roasted chickpea croutons
The perfect alternative to popcorn for a night in with a DVD, a handy snack alternative to roasted nuts or even sprinkled over a salad for a crispy bite offering a GF alternative to crispy bread croutons. You can vary the seasonings as you wish. I went for an Indian theme for my first batch and then through in a few Italian spices and a little tomato paste for a lovely crunchy salad topper. I would really recommend the salad topper as a really quirky alternative to croutons as the texture is great! The chickpeas will keep for a few days if stored in an airtight container so you’ll have plenty of snack options to hand. I haven’t yet tried freezing these but I imagine that would also work well. The spice combinations below are just examples of what I went for so feel free to through in whatever you choose!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbs ground flax or chia seeds
- 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbs red palm oil or olive oil
- 1 tsp agave nectar (optional)
- 200g cooked drained chickpeas
- OR
- Ingredients Italian:
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbs ground flax or chia seeds
- 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbs red palm oil or olive oil
- 1 tbs tomato puree
- 200g cooked drained chickpeas
Directions
- Step 1 Method:
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 200C. In a medium bowl all the ingredients and mix well adding the chickpeas last.
- Step 3 Place the seasoned chickpeas in a single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking shee. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy.