Roasted chickpeas are the perfect snack. They’re crunchy, salty, and packed with protein and energy. I love playing around with the flavors of these warm little beans and serving them to my husband and 3-year-old while they watch sports on the weekends. My latest creation — these Smoky Maple Chickpeas — were a must-share! I decided to try for a maple bacon flavor, so I went straight for the liquid smoke, smoked paprika, tamari, and of course, the maple syrup/sugar.
The result? Slightly sweet, slightly salty, smoky, and addictive chickpeas!
Most roasted chickpea recipes call for coating the beans in oil to add crisp, but I made these pretty crunchy without adding unnecessary fat calories from oil. Oil is also inflammatory, so I try to avoid it when I can.
I tried these smoky maple chickpeas two ways: with and without the addition of maple sugar at the end. And of course, I preferred the maple sugar version. Both were delicious though, so if you can’t find maple sugar or you find that it’s too much of a splurge, feel free to omit it. You can also drizzle the roasted chickpeas with more maple syrup, but just know that they will be quite messy to eat. I found maple sugar on sale at Whole Foods and decided to go for it. It’s not like it’ll go bad, right?
- 1 15-oz can low sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 T. reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
- ¼ tsp. liquid smoke
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- 2 T. pure maple syrup
- Roughly ¼ tsp. salt
- Optional: 2-3 tsp. maple sugar
- In a flat-bottomed container, combine the tamari, liquid smoke, paprika, and maple syrup. Pour the chickpeas into the marinade and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for about one hour, stirring once or twice to distribute the liquid.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain (but don't rinse!) the chickpeas, and transfer them to a paper towel. Pat them dry to remove any excess liquid so they can crisp in the oven. Remove any skins that have become loose, because they will burn quickly.
- Spread the chickpeas out on the baking sheet so they aren't touching each other too much. Bake for 25-28 minutes, stirring every 10 mins or so, until golden and crispy.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with salt and maple sugar. Serve warm.
Roasted chickpeas tend to absorb moisture and become soft over time, so they are best right out of the oven.
I hope you guys love these smoky maple chickpeas as much as we do! I’m thinking they’d be good on a baked sweet potato or as croutons on a green salad. Too bad I’ve been eating them to quickly to experiment with them…
Enjoy! 🙂
Check out some of my other fun snacks here!
Leave a Reply