Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

Hello, my chickpeas! (Wow, that name seems even more appropriate than usual for today's post). Today I am excited to share with you my Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas! These are a delicious crunchy snack, a tasty topping, and are conveniently made in the air fryer. Plus, they are done in only 25 minutes and are even oil-free!

I've been perfecting these Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas for a long time and I'm so excited to finally share them. All you need is an air fryer, a can of chickpeas, and some seasonings. So let's jump in!

Inspiration for Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

A couple years ago I ordered a salad at a restaurant, and it was topped with delicious crispy chickpeas. Unfortunately I do not remember what restaurant it was, but the chickpeas I remember vividly! It reminded me of a fun twist on a crouton, and I immediately decided I wanted to make my own version.

Ever since then I've gone through phases of working on this recipe - it took a while to accomplish that perfect crispiness! But eventually I created the Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas of my dreams. I'm so excited for you to try these and to sprinkle them on everything.

Ingredients

These air fryer chickpeas don't have a ton of ingredients. I bet there's a good chance you even have what you need in your kitchen already! Let's take a look at our ingredients of the day:

• Chickpeas: a great source of protein, fiber, and more! We are building today's recipe around the lovely chickpea.
• Aquafaba: aquafaba is the liquid you find in a can of chickpeas. We are using just a bit of aquafaba to act as a glue to hold on our seasonings.
• Garlic salt, smoked paprika, and onion powder: our seasonings of choice today! These are pretty versatile and will go with just about anything.

How to Make Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

The full recipe is down below, but here are the basics of these crunchy chickpeas:

1. Preheat the air fryer
2. Rinse off the chickpeas and pat them dry
3. Air fry the chickpeas for around 15 minutes, stopping to stir them around every so often.
4. Add your aquafaba and seasonings to the chickpeas
5. Throw them on top of whatever you'd like, or enjoy as a snack!

Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks

This recipe is pretty straight forward, but here are some fun things you can do with it!

• Play around with the seasonings! We use pretty versatile seasonings that go with just about anything, but you can change it up as much as you'd like. Throw on some dried dill for ranch vibes, or toss on some chili powder to make it spicy!
• Sprinkle these on everything! They're perfect on salads, Buddha Bowls, or even sprinkled on top of pasta or tacos. I also love snacking on them if I have some leftover.
• These are very crispy when you first cook them, but they do lose their crispiness as they sit out. Therefore, they are best eaten right away for maximum crispiness! However, if you do have leftovers that you want to crisp up again, just throw them in the air fryer again for a minute or two at 400F.
• Looking for a delicious salad dressing for the salad that you're going to throw these on? Try out my Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing or my Oil-Free Zesty Italian Dressing!

📖 Recipe

Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

Delaney Marie

These Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas are a delicious crunchy snack, a tasty topping, and are conveniently made in the air fryer. They are done in about 25 minutes and are even oil-free! All you need is an air fryer, a can of chickpeas, and some seasonings.

*Note that From Start to Finish is an estimate of the total time to complete the recipe, but the actual time may vary a bit based on factors such as your air fryer and your personal preference of crispiness.

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From Start to Finish25 minutes mins

Servings4 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 can chickpeas
• ▢ ½ tablespoon aquafaba* (reserved from the can of chickpeas)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

• Preheat air fryer to 400F.
• Open the can of chickpeas and reserve some of the aquafaba off to the side (at least ½ Tbsp). Once some aquafaba has been reserved, pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse them off in the sink. Pour them onto a kitchen towel and place another towel on top. Gently roll them in between the towels to dry them off as much as you can. Set them off to the side until the air fryer is preheated.

  Chickpeas have a very thin transparent skin on them. You might find that the skins have naturally come off of some of the chickpeas during the process of drying them between the towels. This is fine, just discard the skins that have naturally come off (no need to remove the skin of each and every chickpea).
• Add the chickpeas to the air fryer, making sure they are all in one layer and not stacking on top of one another. Air fry at 400 for 5 minutes. Give them a stir, and then return to the air fryer for another 5 minutes. Stir once more, and return for 5-7 more minutes or until they are cooked to your liking.
• In a small bowl, combine your garlic salt, smoked paprika, and onion powder. (Combining them like this before adding them to the chickpeas is the best way to evenly distribute all of the flavors!)
• Remove chickpeas from the air fryer and pour into a medium bowl. Add ½ tablespoon of aquafaba and give them a stir so they are evenly coated. Add your seasoning mixture and stir again so that the chickpeas are all seasoned.
• Serve as desired and enjoy! (Note that the chickpeas are best served right away before they lose their crispiness. If you have leftovers and need to crisp them up again, just air fry them once more at 400F for a minute or two).

Notes

*Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of chickpeas.

 

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Stay joyfully balanced!