Skip the expensive packaged chickpea snacks when you can make them at home so easily! Crunchy BBQ chickpeas are smoky, savory, and slightly sweet. Eat them as a healthy snack or add to your favorite salads or grain bowls. Ready in just 35 minutes!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I'll send you easy and delicious recipes every week!
I love creating fun new snack foods; I'm the type of person who is never without them. Whether I'm commuting, traveling, or just running errands, I always have snacks in my bag, like black bean chocolate cookies, chocolate pecans, or a container of homemade hummus.
There are a million ways to season roasted chickpeas, but in the summer I love covering them with bbq spices. They're so satisfying, and a very healthy high-protein snack!
This bbq chickpeas recipe is so simple: we make a homemade spice blend, add it to (canned) chickpeas, and roast them in the oven. The molasses becomes caramelized and the spice-dusted chickpeas turn into crunchy little nuggets that are slightly addictive.
Jump to:
⭐️ Why These Chickpeas are The Best
- Crispy and crunchy texture
- Smoky, salty, and sweet
- Healthy: High in protein and fiber, naturally vegan/plant-based/dairy-free, and gluten-free
- Easy: Ready in just 35 minutes (we use canned chickpeas for convenience)
- Makes a great on-the-go snack
- Budget-friendly recipe
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Chickpeas - We use canned chickpeas in this recipe for convenience. If you prefer to use dried chickpeas, you can do that, too.
- Molasses - Provides a deep caramel flavor that is necessary in BBQ seasoning.
- Apple cider vinegar - Adding vinegar cuts the sweetness and gives a pop of tanginess to our BBQ chickpeas.
- Smoked paprika - Gives our chickpeas that quintessential smoky flavor that we crave in BBQ.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Coconut oil or vegetable oil can be used in place of olive oil.
- Make 'em spicy: To add more of a kick, add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper.
- White wine vinegar works as a substitute for apple cider vinegar.
- Italian seasoning. When it comes to spices for chickpeas, the possibilities are endless. This recipe creates a salty-sweet-smoky BBQ flavoring, but you could also rub them in my Italian seasoning substitute for a mouth-watering Italian-flavored snack.
🥄 How To Make Crispy BBQ Chickpeas
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a dish towel or paper towels on a baking sheet, and spread chickpeas out, patting dry with towel. Remove chickpea skins. *This is a necessary step in order to get crunchy chickpeas.
Remove towel from baking sheet. Drizzle chickpeas with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast for 10 minutes. While chickpeas are roasting, combine molasses, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, and chili powder in a medium-sized bowl.
Add hot chickpeas to the homemade bbq sauce, and stir until chickpeas are well coated. Roast for an additional 20 minutes, tossing chickpeas halfway through baking.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- **It's very important that you take the 5-10 minutes to pat chickpeas dry and peel off their skins. Doing so ensures that they turn crispy in the oven.
- If you don't have the needed spices for this recipe, you can substitute ¼ cup of store-bought bbq sauce. Because most brands of bbq sauce have corn syrup in them, it won't be as healthy of a snack, but still better than potato chips. 😉
- Storage: To ensure optimal crispness, store cooked chickpeas in a glass jar/container or paper bag. I don't recommend a plastic bag, as they will lose their crispness. The chickpeas can be stored for up to 5 days.
- Make sure your paprika is in fact smoky paprika (also known as Spanish paprika) to guarantee a smoky BBQ flavor.
🍔 How To Serve Roasted Chickpeas
- Snack. I love eating roasted chickpeas as a snack in place of potato chips or crackers.
- Add to salads and grain bowls. Try them on my summer bean salad or vegetarian quinoa bowl.
- Add to sandwiches. BBQ chickpeas add fantastic crunch to sandwiches, like my sloppy joes and focaccia sandwich.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to spices for chickpeas, the possibilities are endless. This recipe creates a salty-sweet-smoky BBQ flavoring, but you could also rub them in my Italian seasoning substitute for a mouth-watering Italian-flavored snack.
Yes! They are high in protein and fiber, making them a great high-protein snack or meat alternative.
Most likely, it's because you forgot to remove the skins or didn't bake them long enough. Removing the skin ensures a crunchy texture, as does the proper baking time.
In this recipe, we start by patting the chickpeas dry and removing the skins. This will ensure a crispy texture after they are roasted. We make a homemade BBQ sauce, coat our chickpeas with it, and roast at 400 degrees F for around 30 minutes.
⏲ More Snack Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook.
Subscribe to my email newsletter to get a FREE e-book of 20 vegetarian recipes, and get new recipes delivered to your inbox every week!
Crispy BBQ Chickpeas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (15-ounce cans) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a dish towel or paper towels on a baking sheet, and spread chickpeas out, patting dry with towel.
- Remove chickpea skins. *This is a necessary step in order to get crunchy chickpeas.
- Remove towel from baking sheet. Drizzle chickpeas with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast for 10 minutes.
- While chickpeas are roasting, combine molasses, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, and chili powder in a medium-sized bowl.
- Add hot chickpeas to the homemade bbq sauce, and stir until chickpeas are well coated. Roast for an additional 20 minutes, tossing chickpeas halfway through baking.
Notes
- **It's very important that you take the 5-10 minutes to pat chickpeas dry and peel off their skins. Doing so ensures that they turn crispy in the oven.
- If you don't have the needed spices for this recipe, you can substitute ¼ cup of store-bought bbq sauce. Because most brands of bbq sauce have corn syrup in them, it won't be as healthy of a snack, but still better than potato chips. 😉
- Storage: To ensure optimal crispness, store cooked chickpeas in a glass jar/container or paper bag. I don't recommend a plastic bag, as they will lose their crispness. The chickpeas can be stored for up to 5 days.
- Make sure your paprika is in fact smoky paprika (also known as Spanish paprika) to guarantee a smoky BBQ flavor.
Barbara J Haner
I have to run to the store and get molasses and apple cider vinegar, but as soon as I do I will make these. They do sound like a good healthier snack.
Gastronotherapy
Great - let me know how they turn out!
Cathleen
I love roasted chickpeas, but for some reason I didn't think of making BBQ flavour ones!! Bookmarked to make this weekend, thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Gastronotherapy
You are welcome, Cathleen! They definitely hit the spot! 🙂
Beth
This is such a delicious and addicting chickpea recipe! We added these to our salad for lunch today and yummy, so flavorful! My hubby and I really enjoyed this recipe. Excited to make this again!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks for leaving a comment, Beth! I also love these on salads!
Denay DeGuzman
My daughter assembled this easy tasty recipe. It's so delicious. It's perfect for no-guilt snacking.
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Denay! I am all about "no-guilt snacking"!
Anjali
I love roasted chickpeas but I typically just buy them at the store! I can't wait to try your homemade version - it looks so much better than store bought!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Anjali! Homemade roasted chickpeas really are a game-changer!
Biana
What a great snack! These chickpeas look delicious and flavorful.
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Biana! I hope you give them a go!