The High-Fiber Snack I Can’t Stop Making

For a long time, unless they were transformed into falafel or hummus, I despised chickpeas. In high school, one of my friends would load up her salad with chickpeas from the salad bar, and she would often place one on my lunch tray to torment me. The pale little orbs just didn’t look appetizing, and I was slightly put off by their pasty texture—or at least that’s how I perceived them at the time.

But in general I’m not a selective eater, and even when I encounter one of the few foods I don’t like, I’ll often try it again just to see if my tastes have changed or if a new preparation might appeal to me. And that’s how I finally started to like chickpeas.

What did it for me was trying crispy chickpeas. That’s when you take chickpeas, toss them with a little oil, and roast them until they dry out a bit and become crunchy. And when you add a little seasoning to them, they become just as tasty as other snacks, like pretzels and chips. 

I particularly like our Everything-Bagel Crispy Chickpeas. They have an added step of removing the skins from the chickpeas before roasting them so that they become even crispier. And once the chickpeas are done, you just toss them with a bit of ground-up everything bagel seasoning. Grinding the seasoning helps it coat the chickpeas more evenly, ensuring that each one has that garlicky, lightly salty flavor everything bagel seasoning is known for.

The chickpeas are good enough to eat on their own as an afternoon snack. Unlike crunchy snacks like pretzels and chips, crispy chickpeas are full of fiber. One serving (⅔ cup) of these crispy chickpeas has 6 grams of fiber. Adding this important nutrient to meals and snacks has a variety of benefits, from keeping you regular to strengthening your bones to reducing your risk of heart disease. 

And in addition to fiber, a serving of these crispy chickpeas also has 9 grams of protein. Since I like to stay pretty active and I strength-train regularly, I’m always looking for easy ways to consume more protein to help maintain and build muscle mass. I also find that when I’m eating foods that are high in fiber and protein, I stay full a bit longer. 

Besides just snacking on these crispy chickpeas, I like to add them anywhere I could use a little fiber and protein boost and a little crunch. I will toss them into green salads, sprinkle them over rice pilaf and add them to grain bowls. For a simple, quick lunch, I’ll pair them with cucumbers, tomatoes and cottage cheese. And when I want a little variety, I can season them with something else, whether that’s cumin or paprika or just a little salt. If you like a sweet snack, they’re even good with cinnamon and sugar.

After a while of enjoying crispy chickpeas, I ventured back to trying chickpeas straight from the can (after rinsing them to remove excess sodium, of course), and I found that my preference for them had changed. I came to appreciate their texture, even when they weren’t crispy. I credit the crispy chickpeas for converting me into a chickpea lover. Now I will add chickpeas straight from the can to just about anything … soups, salads, pastas and so on. My high school friend would be so proud of me.