These roasted chickpeas are crunchy, tasty, and healthy! Pizza Roasted Chickpeas are tossed with savory pizza seasoning, Italian seasoning, and some garlic salt to give them that pizza parlor flavor.

 

The weather is cooler and football is starting. It’s about that time of year. Back to school! For some in this area, they have already started. I remember when it used to be after Labor Day religiously, but not anymore. No matter if you’re going back to school or just want something new and interesting for lunch at work, these Pizza Roasted Chickpeas are just the thing!

 

I wanted to make something I’ve never made before and have been struggling with, roasted chickpeas. They were the rage several years ago, but not so much lately. However, they’re still tops on my list of things grab when I want something super crunchy. I love the crunch and I love that their healthy. Not to mention you can make them in pretty much any flavor you want.

 

 

What are chickpeas?

 

They’re a legume. Also known as a garbanzo bean, gram, Bengal gram, or Egyptian pea, it packs a lot of protein in a small package. That’s why it’s popular with vegetarians and vegans alike. They even use the water from cooking chickpeas, called aquafaba. It has properties like egg white. So, it’s used in baked goods as an egg replacement.

 

Chickpeas are ancient. Like, there’s remains of these legumes from 9,500 years ago. And there’s evidence that Middle Easterners have cultivated them as far back as 7,500 years ago. This makes them one of the oldest cultivated legumes.

 

 

The chickpea is a key ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. You see it used in hummus and falafel and in Indian cuisine it pops up in curries and stews. They even grind chickpeas to make flour. This flour is part of a batter to deep fry vegetables in part of South Asian cuisine. The Filipinos preserve them in syrup and eat them as a sweet snack. That last one just seems weird to me. I’d have to try it. But then again, Asians make a sweet red bean paste.

 

How many types of chickpeas are there?

 

I bet you thought there was just one, but there’s not. India produces the most chickpeas. Of course, they eat most of them, too, I think. Surprisingly, Myanmar (aka Burma) produces a large amount, too! This surprised me. Then it’s Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, and Ethiopia to round out the heavy hitters in chickpea production.

 

 

Desi chana is one type of chickpea. It’s the closest to the ancient legume and grown in India and Pakistan. The seeds are small and dark with a rough skin or coat. Chickpeas grown in other parts of the world to include the Americas are lighter in color. They’re also large with a smoother skin. These are also called garbanzo beans. Interesting. I thought they were all interchangeable, but apparently not.

 

How do you cook dried chickpeas?

 

There are many different ways to cook your chickpeas. First, let’s talk about the soak. Most recipes call for an overnight soak of at least 8 hours. But there’s the instant soak method where you pour boiling water over them. Then there’s those that insist that you must salt the water you soak them in. There’s one school of thought about baking soda in the water. Don’t do that unless you want chickpea mush.

 

 

Cooking methods include simmering on the stove covered and uncovered. There’s the slow cooker and pressure cooker where you can cook them dry or pre-soaked. Dry meaning they’re completely dry when you put them in the cooker, and they cook longer than the pre-soaked ones. I have never heard of not soaking beans before cooking so this method sort of blows my mind.

 

Your bean texture and flavor preference determines the cooking method. Food 52 did an extensive chickpea cooking test of all the combinations of soak and cook. They found out that if you want your beans to have a nice seasoning flavor throughout, then add the seasoning to the water when you soak them. Of course, this is mostly saltiness they’re referring to, but I imagine brining your beans would have the same effect as it does meat?

 

 

If you’re looking for quick beans, then the pre-soaked pressure cooker method is best. Yes, I realize pre-soak and quick don’t go hand in hand. Quick cooking time, that is. Not overall quick start to finish beans. Uncovered stove top cooking method makes for a starchier chickpea while the covered makes for a silkier textured bean. And the set it and forget it method, aka slow cooker, is always a safe bet. Either way you serve them up, remember to save the cooking liquid! It’s very useful.

 

How do you make Pizza Roasted Chickpeas?

 

From what I’ve read, you should remove the skins. Which is not always an easy task. But apparently removing the skins is the key to super crunchy and delicious chickpeas. So, I took the time to remove all of the skins. You can see those in the top right of the collage.

 

 

Rub the beans vigorously with the paper towel and they will start to come loose. I’ve read that you can soak them in warm water, and they’ll come off. I think I’ll try that method today. Either way, you can take them all off, take some of them off, or just leave them on.

 

When the skins are off, the beans are super shiny. T hose in the lower right are dry, but since the skins are off, they’re really shiny. With the skins off, some of the beans will split in half easier. No biggie. Makes them twice as crunchy delicious. If you’re not removing the skins, then make sure to dry the beans well. For that epic crunch you need to eliminate as much moisture as possible from the beans.

 

 

Then you roast them for a little bit. Don’t season them at first. After the first roast, then you toss the beans with some olive oil and pizza seasoning. This prevents the seasoning from burning, which happened to me. When you toss them in the seasoning then you bake them again.

 

Finally, when they’re finished cooking it’s best to let them cool slowly with the oven. Crack the door open and let them sit until cool. You don’t have to do this, but it makes them crunchier when you do. I don’t know why. They just are. So, take the time to let them slowly cool in the oven.

 

 

When you’re done you get a bowl full of pizza flavored crunch-tastic beans. They’re coated in herbs and spices and roasted to epic crunchy perfection. I keep saying crunch because they are not just crispy. They are CRUNCHY! You will think an earthquake is going off in your mouth with every bite.

 

Yes, I know that’s an exaggeration, but if you’re looking for something to crunch on midafternoon, like I do, then these pizza roasted chickpeas are just the thing. A few handfuls of these and your munch monster will be subdued. I say a few handfuls because you can’t eat several at once. They’re uber-crunchy so you really should just nosh on one at a time.

 

So, if you’ve hesitated about roasting your own chickpeas, then I’m here to tell you, it can and should be done. You should roast chickpeas in your oven today, if you can. I think I have a can in there now and might have to whip some more up. Either these or the jalapeno cheddar chickpeas I made, too. Oh yeah. If you like a spicy kick with your crunch, then you need to try those!

 

 

Brown Bag Lunches

• Blackstone Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches from Jen Around the World
• Healthier Oatmeal Jam Bars from Art of Natural Living
• Naan Paneer Wrap from Magical Ingredients
• Pizza Roasted Chickpeas from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Roast Beef Sandwich Spread from That Recipe
• South of the Border Tuna Wraps from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Southern Style Chicken Salad from Palatable Pastime

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