans1.html
Evie: Thanks a lot for the link!! Anyway, I would like to share with you 2 links that gave another opinions on this matter.
– http://www.kitchen-myths.com/
– http://www.finecooking.com/item/9162/cooking-beans-in-salt-water
What a tasty yet healthy snack! Wish I lived near you so I can snack with no guilt yet be totally satisfied! 😀
Jen (TOH): Thanks! It’s also my wish to be your neighbour as I can sample some of your delicious cooking. 😉
I used to eat this when I was young. It’s very addictive. Thanks very much for sharing the recipe.
MaryMoh: Yes, you’re right! A highly addictive snack! It’s my pleasure to share. 😉
reminds me of kachang puteh, but your container is much prettier! This is a great snack to nibble on :))
Noobcook: Thanks for your compliment! 😉
Perfect snack in front of the TV …. yeah
Chris: Hahaha! That’s a great idea!! 😉
Good snack….I love this…normally I wlll have some snacks before bed time…LOL!
Peteformation: Wow! Snack for supper? That sounds fun! 😉
wow i would never have thought of roasting them myself! yummo 🙂
Muppy: I hope you will like this roasted version. Happy trying! 😉
I tried them and it was so delicious, such a healthy snack! my toddler loved them too.
Muppy: Tha’ts great to hear that!! Thanks for the kind feedback! 😉
[…] Crispy Roasted Chickpeas Food for Tots […]
I make these all the time, but I do not skin them. I rinse them off really well then lay them out on a towel and dry them off. Some of the skins will fall off and that is fine, but the ones that do not – I just keep. They get really crispy in the oven and are very tasty. They are the best healthy treat I have found in a long time.
Mitch: Thanks for dropping by and your kind sharing! 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leblebi
Hello
This is called “leblebi” ,one of the traditionnal turkish snacks.”Çorum leblebisi” is one of the famous one.
There are two kind of leblebi ,one is yellow the other is white.
İn winter ,leblebi accompany to another traditionnal drink called “boza”.
Atatürk used to drink his “rakı” with leblebi that he likes much.
Ther is some usefull link to discover all of that.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-leblebi.htm
http://cookingwithkimberly.com/roasted-chickpeas-leblebi/
http://cookingwithkimberly.com/kimberlys-boza/
http://www.clsp.jhu.edu/~elizabet/leblebi.html
Rachel: Thanks a lot for your kind sharing and the links. I have learned something new today. 😉
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Have a question. How to ensure the roasted chickpeas stay crunchy and yummy? Mine went ‘flat’ after a quick departure from the oven…
Connie: Went “flat”? You mean they are not crunchy? If so, then you may not have roasted them long enough. You can return them to the oven and continue roasting for another 5-10 minutes at 180°C or until crunchy. Remember to monitor closely. Hope it helps.
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I’m curious if the nutrition is compromised when you remove the skin? Is it possible that the high fiber content is in the skin? I’m planning to try this recipe but it’s because I’m trying to find a high fiber food that my daughter will enjoy.
Carla: Removing the skin will definitely reduce the fiber content but I’m not sure how much it would be. You may leave the skins on if you like. 🙂