Crispy Italian Chickpeas Roasted in the Air Fryer

These crispy Italian chickpeas with Italian flavourings are roasted until crispy in an air fryer (or oven) to make a moreish healthy snack.

My latest recipe is these crispy Italian chickpeas flavoured with dairy-free pesto flavours and roasted until crisp in the air fryer.

Of course, you could roast these tasty little snacks in the oven instead.

Crunchy chickpeas make an excellent protein-packed snack, that is full of fibre and nutrients.

They make a great alternative to crisps (potato chips) which are not quite as healthy.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Crispy chickpea ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• ⏲️ Air fryer or oven?
• 💭 Roast chickpea tips
• 🥗 How to serve crunchy chickpeas
• 🥫 Storing crispy baked chickpeas
• ⏲️ How long will they keep?
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Related recipes
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Pairing recipes
• ⭐ Want new recipes delivered to your inbox?
• ⭐ Save your favourite recipes for free!
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make crispy Italian chickpeas
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

🥘 Crispy chickpea ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this gluten-free snack.

• Cooked chickpeas - canned chickpeas are an easy option
• Oil - olive oil for flavour
• Basil - you want dried basil for this recipe
• Garlic - garlic powder
• Nutritional yeast - also called nooch
• Salt & Pepper - to season

See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for quantities, method, calories and nutrition.

📖 Variations

Use this crunchy chickpea recipe as a base and change up the flavours every time you make them.

You may like to try my crunchy pizza chickpeas next, but here are some more flavouring ideas.

1. Garlic & Herb - add garlic powder and dried herbs
2. Lemon & Herb - add lemon zest, oregano and salt
3. Smoky - add paprika, salt and some chilli flakes for a bit of heat
4. Sweet & Savoury - add maple syrup, cinnamon, cumin and salt
5. Curry - add cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and ground ginger

⏲️ Air fryer or oven?

Roast chickpeas can be baked in the oven or in an air fryer.

Using an air fryer is quicker and cheaper (energy consumption is lower with an air fryer), but if you prepare them properly, they will crisp up nicely in both.

In an oven or oven-style air fryer with shelves, bake them on a lined tray near the top of the air fryer, stopping to move them about (turn them), so they are evenly crisped.

If you have an air fryer with drawers, then give them a good shake during the roast.

Next, try these crunchy air fryer balti tofu bites.

💭 Roast chickpea tips

Here are a few tips for the crunchiest roasted chickpeas.

• Dry them - make sure you dry them well on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel before adding the flavourings.
• Give them space - don't overcrowd the basket or tray, have a bit of room between them to allow the chickpeas to crisp
• Move them - move them about during cooking to make sure they are evenly roasted
• Watch them - they can go from crispy to burnt quite quickly, so keep an eye on them

Do give them a try, they are a fabulous oven-roasted snack and great for lunchboxes.

They are suitable for vegetarians, vegans and those on a dairy-free or gluten-free diet.

🥗 How to serve crunchy chickpeas

Here are a few serving suggestions for roasted chickpeas, if you can manage to do anything other than pop one after another of these tasty morsels in your mouth until they are all gone!

1. Naked - just serve them as they are as a tasty protein snack
2. Salad - serve them as a crunchy topping on a salad
3. Pitta - add them to pitta bread with salad and a creamy ranch dressing or the most gorgeous Russian dressing
4. Wrap - add to a wrap with salad and a rich vegan buffalo sauce
5. Soup - add them as a crunchy topping to soups instead of croutons, try them with this homemade vegan cream of tomato soup
6. Trail Mix - go all American and add them to a trail mix (dry snack mixture) with nuts, seeds and dried fruit

🥫 Storing crispy baked chickpeas

Store crispy pesto chickpeas in a glass jar or an air tight container.

Just make sure the glass jar or airtight container is spotlessly clean and totally dry, as any hint of moisture or water and the chickpeas will go soft.

You can add some kitchen paper, just to be on the safe side.

👩🏻‍🍳 Related recipes

Looking for more savoury snack recipes like this? Try these:

👩🏻‍🍳 Pairing recipes

Try adding crunchy chickpeas to these dishes as a filling or topping:

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👩🏻‍🍳 How to make crispy Italian chickpeas

These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these air fryer crispy chickpeas. Keep scrolling for the full printable recipe (with full ingredient list, calories and nutritional info).

Step 1

• Drain the chickpeas (reserving the aquafaba aka chickpea water to make chocolate mousse) and pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper.
• Add the oil and flavourings (see the recipe card below for the full ingredient list).

Step 2

• Mix until well coated then spread on a tray (to oven or air fryer oven roast) or in an air fryer drawer.
• Roast until crunchy.
• Enjoy!