Back to Basics: Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas! What a fantastic food! We love chickpeas and often just throw them in a pan, or in a soup, or in the oven! 🙂

These pulses are a great source of protein and also contain a healthy dose of iron! They also contain magnesium, potassium, folic acid, Vitamin B6 and calcium! What’s not to like! 😛

If you’ve never roasted chickpeas before you are missing something great! Now, you can of course add any of your favourite spices or herbs to your chickpeas! Make them more Italian flavoured with oregano, sage, rosemary and basil? Choose Indian flavours such as turmeric, coriander, cumin and chilli? Or, go with these slightly spicy Cajun chickpeas? (our favourite)!

Golden spiced chickpeas… delicious!

We have roasted a LOT of chickpeas in our time! Tinned chickpeas and dried soaked overnight chickpeas. We have had tins of fat bursting out of their skins chickpeas, and tins of tight little balls which look like they’ve just been picked chickpeas (we’ve grown our own chickpeas too)! Sometimes we roast them just with salt and pepper, sometimes with spices, sometimes with liquid, sometimes without. You can play with your ingredients and see what suits you best! Cook the chickpeas with oil, oil spray or neither. Roast them on a low heat, or or a hot heat, make them crunchy or leave them soft. The recipe below is just one to get you inspired to try them!

Serve roasted chickpeas as a side to any meal – great for extra protein!

These are literally throw in the oven chickpeas, spiced but not too spicy, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle! Eat them as they are (preferably not straight off the tray by the handful)! or add them to your salad, throw them on your soup, add them to a sandwich or just have them as a side dish to whatever else you are eating! Just… make sure you make them! 😀

Roasted chickpeas thrown on our lentil soup – perfect!

I’ve added these chickpeas to our Back to Basics Series as they are something which are so simple to us, but many people have never tried making themselves. We love roasted chickpeas and hope you will do too!

Back to Basics: Roasted Chickpeas

Spiced chickpeas roasted until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Perfect!

Keyword: chickpeas, garbanzos
Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth
Gather
  • 2 x 400g tins chickpeas
  • 1 teaspoon cajun spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • salt to taste
Prepare
  1. Drain one tin of chickpeas, leave the other tin whole. Tip them all on to a baking tray.

  2. Sprinkle over the Cajun, cumin, paprika, pepper and salt.

  3. Using your hands (yes, it's messy), mix everything together well.

  4. Roast in the oven on Gas Mark 6 (400f / 200c) for 15-30 minutes.

  5. Cook until the chickpeas are at your desired consistency. If you like them crunchier, leave them in longer, if you prefer them softer, take them out sooner! Enjoy!


What are you up to this weekend? It is most certainly starting to get festive around here! If you’re at a loose end, why not visit one of the many Christmas Fayre’s or Markets that have started already? Have a look at these ones!


Bury St. Edmunds Christmas Fayre this weekend only (21st-24th Nov 2019).

Canterbury Christmas Market on from now until Christmas Eve 2019.

Gloucester Victorian Christmas market running until 24th November 2019.

Liverpool Christmas Market from now until 23rd December 2019.

London Winter Wonderland from now until 5th January 2020.

Manchester Christmas Markets various dates from now until 21/22 Dec 2019.


Whatever you’re up to, make sure to get some YOU time (a.k.a. ME time!). Have some time out just for you – whether it’s reading a book, catching up on your favourite tv show, baking some mince pies or having a long soak in the bath… do something for you!

Drop us a line below – we love to hear your thoughts, comments and questions! 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Speak soon

Laurena x

9 Comments

  • Eva Gallon 22nd November 2019 at 19:20

    Hi Laurena, sorry to sound a bit dumb lol: what do you mean by leaving one of the tins whole??I like this ‘new’ trend of roasting chickpeas but then remembered maybe it’s not so new at all; I remember having crispy (very) salted chickpeas whenever guests came over for drinks as a kid. I’ve spotted packs of ready-roasted chickpeas here in Germany to add to soups. I’ll be leaving mine in the oven for 40-45 mins, I like them really crispy and crunchy. My dried ones have a 2021 expiry but many have already gone black…I’m guessing the heat got to them in the cupboard over the ridiculously hot summer. Now it feels ridiculously cold?

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 22nd November 2019 at 19:48

      Eva… I ‘almost’ wrote ‘unless you’re Eva’ as I know you don’t do chickpea liquid! ? If you want them crispy-crispy you can drain both tins and cook them on a slightly lower heat. Oh, that’s strange for your dried chickpeas to go black, did they get sweaty & humid in the summer?

      Reply
  • Eva Gallon 23rd November 2019 at 13:49

    I assume they did get sweaty lol. I threw some out but still cooked them, I seem to be ok?Hehe about the liquid! I also wondered how would they get crisp, hence my confusion?Have a nice weekend, hope you have a more relaxing one. I just had some shop-bought vine leaves and spicy-sweet roasted chickpeas for ‘afters’ (not said that in a while lol) x

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 23rd November 2019 at 13:58

      The liquid stops them getting too dry and powdery and allows them to stay moist inside but get a crispy outside! Oh… I was going to share cinnamon and coconut sugar crunchy chickpeas but thought people might think that weird!??So far the weekend is much more relaxed… no football this week either hooray! Hope your weekend is going well (it’s warmer here today but drizzly). Speak soon. x

      Reply
  • Eva Gallon 23rd November 2019 at 13:54

    I meant to add thanks for the tip about lowering the heat and keeping them in for longer. I was told putting stuff right at the bottom of the oven is good for crispness too.

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 23rd November 2019 at 14:01

      You’re welcome???I guess it depends what type of oven you have… we use the bottom when we don’t want any more crispness! Our engineer told us that European ovens have the heat source at the sides rather than the back so have more even cooking?

      Reply
  • Eva Gallon 23rd November 2019 at 14:33

    Duh, should’ve known that about the extra liquid? Coconut and cinnamon flavoured chickpeas sounds good! I normally do cinnamon, maple/honey, smoked paprika, pinch cumin, pinch nutmeg, ground coriander, sunflower or grapeseed oil. It’s interesting you say that about the continental ovens, ours doesn’t seem to cook things evenly lol. Yes, I was surprised about the bottom shelf thing too☺

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 23rd November 2019 at 14:41

      Ooo yes… maple with cinnamon ???Thinking I should make some more now! ?Where’s the heat in your oven? Is it at the back like ours?

      Reply
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