These chickpea snacks are perfect when playing cards or traveling!

I get a lot of questions about what people can have for healthy snacks. My number one recommendation are fruits and veggies, as they very low-calorie (non-starchy veggies are 100 calories per pound and fruit is 300 calories per pound—and who eats a pound of either of those as a snack!?!), full of fiber and water, and can be quite filling. But people also want something crunchy, something to replace things like fried potato chips. It’s not uncommon to find that folks gravitate toward nuts, but they are very high in fat and calories and very rarely do I see people eating just a single serving at a time (1 ounce, ¼ cup, or a small handful) or as an occasional snack. If you’re trying to lose weight, nuts are not a good snack option. So what is?

Beans!

Beans are full of healthy protein, carbohydrates, and fiber while being low in fat. They are only 600 calories per pound, much better than nuts, weighing in at a whopping 2,800 calories per pound, and even better than air-popped popcorn, which is 1,800 calories per pound (oil-popped corn is a whopping 4,000 calories per pound, ouch!). Not only that, but they are quite satiating, giving your stomach a sense of fullness when you eat them.

But I know what you’re thinking…I don’t want a can of beans, I want something crunchy! So I present to you, crispy roasted chickpea snacks you can make at home. Here are some recipes that I guide people to:

• Minimalist Baker’s Actually Crispy Baked Chickpeas
• A Virtual Vegan’s Cheese & Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
• The Big Man’s World Healthy Oil-Free Roasted Chickpeas

My friend, Pam, my awesome vegan graphic designer, Lakehouse Creative, tried these, loved them, and decided she wanted a sweet, crunchy snack, so she developed her own recipe, inspired by A Virtual Vegan’s recipe, that she calls “Cocoa Puff” Chickpea Snacks. The crazy thing is that they don’t contain any cocoa or chocolate, but they taste like Cocoa Puff cereal to her (I’ve never had that cereal growing up, so they taste like Golden Grahams to me!). She was generous enough to share her recipe with me so I could share it with all of you to enjoy. Thank you, Pam!

Pam’s “Cocoa Puff” Chickpeas

To start, preheat your oven to 400˚F. Drain the chickpeas, but save the aquafaba. Spread the drained beans on a silicone baking sheet-covered tray and bake for 30 minutes.

Drained chickpeas ready to go into the oven.

While these are baking, mix together the dry and wet ingredients separately.

After the first baking.

Pull the chickpeas out of the oven and scrape into a mixing bowl. Add the dry and wet ingredients and mix well. Pour back onto the prepared baking sheets and put them back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

Mixing the wet and dry ingredients into par-cooked snacks.

After 10 minutes, loosen them up with a spatula and then turn off the oven but leave the trays of chickpeas inside until the oven is completely cool—no peeking! You can even leave them in the oven overnight.

They store great in a sealed jar for a couple of weeks. Make sure they are completely cool when you put them in the jar.

Don’t these “Cocoa Puff” Chickpeas look yummy?

Not only are these low-fat and low-calorie (about 80 calories per ¼ cup serving), they’re also a great zero-waste snack, using the cooking liquid from the beans, called aquafaba (you’ve no doubt seen me mention this in other posts, including Vegan Raspberry Applesauce “Gelatin” Salad, Salad in a Sandwich—Sweet Potato Bahn Mi, and in the Roasted Kabocha Squash and Chickpeas recipe from JL Fields in Win a Copy of JL Fields New Fast Easy Vegan Cookbook). These are very delicious and quite filling, so you’ll feel satiated in no time while enjoying a crispy, crunchy snack.

Give these awesome bean snacks a try! Pair them with some fresh veggies and fruit, too, so you don’t eat a whole pound of them! They’re an easy snack to make and have on hand. Kids love them and they travel great too—I even took them camping! Being nut-free, they’re also safe to take in public environments, like schools and airplanes.

Are you ready for Cocoa Puff Chickpeas?

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3.20 from 5 votes

“Cocoa Puff” Chickpea Snacks

This recipe comes from my friend, Pam of Lakehouse Creative, my awesome vegan graphic designer! While they don't have any cocoa or chocolate in them, the combination of cinnamon, maple syrup, and coconut sugar with the toasted chickpeas have a flavor reminiscent of the sugary breakfast cereal we had as kids!

Course Appetizer, Snack, Zero Waste

Cuisine Camping, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Party, Soy-Free

Keyword Chickpeas

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 12 hours hours

Servings 8

Calories 19.6kcal

Author Pam Johnson

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained, but not rinsed, and save the liquid (aquafaba).
• 1 tbsp reserved aquafaba
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
• Drain chickpeas, don't rinse them, and reserve 1 tbsp of the liquid (aquafaba).
• Pour drained chickpeas onto prepared baking sheet, spread out evenly, and bake for 30 minutes.
  
• While chickpeas are baking, mix together the aquafaba and maple syrup.
• In a separate small bowl, mix together cinnamon, coconut sugar, and salt.
• Remove tray from oven, loosen chickpeas with a spatula and carefully pour them into a bowl.
  
• Add the aquafaba and maple syrup mixture and stir well to evenly coat.
  
• Add cinnamon mixture and mix well. 
  
• Pour spiced chickpeas back onto to the prepared baking sheet, spread out evenly, and return to the heated oven. Bake for 10 more minutes.
• Loosen them with a spatula and stir around a bit. Turn off the oven and keep the chickpeas in the oven until completely cool so they get nice and crispy. Don't open the door! The longer left alone, the better. Can even be left overnight.
  
• Remove from oven and store in a jar or eat them all!

Notes

Inspired by https://avirtualvegan.com/cheese-onion-roasted-chickpeas

Nutrition

Calories: 19.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.2g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 42.8mg | Potassium: 10.3mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 3.6g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 12.8mg | Iron: 0.1mg