I love to snack on almonds, pecans, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pepitas etc… I guess you get the picture that I adore a variety of nuts…but what was I to do when I ran out of my favorite snack? I needed to find an easy, baked and crunchy replacement — roasted chickpeas to the rescure!

These little guys (or gals) are addiciting and make a great stand in for a bar snack, help satisfy my craving for salty crackers or nuts and are easily adaptable to your favorite spices and herbs. It’s a simple recipe that takes a few minutes to pull together but for an even quicker prep, sub the spices, salt and pepper with about half a packet or so of taco or fajita seasoning 🙂

I can keep these in my purse for a quick snack on the go or add them to salad for a grain-free, gluten-free and high protein “crouton”!

Roasted Fajita-Spiced Chickpeas

Ingredients

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp light tasting oil (olive, grapeseed etc)
1/2 tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, omit or reduce if you don’t like heat

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or foil.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas in a colander.  Drain them well, shaking excess water let air dry or pat dry with towel.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine oil, salt, pepper and spices. Add chickpeas and toss to coat the chickpeas well.
4. Spread the chickpeas onto baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 40-50 minutes until crispy, shaking pan once or twice in the middle of cooking. Serve warm or let cool and enjoy!

Store in air-tight container once completely cooled.

This recipe is featured on this week’s Wellness Weekend at Ricki’s Diet Dessert and Dogs blog !