Crispy Chickpea Croutons are a great addition to a soup or salad for added texture and flavour. Or you can enjoy them as a snack.
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 to get creative with chickpeas you may also like my recipe for beetroot hummus.
Flavouring Crispy Chickpea Croutons
It doesn’t take much effort to whip up a batch of Crispy Chickpea Croutons; a can of chickpeas, some olive oil and a few spices, and your set.
You can get creative with the spices you add. In this recipe, I’ve included paprika, garlic or onion powder, chilli and salt.
Other great flavourings would be nutritional yeast, lemon zest, cayenne pepper, cumin, garam masala or herbs. I’ll leave it to you to find what you enjoy or compliments what you’re planning on serving them with.
When your Crispy Chickpea Croutons aren’t crispy?
Crispy Chickpea Croutons will be most crisp when taken from 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 for five minutes to dry them out again before serving.
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 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.
- Eat as a snack, as croutons in soup such as Curried Vegan Cream of Broccoli. Or sprinkle over salads for added texture.
Notes
What flavourings would you like to try?
I’d love to know. Let me know in the comments below.
