Air Fryer Roasted Chickpeas (No Oil)

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Air Fryer Roasted Chickpeas. How to air fry chickpeas without oil, with different flavour combinations. My number #1 favourite healthy air fryer snack, that is so easy you will be wondering why it took you so long before you cooked air fryer chickpeas.

Air Fryer Chickpeas

Welcome to my Air Fryer Chickpeas recipe. I originally shared with you how to cook air fryer chickpeas back in November 2017 after a recommendation from one of my air fryer friends.

But I made a BIG mistake with the original air fried chickpeas recipe and I am back today to show you what went wrong, as well as share with you more flavour combinations and so that you can see why I get so excited over roasting chickpeas in the air fryer.

The BIG mistake of course was adding extra virgin olive oil to our original air fryer chickpeas recipe. It is just not needed and unnecessary.

I learnt this on one afternoon when I had the flu and wanted something quick to eat. Half asleep and in a right state, I forgot to add the extra virgin olive oil during cooking.

First thought was, OMG I have ruined the chickpeas and I just want to sit on the sofa with them, watch Netflix and feel sorry for myself.

Well the truth was the air fryer chickpeas was AMAZING. Next time you want that dream snack, that is low in calories, low in fat and healthy, then you MUST make air fryer chickpeas without oil.

Lifechanging air fryer moment!

Bookmark, share on social media or print off this air fryer chickpeas recipe for future reference and read below while I share with you everything you need to know about making air fryer chickpeas.

What Are Chickpeas?

Chickpeas is a popular member of the pulse family. The pulse family includes chickpeas, lentils and dried peas.

Known for the protein, fibre, along with many vitamins and minerals they are recommended for a healthy diet.

Chickpeas are also known as chick pea, garbanzo, Egyptian pea and chana.

Chickpeas are a fantastic meal filler and us Milners love them for bulking up meals and with cans of chickpeas being so cheap, we will often have a few cans of chickpeas in our pantry.

Can You Air Fry Chickpeas?

Absolutely! Air fryer chickpeas are on the list of the top foods that I recommend that you cook in the air fryer.

It stands proudly alongside air fryer frozen French fries, air fryer rotisserie chicken and air fryer chicken breast.

It is one of those throw the food in the air fryer and they come out perfect, type of recipes and is easy to adapt to your favourite flavours and meal plans.

Air Fryer chickpeas are also ideal for school packed lunches, work lunch boxes, summer trips to the beach and many other occasions.

What Do Air Fryer Chickpeas Taste Like?

I have often heard of air fryer chickpeas called chickpea popcorn or dehydrated chickpeas. I think this sums is up perfectly because it is like this crunchy snack that I want to eat while watching Netflix.

The texture of the chickpeas is crunchy and crispy like the crunch you get on popcorn.

You might also want to know “are chickpeas fattening?” Well you will be pleased to know they are not.

There are 900 calories between 2 cans of chickpeas. Note this is based on the weight of 800g so a single portion of 80g would be JUST 90 calories.

How To Air Fry Chickpeas?

Making air fryer chickpeas is EASY and is one of those recipes Jorge (my 3 year old) loves to get involved with. In fact, he doesn’t let me do it and shouts at me if I come near his favourite air fryer snack!

1. Jorge drains and rinses the chickpeas and places them into the air fryer basket.
2. He presses a few buttons to the chickpeas cooking.
3. He pauses the air fryer, tosses the chickpeas in his favourite seasoning and lets the cook cycle finish.
4. After air frying, he adds a little extra seasoning to the chickpeas, eats them all and never lets me have any!

Air Fryer Canned Chickpeas #1 Tip

If you buy the cheaper brand of chickpeas (we do this) then when you rinse the canned chickpeas you will find they will be loose, and you will have chickpeas with the skin hanging off.

I just take off any lose bits of chickpea skin as I rinse them under a tap. If you do this, which can take a few minutes, it can drastically improve how nice your chickpeas taste at the end.

They will be crispier, and you won’t end up with some chickpeas that are soggy.

Though do note, you might need an extra can of chickpeas as you can have a lot of excess skin like you see below:

Air Fryer Chickpeas Seasoning

Chickpeas are a plain food asking you for your way of seasoning them. A bit like when you cook air fryer frozen chicken wings. Its all about personal choice as to the flavouring you decide upon.

Me and Jorge always have paprika along with a little salt and pepper. But that is how we like them. A few other chickpea ideas could include:

• Air Fryer BBQ Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Buffalo Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Garlic & Herb Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Parmesan Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Ranch Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Salt & Vinegar Chickpeas

Or to make things easier you can use a dried herb or spices mix from your pantry that is already made. For example, we used one that was Oriental, a second that was Mexican and a third that was Cajun.

3 Stages To Perfect Air Fryer Chickpeas

I like to think of air fryer chickpeas as having 3 main stages to making them. When you understand this your chickpeas will be the best you have ever tasted, and it will become an addiction for you too!

• Stage 1 – Get rid of any loose pieces of chickpea skin like I have mentioned above and make sure your chickpeas are well rinsed.
• Stage 2 – Many people want to know how to dry chickpeas and that is stage 2. You are loading your chickpeas into the air fryer basket and letting the air fryer dry them out for you. Then they will be crunchy and begging for your seasoning.
• Stage 3 – That brings us to stage 3 and that is learning how to season chickpeas. I always split my chickpea seasoning between loading into the air fryer after the chickpeas have dried out and some leftover for when you serve your chickpeas.

Those 3 stages are what is required for perfect air fryer chickpeas and learn the stages and you have cracked perfect chickpeas in the air fryer.

Air Fryer Chickpeas Weight Watchers

If you follow Weight Watchers and are looking for air fryer chickpeas WW points then you will be pleased to know that our air fryer chickpeas are FREE on the Weight Watchers Purple Plan!

They are also vegan and perfect for Slimming World too.

How Long To Air Fry Chickpeas?

For perfect air fryer chickpeas they are cooked at two different temperatures. This is so that the chickpeas can dry out first and then can cook with your chosen seasoning.

It starts first with 5 minutes on a medium heat, followed by 3 minutes on a high heat.

Just think you can have perfectly cooked chickpeas in JUST 8 minutes!

How To Store Roasted Chickpeas?

I always eat my chickpeas straight away and fight Jorge over them. But if you have them left they are perfect in the fridge in a bowl, in a lunch box container to take to work or in a zip loc bag.

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!