By Am I obsessed with this recipe? Yes, because I've eaten a can of chickpeas three days in a row because of these cinnamon sugar roasted chickpeas. Hello protein + fiber! These little gold nuggets are ultra crispy thanks to a few easy tricks that I'm excited to share.
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It's no secret, I'm a fan of chickpeas. I mean, they are a vegetarian powerhouse and incredibly cheap. You can turn them into a chickpea smoothie or add them to sheet pan chicken gyros. But... my favorite way to use them to date is to make little poppable snack bites.
I've had my fair share of these in the store (easy protein snack ideas are all the rage - not sure if you knew this), but they always let me down. They usually don't have enough of the cinnamon sugar goodness. It's supposed to be cinnamon sugar, wouldn't I want that?? Anyways, I took matters into my own hands and finally have the perfect cinnamon sugar roasted chickpeas after 3 tests.
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Recipe
Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 15 oz canned chickpeas (drained)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp ghee (or coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 pinch of salt
Before you start!
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Instructions
- Drain and rinse your 15 oz canned chickpeas. Dry them using a towel by gently rolling and patting them. Remove and discard any skin that falls off during drying; no need to remove the skin from all the chickpeas!
- Toss the dried chickpeas in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of melted ghee. Then, lay them out evenly on your air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 350 degrees F for 15-17 minutes. Once the time is up, leave them in there for 10 minutes (with the air fryer off) with the door closed to continue to dry out.While they bake, mix the 2 tablespoon white sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon cardamom, and 1 pinch of salt in a bowl.
- Then, toss them in 1 teaspoon melted ghee. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture and toss to coat.
Video
Notes
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Nutrition
let them dry out!
After the air-frying time is up. Let them sit in there with the door closed for another 10 minutes. This just helps them really dry out for the best crisp.
ingredient notes & substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See the recipe card for quantities.
- Chickpeas: Grab a can that doesn't have any added flavors or seasonings. I'll go over how to prep them below.
- Ghee: Lower in lactose, this is easier on the gut, and high-quality ghee has almost a brown butter-like taste for the perfect complement to cinnamon and cardamom. It's one of my tricks to getting these very crispy. Melted coconut oil will work too.
- White sugar: I tested this with brown sugar and coconut sugar, and it's just no questions asked that white sugar works best!
- Spices: Grab cinnamon and cardamom, and that's all you need.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
high protein ingredient spotlight: chickpeas
No surprise that our high protein spotlight is chickpeas! These little guys are also known as garbanzo beans, but chickpea is more fun to say. A 1-cup serving has 15g of protein AND 13g of fiber. Beyond roasting in cinnamon sugar, chickpeas make a yummy base for many recipes high in protein and fiber like almond croissant blondies!
here's how to make cinnamon sugar roasted chickpeas
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full crispy chickpea recipe!
- Prep the chickpeas by draining them, rinsing with water, drying them well (SUPER WELL), and removing as many of the skins as possible. Removing the skin is optional, but I like to do it, and have included an easy trick below.
- Toss in ghee and then roast until golden brown in the air fryer. Let them stay in the air fryer for 10 minutes after the timer goes off.
- Make the cinnamon sugar mixture by mixing the spices and sugar in another bowl.
- Toss the roasted chickpeas in more ghee and the cinnamon sugar mixture. Enjoy!
quick recipe video
prepping the chickpeas
It's pretty critical to prep the chickpeas well. To do this, there are three steps:
- Rinse and strain them. A spray nozzle works well to knock skins loose, and I use my hand to toss them around to make sure they are fully rinsed.
- Dry them with a towel. I like to lay a large dish towel out, spread the chickpeas on one side, then fold over the other side to gently rub them dry. This also knocks some of the skins loose.
- Pick off the skins. When the towel knocks some of the skins off, you can remove them fully with your fingers. No need to remove the skin from every chickpea, but you can if you want!
can I make these in the oven?
Sure! I tested this and it works fine, it just takes longer. Roast the chickpeas on a sheet tray at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Then let them stay in the oven with the oven off for another 10 minutes. Just crack the door to let the hot air out slowly.
my favorite ways to eat these crispy chickpeas
I love snacking on these on their own, but they also make great toppings for a handful of meals:
- Salads are so much better with a crunchy topping. That's why these chickpeas are perfect for topping a sweet salad like our hot honey chicken salad!
- Yogurt bowls are another great thing to top with these chickpeas, along with fresh fruit and protein granola.
- A protein bowl, like our fall harvest bowl, is another great candidate for crispy chickpeas
I hear you that white sugar works better but are the other options just horrible?
No not horrible by any means - just not as crispy if that makes sense? Coconut sugar was a fine option and I think a granulated monk fruit would be good (maybe the best swap?). Coconut sugar just becomes soft really fast and more like a syrup.
Yum! And so easy! Nice to have a high protein snack!