Roasted Chickpeas

I attend a Thursday night women's Bible study, and this week it's my turn for treats.

We are studying the book "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst.  It's about how to crave God more than food.  As we're all working through our unhealthy relationships with food in order to have a stronger relationship with God, I figured it would be inappropriate to bring a super fatty treat.

So I figured this is the perfect time to try a recipe I've been wanting to try for months:  roasted chickpeas.

First of all, chickpeas = garbonzo beans.  Same food, two names.

I wanted to make two batches, one sweet and one savory.

For the sweet batch, I followed this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod.

For the savory batch, I found tons of recipe ideas but they all required ingredients I didn't have or just seemed to be different than what I had in mind.   So I made up my own recipe.  My family loves the baked Ranch oyster crackers that I'm sure you've all had.  So I took inspiration from that recipe to make the savory chickpeas.

Here's how it all went down.

I gathered the supplies:

First I drained the chickpeas.  I used two cans for each batch.  I dumped two cans at a time into a strainer and rinsed them under cold water, then I spread them out on paper towels.

Chickpeas have a little "skin" on them.  I didn't think this would be too appetizing, so I removed it from each and every chickpea.  Individually.  Seriously.  Next time I make these, and they're just for my family, I'll leave the skins on to see if they're really that bad.

It's a very easy process.  Just lightly pinch a chickpea between your thumb and finger, and the chickpea slides/shoots right out of the skin.  Repeat one million times.

The pan on the left has skins removed and the pan on the right has no skins removed:

You can't really tell in this picture, but the chickpeas appear brighter in color and less dull after you remove the skins.

I first mixed the sweet flavorings in a bowl (cinnamon, sugar, and canola oil).

Then I stirred in the chickpeas until they were evenly coated.

Then I sprayed my cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spread out the coated chickpeas on the pan.

Then I repeated the process with the other chickpeas and the savory seasonings.

I whisked the oil, dry Ranch dressing, garlic salt, and dill weed:

Mixed in the chickpeas:

And spread them out on a pan sprayed with non-stick spray:

I baked both pans at once at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Then I stirred them around and switched the pan placement in the oven and baked for another 10 minutes.  I stirred and baked for another 7 minutes.  My sweet chickpeas needed about 5 more minutes than the savory ones.  I used two different brands, so I'm assuming that's what made the difference.

You may need to bake yours longer or shorter depending on your oven (and your chickpeas).  You want the chickpeas to be crunchy throughout (no longer soft in the center).

The sweet chickpeas have one last finishing step:  coat them in honey and let them dry/harden.

And the finished treats:

*My Notes:

• Even though I made a double batch of each recipe, it still didn't make very much.  If you're making these for a crowd, I'd suggest using at least three cans of chickpeas per recipe (mine are two cans each). 
• Jared said the Ranch chickpeas were bland, so you may want to consider increasing the amount of Ranch seasoning and garlic salt.
• I was amazed at the difference in final texture between the two batches of chickpeas.  I'm guessing the brand made the difference.  The Ranch chickpeas ended up much smaller (they were the Bush's brand).  The honey cinnamon batch didn't shrink as much and I preferred their final texture (they were Simple Truth Organic, which was actually the cheapest brand when I went shopping!).

For the full printable Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas recipe, please visit Two Peas and Their Pod.

Here's my recipe:

Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1.5 tablespoons dry Ranch seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Drain chickpeas and rinse with cool water.  Spread chickpeas out on a double layer of paper towels.  Remove skins, if desired.  Allow chickpeas to dry.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and dill weed.
4. Pour chickpeas into bowl and stir until they're all evenly coated.
5. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spread out chickpeas on pan.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring about every ten minutes.  Chickpeas are done when they are no longer soft in the center.  (Go ahead and sneak one to test!)
7. Allow chickpeas to cool.  Enjoy!

Jessica