Za’atar Roasted Chickpeas

Listen. This recipe will start with dried chickpeas and uses the Instant Pot to rehydrate them. At the moment I have the time and the inclination to make this recipe using dried chickpeas and I think it changes the texture to be more crunchy/chewy, which I prefer. That being said it is TOTALLY fine to make this recipe using canned chickpeas. Lots of us don’t have the time right now to invest in chickpeas. Seriously. And also seriously, NO ONE is gonna be made to feel less on my blog for using healthy, time-saving shortcuts. There are days when I use canned chickpeas, too.

This recipe and others I have written will taste wonderful with chickpeas from a can. You could always start with the recipe using canned chickpeas, see how fast they fly outta the bowl and then decide if you want to try them using dried chickpeas the next time that you make these. I’m hoping there will be a next time for many of you.

These are super yummy to eat while still warm.  They are one of my go-to favorites when having a cocktail party. I like to put them in little bowls and place them around the living room when having a cocktail party. The salt and spice are a nice compliment to cocktails and wines. I also add them as a topping to soups. While they are less crispy after they cool, they are also great in their more chewy form as leftovers. Consider these healthy snacks as a super yummy lunch box addition. Then again, you might wish you had leftovers.

I recommend having about 6-8 cans of chickpeas in your pantry so that you can have 2 cans for hummus, a can for adding to stews, and the rest for making these roasted snacks. I also have dried chickpeas in a jar so that I can rehydrate them when I have the time. I’d say have at least a pound of dried beans on hand.

If you are going the canned route, you might consider using Goya brand canned Chickpeas. I find them to be a lot less mushy, soggy, or mealy than other canned varieties. A note on purchasing Chickpeas: they are also called Garbanzo in Spanish and several canned varieties label them Garbanzos and not Chickpeas. They are the same bean.