These Gluten Free Italian Parmesan Roasted Chickpeas are baked until crispy then tossed in olive oil with a mixture of Italian spices and Parmesan cheese. A great, healthy way to snack!
SNACK ATTACK!!!!
I’m not ashamed to say that I am ALL ABOUT SNACKING! There is nothing that drives me crazier than someone saying snacking is bad for you.
W–R-O-N-G!
Let me tell you, snacking is one of the best remedies for poor nutrition. Wait, let me back up. Healthy snacking is one of the best remedies for poor nutrition. Healthy snacking not only curbs your appetite (causing you to eat less at meal time), but it also keeps your body fueled throughout the day.
I eat at least 2-3 snacks a day. Always a snack or two between breakfast and lunch, and then another snack or two between lunch and dinner, depending on what time I actually sit down to eat lunch. Some days it’s earlier than others, so I definitely need an additional energy boost to make it until dinner.
My rule of thumb for snacks, as for most of my eating as well, is: the less processed, the better. Here are a few of my favorite snacking options:
- Grape tomato, turkey, and cheese toothpick kabobs.
- Peanut butter and apples.
- Peanut butter and raisins on celery.
- Triscuits (for the non-gluten free) and cottage cheese. Use tortilla chips for a gluten free option.
- Plain Greek yogurt with fruit, sprinkled with granola, and drizzled with honey.
- Sweet mini peppers and hummus.
- Avocado toast with sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cucumber, cream cheese, and ham “sandwiches”, using the cucumbers as the “bread”.
- Pear, prosciutto, and string cheese wraps. Cut thin slices of pears and wrap the prosciutto around the pears and string cheese. Also delish with Gouda or Havarti.
- Homemade trail mix using different options such as: cashews, pretzels, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried blueberries, dried cherries, etc.
- Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. The thin slices of bananas are sweet enough that you don’t need to add any honey or jam.
- Lightly buttered and salted popcorn.
- Hard boiled eggs.
- Frozen grapes, blueberries, and raspberries.
- Greek yogurt green smoothies. Murder me if you must, but I am NOT an advocate of adding any kind of supplement or protein powders. Unless you are an Olympic athlete training 6 hours a day or are in need of gaining weight, it’s completely unnecessary. It’s always better to obtain your nutrition from actual FOOD not supplements. Now massacre me with your comments please. Hehe.
- Lightly salted edamame
- Any kind of fruit or veggie!
These are just a few options if you run into those snacking slumps. Basically, try to always keep fresh produce on hand, eat WHOLE GRAINS with as few ingredients as possible, and look for things high in protein and mono/poly saturated fats (healthy fats).
Even with all these options that I routinely rotate through, I sometimes get the urge to snack on something new and different. I’ve heard of these “roasted chickpeas” floating around the internet and my sister-in-law’s best friend was telling me how easy they are to make at home. So once we returned home from my brother’s wedding, I just had to try my hand at making these addictive little kernels of goodness.
Gluten Free Italian Parmesan Roasted Chickpeas.
Score!
The only difficult part of making these chickpeas was deciding which flavor profile I wanted to try. It didn’t take long to pinpoint that Italian was what I was craving.
These are seriously so easy to make and CHEAP too! Just a can of chickpeas, roast them for 45 minutes to an hour, and toss them in some oil and a unique flavor mixture. As far as oils go, you can use olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil for some healthier options. If it doesn’t matter to you, go ahead and use canola oil. It’s up to you dude!
After roasting in the oven, the chickpeas become crisp and crunchy throughout. I was legitimately skeptical at how something canned in water could become so crunchy, but they do. They really do!
And then tossing them in the oil/flavor mixture while they’re still nice and hot assures that the spices will stick to the chickpeas. I also threw them in the oven for a few more minutes after tossing to make sure the Parmesan stuck.
Not only do these little guys taste delicious on their own, but they catapult a regular old salad to a whole ‘notha level man! Far out!!! (I may have spent too many hours at the beach this morning)
Well what are you waiting for??? Get snackin’!
What is your go to healthy snack?
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon very finely grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Rinse and drain can of chickpeas and lay on a paper towel. Pat completely dry.*
- Spread chickpeas in an even layer on baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring after 40 minutes, and each 10 minutes thereafter, until crunchy all the way through.**
- As chickpeas are baking, mix together in a small container paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, ground pepper, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.
- Once chickpeas are crunchy, immediately pour into a mixing bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour in seasoning and stir until completely coated. Return chickpeas to oven for additional 2-3 minutes to set coating.
- Remove from oven, add more salt if desired, and allow to cool before serving.
- Serve plain as a snack or as a topping for salads. Store in an airtight container.
**Mine were crunchy after 50 minutes.
