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That unopened can of chickpeas in your kitchen cabinet is just waiting to be made into these delicious Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas!
My husband Jack has learned to live with (and thankfully laugh at) some of my little quirky habits. I’ve shared before in this post that I have this habit of always buying a package of strawberries at the supermarket – even if we don’t need them!
The same holds true for chickpeas. While I don’t buy them quite as often as I do strawberries, I am known to grab a can of chickpeas while I’m at the store because I love adding them to soups, chili, and salads! That can often gets pushed to the back of the kitchen cabinet – and the next thing we know – we have several cans of chickpeas in the cabinet because I don’t remember if I bought them the last time I shopped.
These Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas are a delicious way to use up some garbanzo beans! I found this recipe last summer in an issue of Cooking Light magazine – and it has become a favorite snack ever since when I’m craving something salty (and when we have too many cans of chickpeas in the cabinet!)
To make these Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas, all you need to do is place rinsed and well-dried canned chickpeas in a hot skillet with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil – and crisp them up until golden brown. Then toss them with a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and seasonings – and you’ve got a quick, delicious, healthy snack.
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Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas
That unopened can of chickpeas in your kitchen cabinet is just waiting to be made into these delicious Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas!
Ingredients
- 1 15–ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Drain chickpeas in a strainer and rinse. Place chickpeas on several layers of paper towels and blot to dry completely. (This step is important to ensure that your chickpeas will get crispy.)
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until it starts to glisten. Add chickpeas to hot skillet (be careful of any splattering) and cook until golden brown and crispy all over – approximately 20 minutes – stirring occasionally.
- Once cooked, transfer chickpeas to a bowl. Sprinkle cheese, garlic powder, lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper over the chickpeas and toss to coat.
- Cool seasoned chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
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Healthy as well as tasty
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Danielle!
Taste great but not crispy at all.
Thanks for your feedback Corry – sorry you didn’t see good results
Is there a way to bake them in the oven vs. frying in a pan? Would they get crispy in the oven??
We’ve never tried it Lindsay – you’ll likely need to constantly stir the chick peas to brown them evenly – which would cool off the each time you open the door, so plan for that. It’s probably doable, but I think the frying pan would still be quicker and easier.
Hi! Wondering if I can used dried chickpeas instead of canned? If so, should I soak them 1st, then pat dry?This looks like the perfect appetizer to take along for holiday parties.
Hi Latrice – Canned chickpeas are already cooked so if you plan to use dried, in addition to soaking, you’ll also need to cook them.
For the crispy Parmesan Chick Peas, do you remove the skin?
Hi Christine – No – you’ll leave the skins on.
How long would these stay crisp? How would you package them for shipping? My son would love them (I would too); but he lives in a different state and won’t be able to visit over Christmas.
Hi Patsy – They actually don’t stay crispy for long – the moisture from the Parmesan and lemon zest tends to soften them as they sit. I’m not sure I’d recommend shipping them – these are much better served right away. (Sorry!)
Hello! These recipes all look Amazing!! I was wondering where I could find the nutritional information. I don’t see it anywhere. Thank you so very much!!
Hi Janet – I’m sorry – we don’t currently provide nutritional information for our recipes. There are several free online calculators you could use if you need that information.
I’ve made something similar to this, but my chickpeas don’t stay crunchy even after storing in an airtight container. Maybe I didn’t dry them enough? Thanks and I love your website!
Thanks Maureen. I agree – they are best/crunchiest right out of the oven. You could try baking them a little longer!
I’ve tried doing this with broad beans too, and they never come out of the oven crispy first time around. What I do is cook them, fetch them out and cool them, then cook them again for a short time. When they come out of the oven for the second time – hey presto! – they are crunchy! They store really well in an airtight jar too, and stay crispy – not that they last very long in our house 🙂
Thank you so much for the tip Kim! We’ll definitely give that a try for some extra crunch!
Now I know what I want to be munching on with my white wine right now! These look great, and come to think of it, I do have some extra parm sitting in the fridge right now…
Thanks Holly!