Roasted Chickpeas

Looking for a healthy snack? RIGHT HERE! Crunchy, salty, packed with protein... YUMMY! My 4 year old ate nearly half of a batch in one sitting! I am going to give you fair warning that these do not keep well. Roasting makes them nice and crunchy but they go soft quickly if you store them. Not to worry, they'll be gone in an hour :) And for goodness sake, they taste like corn nuts! Who doesn't like corn nuts???

So, after trying these a few ways and following a couple of different recipes, I messed around until I came up with the "perfect" method to roasting without burning or having them not thoroughly crispy. Here goes:

2 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

olive oil

seasonings (we'll discuss this in a minute)

Preheat oven to 400. Cover your cookie sheet in aluminum foil (I do this for everything and can't even recall the last time I washed a cookie sheet! I just throw away the foil, wipe down with a clean towel and put away). Anyways, you need to drain and thoroughly rinse your beans. Blot  a little bit with a paper towel (don't worry about getting all of the water, roasting will take care of that). Put the beans on your pan and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and give them a good stir. Put them back in for 15-20 more minutes (you want them golden brown but not burnt). Take them out (again) and drizzle with a SMALL amount of olive oil and your choice of seasonings. Toss to coat and then pop back in the oven for another 5 minutes. VOILA! Let cool a smidge and enjoy!

Alright, back to the seasonings. There are all sorts of combinations I have seen for roasted chickpeas. From salty and sweet to spicy. My preferenace is a good dose of garlic salt and nothing else. You could try some salt and a sprinkle of cumin and cayenne pepper. Or maybe a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon? Feel free to google roasted chickpeas and see what sort of flavor combinations you come up with. However, I don't recommend straying from this cooking method. Trust me, I've already done the trail and error for you! Enjoy!!!