I think I’m late to the party that is roasted chickpeas, but I recently discovered the many wonders that the simple combination of roasted chickpeas and capers can achieve for quick, but hearty weeknight dinners.
A Satisfying Vegetarian Heavy-lifter
These roasted chickpeas are especially great for quick and hearty vegan and vegetarian weeknight dinners! Like many people, I haven’t totally foregone my love for meat, but I am always looking for opportunities to eat less of it and find equally tasty and satisfying plant-based protein replacements. (And while I do enjoy tempeh on occasion, I’d rather just skip the meat and go for the veggies than opt for too many soy-based meat replacements).
ANYWAYS, these roasted chickpeas get a boost from salty capers and a perfect blend of Mediterranean flavors that do wonders for your weeknight dinner game.
Sprinkle a handful of these over hearty soups, toss with other roasted vegetables to mix things up, stir them into easy pastas with sauteed greens, or drop a handful as the base of a mason jar salad for school or work.
Because like many people––even people who love to cook––I ain’t got time for anything that’s much more elaborate than this for weeknight dinner.
All in all, this roasted chickpeas recipe is my favorite discovery this year, and one that this food blogger truly makes multiple times at home when the cameras are off and no one’s looking. Make a huge batch, because you’re going to want extra!
Roasted Chickpeas: Recipe Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Drain and rinse two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas. Spread them in a single layer on a clean dish cloth and roll them in the cloth to dry them off.
Transfer to a baking sheet. Add ½ cup of large capers, drained (this is really to taste, so add more / less if you prefer).
In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch each of ground coriander, ground cumin, and paprika.
Pour over the chickpeas and the capers and toss to coat.
Bake for 30 minutes until browned and crisped, stirring once when half of the roasting time has passed. The longer you roast the chickpeas, the crunchier they get. I personally enjoy a mix of crunchier and less cooked chickpeas, but you can experiment per your preferences.
Remove from the oven and use these however you please! They can be used as a savory topper for your favorite soups, or added to your run of the mill spring mix to make a special yet easy salad. We also enjoy them in pasta.
Here are some ideas that we had! They’re all super easy, and once you have the chickpeas on hand, they shouldn’t take more than 15-30 minutes!
Tomato soup
To start, we like this easy tomato soup recipe at The New York Times. Unlike many other soups, it comes together super fast (pro tip: you don’t need to saute the onions for as long as 20 minutes, OR simmer the soup for as long as 30 minutes for great results :D) Then we topped it off with crusty buttered bread and a handful of roasted chickpeas to turn the average tomato soup into a filling protein boost.
Easy Lemon Vinaigrette Salad
This has become a weeknight go-to for me. Just grab your preferred salad greens (I’m a big fan of baby kale mix), and top with some thinly sliced onion and shaved parm. Whip together a quick lemon vinaigrette––the juice of 1 lemon, about ¼-½ cup of olive oil depending on your preferences, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, pinch of salt and pepper and a teaspoon or two of honey to taste! Sprinkle with those perfectly salty bites of roasted chickpeas and capers et voila!
Tuscan Kale Pasta
These roasted chickpeas make a huge difference with this simple pasta. Boil your pasta of choice. It works well to use a pasta that is a similar shape as the chickpeas. Heat some extra virgin olive oil and a healthy knob of butter in a pan, add a good amount of chopped garlic, and brown lightly. Add in a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and 1 bunch of chopped Tuscan kale. Cook until the kale is wilted, and add a few handfuls of roasted chickpeas and capers to the pan, followed by the pasta. It’s uber duber fast, and it tastes like an Italian mama just casually whipped it up for a lazy afternoon lunch, if I do say so. :)
Roasted Chickpeas: A Versatile Recipe
Ingredients
- 30 oz. chickpeas (two 15 oz. cans, 850g)
- ½ cup large capers (drained)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (yellow mustard works in a pinch too)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Drain and rinse two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas. Spread them in a single layer on a clean dish cloth and roll them in the cloth to dry them off. Transfer to a baking sheet. Add ½ cup of large capers, drained (this is really to taste, so add more / less if you prefer).
- In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch each of ground coriander, ground cumin, and paprika.
- Pour over the chickpeas and the capers and toss to coat.
- Bake for 30 minutes until browned and crisped, stirring once when half of the roasting time has passed. The longer you roast the chickpeas, the crunchier they get. I personally enjoy a mix of crunchier and less cooked chickpeas, but you can experiment per your preferences.
nutrition facts
Are there any traditional Chinese recipes that use chickpeas?
Not really, Ashley.
Made these a few times this past year. I’m making them again today to put on green curry cauliflower roast (https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/green-curry-cauliflower-roast/16822/). Great together!
Thank you, Kristi! great idea! so glad you like them. Cheers!
Made half a recipe to check it out, intending to use it instead of croutons on a potato/leek soup. Ha! So delicious I gobbled the whole thing, so now I’m making the other half for the soup. The capers made it very salty, which is fine for my potato soup but I will adjust for other uses.
As always, thank you for your authentic and innovative recipes. For the first time in my life I am comfortable that the Asian recipes I make at home are better than restaurant. Your family is the best!!!
Thank you so much for cooking, reading, and commenting! :)
I made these roasted chickpeas and gobbled down many of them right after they came out of the oven. I roasted them for 30 minutes as you suggested. They were delightful on a salad. I put the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The roasted chickpeas are now so hard and dry that I don’t like them at all. I tried barely heating them up but that didn’t improve them any. Are there any tricks to keeping the leftovers somewhat soft and moist?
Hey Kathie! I’m glad you enjoyed them, but you do present an interesting dilemma that I didn’t run into. If you heat them, you might try doing it with a damp paper towel over the top or sprinkled with a little water to see how they do. Personally, I fully reheated them and enjoyed them that way! Good luck!
This recipe look great. I need to know how to store the left over chickpeas. In the freezer, refrigerator or on the counter?
Tks in advance.
Hi Agnes, you should store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
My only suggestion would be to make more than you think. I made this today and I’ve had it on everything. It’s so yum.
\(^o^)/
Which tomato soup did that New York Times link go to? The link does not take me to a soup recipe, just the New York Times cooking site….. I really like the idea of capers and chickpeas roasted in tomato soup, it looks wonderful!
Hey Pamela,
Hopefully it’s showing up correctly now for you but here’s the link as well: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013383-tomato-soup
Revelation for me as well and a nice changeup from your standard cheese sprinkle!
That’s really yummo! I added some chickpeas to a Hoppin John dish I followed as a NY side and it went really well with the Black-Eyed peas and added another textural layer too!
Happy New Year from Aotearoa!
Michael
Sounds great, Michael! Happy New Year from good old New Jersey :)
I’m impressed you managed to not eat them all straight off the pan. I love the idea of adding capers…my husband claims to not like them, so I like to sneak them into things as much as I can. I may or may not do the same thing with olives.
Hey Deanna, oh there was some of that happening between recipes for sure. Capers is a family favorite addition to tons of different things, so we approve of your undercover work ;)
I love this. I learned about topping soups and stuff with roasted chickpeas from Rachel Khoo. I adore her – and you guys too! Thanks for reminding me to use them on top of stuff. They’re good spiced and eaten out of hand too. But, pricey to buy (pre-roasted and seasoned). You guys rock, I love the recipes you post. Happy New Year and many aloha hugs.
Thanks, Dana! We’ll have to check out her recipes :)
Happy new year!