Snacktime: Roasted chickpeas

Well, my husband's beloved Jayhawks put in a good fight, but didn't win the championship. But it's alright...they did so well this season. And my husband has been awesome this season of life, too. So last night called for a snack we'd never had before...roasted chickpeas. You know that icky I-just-ate-way-too-much-junk feeling you get after a night of snacking and grazing? No, me neither. But I hear that chickpeas are a healthier alternative to snack mix, nuts and chips that I love to overeat. So we decided to crunch on these during the game.

I looked to these two for inspiration:
Steamy kitchen
Claire Robinson

Sugar and Spice and Everything nice

Roasted Chickpeas
This recipe calls for two varieties of chickpeas, one salty/spicy and one sweet/spice-y.


2  12-oz. cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
4 paper towels
1 baking pan (with sides, like a jellyroll) w/parchment paper 
1 Oven preheated to 400 degrees
1 TB olive oil-ish
Pinch of salt
2 small bowls
1 TB of your favorite seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's)
2 TB brown sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


step one: Drain and rinse the chickpeas from the can. Lay down the parchment paper. On top of it, lay down 2 paper towels on the pan and scatter the chickpeas on it. Pat with the other 2 paper towels until semi-dry. Slide the chickpeas off of the paper towels and onto the parchment.


step two: Drizzle a little olive oil and toss the chickpeas until all are coated. Sprinkle salt on all of them and toss again. Bake for 30 minutes, or until toasted and a bit crunchy (not soft). Let cool on pan for 10 minutes


step three: Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and toss the chickpeas again. (This is so the seasoning will stick better.) Then in two small bowls, divide the chickpeas evenly. In one bowl, toss with the "spicy" seasoning (like Tony Chachere's). In the second bowl, toss with the brown sugar and cinnamon.


step four: Eat them happily, but do try to share.

Cinnamon sugar chickpeas

This will definitely be a repeat in our house. Fair amount of fiber, 1/4 of your daily iron needs, and really tasty. Hope you can try it sometime.


Happy eating!
Laurel