I was planning to make a vegan Caesar salad and I decided to use chickpea croutons instead of the traditional croutons, which are made with refined white bread and olive oil.
This recipe is gluten and fat-free. I've used lemon juice instead of the oil, but you can add oil if you want, or use any other kind of juice (lime juice works awesome too).
I shared with you this spicy roasted chickpeas recipe a few months ago, it's quite similar, but I've used only salt, onion and garlic powder this time, to get a less intense flavor. Feel free to use other spices or even herbs.
You can use this recipe to replace traditional croutons or just like a healthy snack. It's a lighter popcorn alternative, so if you're on a diet, this is perfect for you.
The salt is optional, so remove it if you want or if you can't eat any salt. Add more spices instead.
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir with your hands, then place the chickpeas on a baking sheet with baking paper. You can mix the ingredients on the bking sheet, but I prefer to use a bowl. Roast for 20 minutes, then gently roll the chickpeas around in the baking sheet and roast for another 10 or 15 minutes. The chickpea croutons will firm up as they cool.
The vegan Caesar salad you can see in the picture above is one of the best salads I've ever tried, it tastes even better than the original version. I'll share the recipe this week, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, you can make these delicious chickpea croutons. I hope you like them!
Chickpea Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry chickpeas
- The juice of half a lemon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Soak the dry chickpeas overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 390ºF or 200ºC.
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir with your hands. Place the chickpeas on a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Roast for 20 minutes, then gently roll the chickpeas around in the baking sheet and roast for another 10 or 15 minutes.
- Let the chickpeas cool completely before using, eating or storing them.
Michele K says
I made them as directed. Very yummy-maybe too yummy-hard to stop eating.
Iosune says
Hi Michele! So glad to hear that 🙂
Miranda says
How long do they last before they go bad?!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Miranda! It is difficult for chickpeas to go bad, so they last a long time 🙂