Basics: No-Fail Crispy Chickpeas

Did You Know? The 3 highest-paid celebrities in 2018 are:  #1 Floyd Mayweather at $285M likely due to his fight against Conner McGregor, #2 George Clooney at $239M due to the purchase of his tequila Casamigos, and #3 Kylie Jenner $166.5M profiting from her Kylie Cosmetics makeup brand. (via)

I decided I’m going to start a “BASICS” part of MissBassmaster where I’ll share really simple things that some people might not know how to do or have forgotten about.  Last week I shared my 5 Ingredient Turkey Burgers (so good), & this week I’m sharing crispy chickpeas.

They are SO SIMPLE.  What’s more perfect, is how versatile they are.  You can eat them as a healthy snack, throw them on top of a salad for a crunchy twist, mix them into a rice dish – whatever you want!  They go with everything. I would say you can save them for a few days to snack on, but lets be real, you’ll eat them before then – if you’re anything like muah.

Another key reason to have baked chickpeas on hand?  They make any dish look like you’re King of the kitchen…

If you watch my Insta Stories, you know I’ve been making dried beans rather than beans out of a can.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to beans from a can again!  Here’s why:  I can choose the exact amount of beans I want to use, the beans are fresh & obviously not sitting in a can, they’re easy to make!  I’ve gotten used to soaking any variety of bean right before I go to bed & boiling them the next day whenever I have time.  I usually boil the bean for 20 minutes, but test the bean several times around the 20 minute cook time to make sure the bean is done to my preferred tenderness.  I’ve also started trial & error with an instant pot, where you don’t even have to soak the beans the night before!  Making life without canned beans EVEN EASIER!

I should back up.  When you buy beans from a can, they’re already soft & ready to eat.  When you buy dried beans they’re in their raw form & really hard.  You typically have to soak them overnight, then boil them before they’re soft enough to eat.

Ok, lets get back to crispy chickpeas…

No-Fail Crispy Chickpeas

Ingredients:

Chickpeas (out of a can, or already cooked & ready to eat)

Salt & Pepper

1/4 tsp Olive Oil (favorite: here)

Directions:

Set the oven to 425 degrees.  Make sure chickpeas are rinsed, clean, and dry.  On a baking sheet, spread the chickpeas into an even layer.  (If you have parchment paper, lay that down first.  I noticed everything bakes better & looks prettier when you use parchment paper, but it’s not a must!)  Once the chickpeas are spread out on the baking sheet, either spray with a little olive oil, or roll the chickpeas around with a very small amount of olive oil.  The secret to crispy chickpeas is NOT using very much olive oil! The smaller amount, the better!  Then, top with salt & pepper, or any seasonings you choose. Bake for 20 min, turn chickpeas, bake another 5 minutes – or until your preferred crispy level.  Remove from oven, let cool, & enjoy!

TIPS:

• Like I said, the key with crispy chickpeas is not using too much oil!  I was doing this before & couldn’t figure out why my chickpeas were never crispy.  The less olive oil, the better.  But a very little amount is necessary to add crisp & flavor.
• Give your chickpeas room to breathe.  They’ll get crispier if they have space.  So make sure you’re not cramming too many chickpeas on one baking dish, they need to be spread out.
• This is the first year in my life I caved & bought parchment paper.  It always felt unnecessary.  Now, I can’t bake without it.  2 things:  Parchment paper helps with even & crisp baking  + the entire baking process is prettier.  Try it!

That’s it!  How to get crispy chickpeas.  I’ve been eating them constantly since figuring out exactly how to make crispy beans & I think you will too.  SO FREAKING EASY.  How can you not?

I tried linking some products I use throughout this post but had a little trouble because Amazon is having this little thing called Prime Day.  I think they underestimated site traffic because it’s not even close to working properly.  Seems a little counter productive, no?

No worries, I have to run around like a little worker bee all day, watch the bachelorette because I’m always a day behind, AND THEN pack for a little trip back home to Minnesota.  It’s not like I have time to stock Prime Day anyway….

Have a great week! Enjoy the summer sun!

Be thoughtful,

Xx