Crispy chickpea croutons are a crunchy, savoury and dairy-free snack, salad topping or gluten-free crouton alternative that is easy to make by roasting canned chickpeas with olive oil and spices.
Chickpeas are incredibly versatile. They can be combined into salads, soups and stews, hummus and even roasted to create a crispy, savoury snack or ‘crouton’.
If you’re looking for other ideas to get creative with chickpeas, you may also like my recipes for beetroot hummus or sundried tomato hummus.
How to make roasted chickpea croutons?
Whipping up a batch of chickpea croutons doesn’t take much effort.
You need a can of chickpeas, some olive oil and a few spices, and you’re set. Then roast them spread out over a baking tray for 30 minutes.
Flavouring chickpea croutons
You can get creative with the spices you add.
I’ve included paprika, garlic or onion powder, chilli and salt in this recipe.
Other great flavourings would be:
- nutritional yeast
- herb salt
- garlic salt
- lemon zest
- cayenne pepper
- cumin
- garam masala
- Italian herbs
I’ll leave it to you to find what you enjoy or compliments what you plan on serving them with.
Can I make crispy chickpeas in the air fryer?
You can achieve even crispier chickpeas in the air fryer. They only take 15 minutes and don’t require drying before cooking.
Simply heat the air fryer to 200°C. Then drain, rinse and season the chickpeas.
Cook for 12-15 minutes in an air fryer basket, shaking a few times over the cooking time.
When your chickpeas aren’t crispy?
For oven-roasted chickpeas, you need to dry the chickpeas before putting them in the oven. You can dry them with a tea towel or paper towel, discharging any loose skins from outside the chickpeas.
Chickpea croutons will be most crisp soon after taking out of the oven.
Once left to sit, they will absorb moisture and become chewy. You may like them as a snack this way. Otherwise, you can reheat them in the oven for five minutes to dry them out again before serving, if necessary.
How long do these chickpeas last?
How long crispy chickpeas last depends on how fast you devour them!
Store in the cupboard in a breathable storage container, like a brown paper bag, for 3-5 days. In the fridge, they will become soft. However, you can reheat them to get them crispy again.
How to serve chickpea croutons
They can be eaten on their own as a snack or tossed on top of salads or soup.
Try these chickpeas with Curried Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup, on top of a Grain Bowl or sprinkled into Caesar salad as a bacon or bread substitute. Even once soften, they can be delicious on dishes such as pasta, where the chewier texture complements it well.
Crispy Chickpea Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 x 400 g can chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic or onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch chilli powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Drain chickpeas in a colander or strainer and rinse under running water.
- Pat-dry the chickpeas between two pieces of paper towel to remove excess moisture. They should feel dry to touch. If you have the time you could leave them to air-dry a few minutes.
- In a bowl combine chickpeas with other ingredients.
- On a large oven tray, lined with baking paper, layout chickpeas in a single layer.
- Roast for 30 minutes, stirring the chickpeas every 10 minutes, until they look crispy and brown. Don’t get too close to the tray as some chickpeas may pop! They will remain soft in the middle when fully roasted, but will firm up within minutes of being removed from the oven.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Notes
4 comments
These chickpea croutons look so tasty and nutritious! They’ll be just perfect for my soup this week, thank you!
I’ve always wanted to try this crunchy chickpea recipe! They look great, plus they are super healthy and fulfilling, which is great! Can you freeze them up and just pop some on your dinner here and there??
You can freeze them. However, they will be chewy rather than crispy when thawed. For crispy chickpeas, you could try drying them out again in the oven or air fryer.
I’ve always wanted to try making these! Now I will. This will be perfect because I’m following the DASH diet!