Recipe: Crunchy Air Fried Chickpeas

 

I've been looking for things I can make in the air fryer that are either low carb, low calorie or both. I came across a recipe for air fried chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) and thought why not. I've used chickpeas in my salad as an add on so I already had a can of them. 

You will need: 

1 can of chickpeas (Drained, rinsed and dried)

Spices of your choice. 

Paper towels to dry the chickpeas.

No calorie cooking spray.

What to do: 

Drain the can of chickpeas and rinse them well. Lay out a few paper towels and place the rinsed chickpeas on them. Let the chickpeas air dry for about an hour. You want them completely dry or they won't crisp up really good. You can change and replace the bottom paper towels if they are too wet and the chickpeas aren't getting dry. Use another paper towel to pat them on top and move them around on the paper towel over the hour so the entire surface gets dry. 

Once dry, place the chickpeas into the air fryer. Do not add any oil or spices at this time. The spices will just burn if you do. Take the basket out and shake the chickpeas every 5-10 minutes while they are cooking so they don't burn on any one side. Cook for about 15 minutes on 375. Check them often so they don't burn though. If they aren't crispiness after 15 minutes, cook for a few more minutes. 

Add the cooked chickpeas to a large bowl and add whatever spices you like to them. Spray them with just a little no calorie cooking spray before adding the spices to the bowl so the spices stick better to them. I added smoked paprika, salt, roasted garlic and herb seasoning and steak seasoning. Mix well while they are still hot and let sit in the bowl for 10 minutes before using. 

For each 1/2 cup (Before they're roasted) there's about 120 calories. 

7 Grams of protein. 

3 Grams of fat. 

24 Grams of carbs. 

They shrink up quite a bit after they're roasted so I use a little less than 1/2 a cup for a serving in my salad.

These crunchy chickpeas are great on salad. You can also just snack on them if you aren't counting calories or carbs. Store them in an open bowl or put a loose lid on a jar. If you seal them up they tend to lose their crispiness. They stay good for a couple of days but they don't last long here since I use them in my salads. They start to taste stale after 3 days to me. I leave mine in an open bowl on the counter.