Really Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix Recipe - Pamela Salzman Skip to content

Really Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix Recipe

Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix | pamela salzman

Snacks are tough.  My kids come home from school very hungry and they can eat a lot.  I want to offer them something nutritious obviously, but I don’t have a ton of time to make homemade snacks every day.   Some of my default snacks are hummus with veggies or whole grain crackers, rice cakes with nut butter, quesadillas, yogurt with granola, almond flour muffins, apples and bananas with nut butter, and smoothies.  Stovetop popcorn and granola bars are common, too.  If I left my son to his own devices, I’m sure he would polish off a pint of ice cream or a bag of tortilla chips, but he has homework to focus on and soccer practice or religious school, so he needs better fuel than that.

chickpeas for roasting

I’ve been intrigued by the appearance of “chickpea croutons” on dozens of salads I have seen all over Pinterest.  The cooked chickpeas are roasted until crunchy, sometimes seasoned with spices, and are a more nutritious alternative to croutons, which are basically small greasy bites of white toast.  I must have a little crunch in my salad, but I prefer the idea of chickpeas over croutons.  However, with all due respect to those who posted those crunchy chickpea recipes, most of them don’t work.  Either the chickpeas do not ever become crunchy or they only stay crunchy for a few hours and then they become soft, like real chickpeas.  My son actually likes chickpeas and he likes trailmix, so I had an idea to make crunchy chickpeas and mix them with nuts + dried fruit + dark chocolate = crunchy chickpea trailmix, a perfect snack.  Except I tried at least a dozen recipes and the chickpeas always eventually became soggy, until one time I roasted them in the oven for a little while and then turned the oven off but left the chickpeas in there.  In this way, they wouldn’t burn, but they would continue to dry out.  Ta da!  Winner!  This is the whole key to truly crisp-like-a-cracker chickpeas.

Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix | pamela salzman

We are not nut-free in our house, nor do my kids go to nut-free schools, but I know there are a lot of families out there who contend with this challenge.  This trail mix is easy to make nut-free since the chickpeas make a great sub for nuts, and they are both high in protein which is something I always look for in a good snack.  And believe me, I am not trying to replace nuts.  Nuts are super good for you with exceptionally healthful fats, protein and fiber, BUT they are also high in calories and I have been known to overeat nuts without realizing it and it is possible to eat too much of a nutritious food if you are trying to maintain a healthy weight.  Like I said in my last post, I would be really skinny if nut butter didn’t exist!  The nice thing about trail mix is that you can make it with whatever you have and to your liking.  I love a good balance of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, with a touch of dark chocolate for fun.  Trail mix is my go-to snack for traveling since it keeps really well, although in the summer I usually omit the chocolate so there’s no risk of melting.

Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix | pamela salzman

Every time I teach any recipe, someone asks me, “Does Mr. Picky like this?”  90% of the recipes I teach, he does like/tolerate.  He ate almost an entire pan of crunchy chickpeas in one sitting.  We all loved these and I haven’t even begun to experiment with savory seasonings.  As long as you have the method down pat, you should definitely play around with different spices, like garlic powder + smoked paprika, cumin + cinnamon + cayenne, just to name a couple.  I think these would be amazing on salads, or on soups or on top of creamy dips like hummus, or as a “bar snack,” to serve with cocktails.  These would even make a great hostess gift, especially if you’ve already given everyone you know homemade granola too many times. 😉  I can’t wait to hear if you try this recipe.  Or just let me know about your experience roasting chickpeas until now!

Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix | pamela salzman

5.0 from 2 reviews
Really Crunchy Chickpea Trail Mix
Author: 
Serves: 2½ cups
 
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tablespoon unrefined, virgin coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup, Grade A or Grade B
  • pinch of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup goji berries or other dried fruit of choice, such as dried blueberries or cherries
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate pieces
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, raw or toasted
  • ¼ cup toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes (I do this in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until golden brown)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
  2. Pat chickpeas dry as best you can. Remove whatever skins are loose. Place chickpeas on the baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove from the oven and add coconut oil, maple syrup and salt and toss to coat. Put back in the oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. If a few pop, that’s ok.
  4. Turn the oven off. Toss the chickpeas with spices. Return pan to the oven and with the oven door closed and the heat off, allow the chickpeas to sit in the warm oven for another hour or until perfectly crunchy. You’ll have to test one to be sure. It should be dry and airy. If they’re still not crunchy, leave in the oven with the door closed and the heat off until they are crunchy through and through. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
  5. Combine cooled chickpeas with dried fruit, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds and toasted coconut. The crunchy chickpeas combine well with many different ingredients for a trail mix, so feel free to make swaps according to what you have on hand or what you like.

 

Related Recipes

Comments

20 Comments

  1. Hi Pamela,

    I love this recipe- as I do SO many of your recipes! In fact when I cook something new and delicious my daughter now says “Pamela?” And this is my former “peanut butter and jelly only” eater!!

    I am wondering if there is a trick to peeling the skins off the chick peas? It drives me crazy and I find I break about half of them!

    Thanks so much!
    Best,
    Debbie

    • I am so flattered, Debbie! Thank you. I do not have a trick for peeling off the skins. I remove the ones that are kind of hanging off, but I leave the skins that are on.

  2. Does this need to be stored in the fridge or room temp?

    • room temp!

  3. I must admit that I had my doubts about the chickpeas, but I should know better than to question your recipes. This is a fantastic combination, and the chickpeas are amazing — so crisp and tasty! My husband never snacks between meals, but he could not stop eating the trail mix . . . BEFORE DINNER! Great recipe!

    • Haha! I know it seems odd, but they don’t taste like chickpeas when they’re roasted. It’s a great, healthful snack!

  4. In the oven! Can’t wait! I am taking them on road trip this afternoon! This is great because I’ve been buying the Saffron Chipotle ones and I was almost out! I used chipotle on mine! Thanks for the recipe!

    • I am addicted to anything chipotle. I’m sure these turned out awesome!

  5. These chickpeas are fantastic – and so moreish! The trail mix is really delicious too.

    • Love that word, moreish! Thanks, Amanda!

  6. I just made this and it came out awesome! In the past I have always burned the chickpeas when I roasted them. No burn with your method, nice and crunchy. Thanks for another great snack recipe!

    • I am so psyched you tried this out!! Thanks for letting me know, Tina 🙂

  7. What is this sorcery?! BRILLIANCE. I can’t really tolerate oats but I looove that crunch on my yogurt and smoothies. I need texture. I have to give this a shot!

    • HA! Let me know if you do 🙂

  8. What chocolate do you recommend to be as clean as possible? Also, this is on a side note, do you have your coconut milk yogurt posted? You showed us in a class once. I remember I just need to get a probiotic though don’t know which one. I am thinking this would be a good afternoon snack too. Thank you!

    • I choose dark chocolate for less added sugar and I always buy organic/non-GMO. If you’re looking for no-sugar added chocolate, you can try Lily’s which sweetens with stevia and erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Otherwise if you don’t mind free-trade chocolate with a little organic, non-GMO sugar ;), good brands are Theo, Green & Black, Alter Eco and Taza, to name a few. Here’s the link to the coconut yogurt: https://pamelasalzman.com/five-friday-favorites-07-10-15-foods-for-a-good-gut/

  9. I like to sprout the chickpeas before cooking …do u think that works for this?

    • Absolutely!

    • May I ask how you sprout your chickpeas?

      • I’ll chime in here. Sprouting is just soaking until the grain/seed/legume actually becomes alive and starts to literally sprout. This takes several days to achieve and regular changes of water.


Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Signup to receive updates about new recipes and more

I come from a large Italian-American family with 28 first cousins (on one side of the family!) where sit-down holiday dinners for 85 people are the norm (how, you might ask – organization! But more on that later …).

Some of my fondest memories are of simple family gatherings, both large and small, with long tables of bowls and platters piled high, the laughter of my cousins echoing and the comfort of tradition warming my soul.

kitchen-matters-buy-book
Buy on Amazon
quicker-than-quick
Buy on Amazon