Roasted chickpeas

Oven roasted chickpeas are a snap to put together, and they can be made sweet, savoury, salty or spicy to satisfy any craving. They're a hearty and healthy snack that can be enjoyed at home or on the go!

• 1 540 mL can chickpeas
  
  
• 1 tablespoon oil
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
  
• Optional seasonings- see below for suggestions

1. Preheat oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
   
   
2. Drain and rinse can of chickpeas. Path them dry with paper towel, or a clean dish towel (this will help them get crispy in the oven), and toss them with the oil and salt.
   
   
3. Spread chickpeas evenly out over the baking sheet. Bake for around 30-40 minutes, until brown and crispy. Stir them on the pan every 10 minutes or so, to keep them from burning.
   
   
4. Remove from oven, and pour into large bowl with seasoning, if using (see suggestions below). Add a little extra oil if the seasoning is not sticking well to the chickpeas.

• You can use dried chickpeas instead of canned; it's less expensive, but a little more time consuming! Soak about a cup of dried chickpeas overnight, and then boil until soft before roasting.
  
  
• Some recipes reccomend tossing the chickpeas in seasoning before putting them in the oven to roast. This is not a great idea, as the spices are likely to burn before the chickpeas are fully browned. Roasting the chickpeas first, before tossing them in spice, will give you the crispiest chickpeas and the tastiest spices.

You can eat roasted chickpeas plain with salt, season with your favourite spice blend, or try out some of the suggestions below!

• Sweet: cinnamon and sugar, honey or maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
  
  
• Savory: salt and pepper, garlic powder and parmesan
  
  
• Spicy: chili powder, cumin and lime, curry powder and garlic powder

• Cool chickpeas completely and transfer to a container, preferably a glass jar (not plastic). Leave the lid a little loose to allow some airflow, to help keep the chickpeas crispy, and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you use an airtight container they'll lose their crisp faster, but can be kept for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from the Tarrant Area Food Bank

Food is Too Expensive! was funded by the City of Saskatoon through our Healthy Yards partnership, the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and the Department of Plant Sciences. Focus group research to inform this work was collected by CHEP. Thank you all for helping us make healthy food more accessible!