Crunchy Roasted Chickpea Croutons
Roasted Chickpea Croutons – Not only are roasted chickpeas a great snack, but I love putting them in salads instead of croutons to add a little flavourful crunch! Roasted chickpeas, especially when seasoned right, can make for an amazing crouton replacement for salads. They are loaded with fibre and can be much “cleaner” than common bread croutons. Plus you can season them in so many different ways to create new flavours.
CRUNCHY ROASTED CHICKPEAS CROUTONS
The process of roasting chickpeas (for a healthy snack) or crouton replacement salad topping starts with these basic steps that are pretty key to insuring they reach their maximum crispiness!
#1: Bake them “naked” first! I bake the chickpeas {after they have been thoroughly rinsed and dried} for 15 minutes without any oil or seasoning on them. This way they begin to crisp up before they absorb any of the olive oil.
#2: Slowly add the olive oil: You want to avoid using too much oil to coat the chickpeas after their “alone time” in the oven. Start with 1/2 TBS and then, if needed, add more just a drop at a time. You need just enough so the spices will stick to the chickpeas!
#3 Spices: Let your imagination run wild! I have given you my favourite combination of delicious flavours here, but feel free to use whatever you prefer! In this post, I’m sharing how to make roasted chickpeas with a garlic parmesan flavour, but you may want to give them a Spicy Cajun flavour for a healthy snack. You can even just use simple old salt and pepper if you like!
#4: Let them cool in the oven with the door ajar: I turn off the oven at the end of baking, slightly crack the door, and leave the chickpeas in there to cool. This ensures that their crispy crunch will last for days!
Whether you enjoy these as a crunchy snack or on a delicious caesar salad, you’ll be sure to love these!
More Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes for Lunch:
- Strawberry Almond Salad with Honey Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- Zesty Lime Salad Dressing
- Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad
- Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- Healthy Broccoli Salad *POPULAR
- Easy Greek Quinoa Salad
- Berry and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Salad Dressing
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Crunchy Roasted Chickpea Croutons Recipe
Not only are roasted chickpeas a great snack, but I love putting them in salads instead of croutons to add a little flavorful crunch! Roasted chickpeas, especially when seasoned right, can make for an amazing crouton replacement for salads. They are loaded with fiber and can be much “cleaner” than the common bread croutons. Plus you can season them in so many different ways to create new flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbs parmesan cheese, finely grated
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ to 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Rinse and thoroughly dry the chickpeas.
- In a small bowl, mix together dried oregano, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Bake dried chickpeas in the preheated oven on prepared baking sheet for 15 minutes (do not add any of the other ingredients yet)!
- Remove the chickpeas from the oven and drizzle ½ TBS olive oil over the chickpeas, stirring until evenly coated. If necessary, slowly add more olive oil until all the chickpeas are lightly coated with olive oil.
- Add spices to chickpeas and stir until evenly coated.
- Bake at 400 for 10 more minutes, then stir.
- Return stirred chickpeas to the oven and bake them for an additional 5-10 minutes, until desired crispiness is achieved (a total of 35-40 minutes of baking).
- Turn off oven and crack the door a bit. Let chickpeas cool in the oven to achieve maximum crispiness
