Our family loves salty crispy chips just as much as the next, but I like trying alternatives that can satisfy that crunchy/salty/snack-y craving while including an extra bit of nutrition. Sometimes it goes over well, and other times….not so much. These cheezy roasted chickpeas were a hit (at least with the kids, if not my husband #sorrybabe).
These take less than 5 minutes to prep, so the only hard part is the waiting for them to bake! I usually double the recipe and make 2 cans worth, then set them out in a bowl for afternoon snacking. They taste best warm or room temp, and although you can save leftovers in an airtight container, they’re not as good after you’ve refrigerated them overnight. They lose that crunch! And also get a little dried out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is your official warning.
Why “cheezy” and not “cheesy” you ask?! I use nutritional yeast for the cheese flavor in these. If you’ve never tried it, it’s basically yellow flakes that are frequently used in vegan cooking to create cheese flavor. You’re in one of two camps on this:
- WHY would I ever substitute for real cheese?! OR
- I love nutritional yeast/I’ve tried it and it’s growing on me. OR
- I’ve never tried it but I’m game to see what this is all about.
Oh look what I did there, I made three camps. Well, better to have choices, amiright??
Nutritional yeast is packed with B vitamins, and although it’s a flavor that I didn’t love at first, I like it more and more every time I use it (camp 2). If you’ve never tried it and you’re a hard core cheese lover, you may want to beat me over the head with the container once you get it home and open it up. So if you’re not quite ready, now or ever, I’ll tell you this – you can still make these with regular cheese. Just follow all the instructions and leave out the nutritional yeast. Then in the final 5 – 10 mins of baking, sprinkle the chickpeas with grated parmesan. Voila.
And why tumeric? Mainly I wanted a little extra flavor, but it also adds more yellow color AND a bit of curcumin which can potentially fight inflammation and boost immunity.
Here they are post-roasting, looking all crunchy and ready for snacking. As always, let me know what you think if you try them!
These roasted chickpeas get their yellow color (and good flavor!) from tumeric and nutritional yeast. Hands-on time is just five minutes to satisfy your salty, crunchy cravings with a healthy alternative!
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 tsp oil (I use olive or sunflower)
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
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Preheat the oven to 425. In a bowl, mix together the chickpeas, oil, turmeric, salt, and nutritional yeast.
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Spread onto a baking sheet (I cover the sheet with parchment paper) and cook for 35 minutes, stirring halfway through. (Note: try to keep the chickpeas in a single layer to cook evenly.) Eat!
If you don't like nutritional yeast or don't have it handy, you can use regular grated parmesan cheese. Just leave it out when you mix up the chickpeas, and then sprinkle it on top during the last 5-8 minutes of roasting.
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