Do you know how irritating it is when a recipe calls for a handful of toasted nuts to give the dish some crunch and texture but you have a nut allergy?
Trust me – it is really irritating.
Crispy roasted chickpeas are the closest thing I have found to a crunchy, nutty substitute. Well, I ASSUME theymake a good substitute? I am not planning on doing a taste-test comparison any time soon!
I will be completely open with you here: to get crispy roasted chickpeas does require a little effort on your part.
But it is easy enough to throw a tray in the oven while you are cooking your Sunday roast or roasting trays of veggies for lunch during the week.
While I have given a cooking time in the recipe below, this is what I have found has worked in my oven. Depending on how hot yours runs (which makes absolutely no sense, because surely, they should all operate the same!), you may have to adjust your cooking time in order to get crispy chickpeas. They need to completely dry out to get that crispy crunch, so even leaving them in the oven with the door ajar like a pavlova will work. Just taste a few samples along the way until the chickpeas get to your desired level of crunch.
They keep well in an airtight container. At least a week…if they last that long!
In a small portion, they are also FODMAP friendly. Check your favourite app for exact portion sizes as these can change as foods are tested and re-tested.
OK, most importantly: where can you use them. They are delicious as a salad topper, as a garnish on hummus, on top of soup or just as a crispy crunchy snack on their own. Let your imagination and taste buds guide you 🙂
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: Multicultural
Description
Have a nut allergy but your recipe calls for a handful of nuts? A great alternative is crispy roasted chickpeas. They give the same crunch and ‘nutty’ flavour (minus the anaphylaxis!).
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Drain chickpeas and rinse under water then place on a paper towel and pat dry (no need to pick off the skins!)
- Place chickpeas on a tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle salt and shake tray to cover chickpeas evenly
- Place the tray in the oven and roast for 45-50 minutes, checking every now and again that the chickpeas are not burning (see note)
- Once cooled store in an airtight container. Will keep for a week (if they last that long!)
Notes
In order to get the chickpeas crunchy, they need to be thoroughly dried out in the oven. Therefore roasting times may vary depending on your oven.
Keywords: Nut free snack, crunchy snack, allergy friendly, roast chickpeas
what would you add crispy roasted chickpeas to?
Originally posted 2012.