During the past 10 or so weeks, Mike (my manz) and I have been doing Vegan Thursdays. Amidst our vegan cooking experiments, we somehow concocted a delicious snack that is not only delicious and healthy, but super cheap. Who doesn’t love that combination?

For one of our vegan meals, we planned to make buffalo cauliflower tacos. Unfortunately, our cauliflower turned out a little mushier than we had hoped and needed more texture. To add some crunch to our vegan tacos, I figured we could get some use out of our leftover chickpeas from the time we made air fryer falafels. So what did we do, ladies and gentlemen? We just popped them into the air fryer with some seasoning!

The chickpeas turned out to be super crunchy and scrumptious that I just couldn’t stop thinking about sharing this with you all. Now, if you do not have an air fryer, fret not – an oven will do just fine. All you need to do is lay them evenly on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 375°F for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe is super easy, vegan, guilt-free, cheap, and you can tailor your spices to your liking. For my rendition, we are bringing in some Middle Eastern influence by using cumin, which packs a TON of flavor, is very fragrant, and I love how it takes me back home to Saudi. We will also be using white pepper rather than black pepper because of its slight smoky flavor. If you don’t have white pepper, black pepper will do just as well. Of course, we will also be using salt to bring out even more flavor from our chickpeas.

Ingredients

• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper
• Olive Oil

Method

1. Preheat your air fryer to 375°F.
2. Open and drain the chickpeas in a strainer by running cold tap water over them in a strainer.
3. After they are completely drained, place them in a bowl. Lightly drizzle the chickpeas with olive oil and toss them around until evenly coated.
4. Sprinkle the cumin, salt, and pepper and toss the chickpeas around until evenly coated again. Canned chickpeas will already be slightly salty, so make sure to lightly salt. It is best to add salt after you’ve tasted them to make sure they aren’t already too salty to your liking.
5. Transfer all of your seasoned chickpeas into the air fryer and cook for 10-12 minutes. Make sure to shake the chickpeas halfway through cooking to ensure even cooking.

Et voilà! You have a crunchy snack that you can enjoy like popcorn as you watch your next binge show during these quarantine times or have a craving for something a little salty.