Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks — 3 Ways!
These Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks are perfect for road trips, picnics, school lunches, or just on-the-go snacking! They’re gluten-free and grain-free, making them fit nicely with restricted or even vegan or vegetarian diets.
If eating ranch-flavored and chili-lime flavored Corn Nuts® doesn’t bring back some nostalgic road trip memories for you, I don’t know what will.
My childhood road trips always involved a stop at some gas station along the way to fill up and let everyone choose some car snacks. My parents didn’t pack a cooler of homemade snacks! No way… it was gas station sodas with Corn Nuts®, candy bars, and Fun Dip®. (Remember Fun Dip®?!?!)
We don’t travel much, but when we do, I always spend a few days in advance making healthy, homemade car snacks. Because a road trip without food is no fun AT ALL, am I right?
Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks
These Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks don’t have to be reserved for road trips though!
They can go with you anywhere! Think picnics or school lunches. Keep a baggie of them in your purse for a quick re-fuel. Eat them while binge-watching Netflix. Really, anywhere you’d eat Corn Nuts®, you can enjoy these crispy snacks!
Let’s talk about what makes them different…
First of all, they’re sprouted!
Sprouting legumes, like garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), significantly reduces the amount of phytic acid they contain which means more nourishment for YOU. Most recipes that you’ll find for crunchy chickpeas are made with canned chickpeas. Although convenient, canned beans are notorious for causing digestive upset, like bloating and gas. This is because they haven’t been properly and traditionally prepared through soaking or sprouting first.
Skip the canned beans! It’s worth it to sprout chickpeas yourself! Do a lot at once so you can make it worth your time.
Second, they’re bursting with flavor! I’m giving you 3 flavor options here: ranch, cinnamon + sugar, and turmeric + salt + pepper (gotta make that curcumin bioavailable, right?). Make one or all 3! They’re SO good!
Finally, once you make up a big batch, they’re super convenient!
Because they’re dehydrated, they’ll keep in an airtight container in your pantry for a long time… if you and your family don’t gobble them up in one sitting! (This is the dehydrator I use.)
How To Sprout Chickpeas
Chickpeas are one of the easiest things to sprout, in my opinion. I’ve never had a batch that didn’t sprout or that went bad while sprouting.
First, add 3 cups of dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) to a glass jar or bowl and cover with water. The container needs to be large enough to allow the chickpeas to expand considerably while soaking. I use a half-gallon wide-mouth Mason jar.
Soak 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
Next, drain all the water from the chickpeas. If you have a sprouting lid like this for wide-mouth jars, you’ll be able to soak, sprout, and rinse all in the same jar! If not, a colander works just fine.
Leave the chickpeas to sprout, rinsing and draining them every few hours. Within 24 to 36 hours, you should begin to see little white tails. These are the sprouts, and they mean your chickpeas are ready to cook!
You can allow the sprouts to grow some, if you like, but there’s really no benefit in doing so.
I cook my sprouted chickpeas in my Instant Pot — here’s how!
Once the sprouted chickpeas are cooked, drain the cooking liquid off and rinse the chickpeas well. Now, it’s time to season those babies, dehydrate them, and make some Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks!
Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks — 3 Ways!
These crispy snacks totally resemble Corn Nuts® — but they're much healthier! Sprouted first to reduce phytic acid, chickpeas are coated in the seasoning blend of your choice (ranch, cinnamon + sugar, and/or salt + pepper + turmeric) then dehydrated for a fun and nourishing snack!
Ingredients
Ranch
- 3cupssproutedcooked, & rinsed chickpeas
- 1tablespoonolive oil
- 2teaspoonssalt
- 1-1/2teaspoongarlic powder
- 1-1/2teaspoondried dill
- 1teaspoononion powder
- 1teaspoondried parsley
Cinnamon + Sugar
- 3cupssproutedcooked, & rinsed chickpeas
- 1tablespoonolive oil
- 1tablespooncinnamon
- 3tablespoonsDietz Sweetor coconut sugar, if preferred
- 1/2teaspoonsalt
Instructions
- Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain the cooking liquid and rinse the chickpeas very well.
- Spice blends above will flavor 3 cups of cooked chickpeas, so if you plan to make more than one flavor, portion them out.
- For all flavors, mix the dried spices/seasonings together first in a small bowl or ramekin.
- Toss 3 cups of sprouted chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Sprinkle on the pre-mixed seasoning blend of choice.
- Toss to coat.
- Spread the seasoned chickpeas in an even layer on dehydrator trays. Line with parchment, if desired.
- Dehydrate at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 hours, or until totally dry and crisp. I use this dehydrator.
- Transfer to an airtight storage container and store in a cool location.
Try All These Nourishing Snacks, Too!
- Tiger Nut Trail Mix
- Spicy Chipotle Kale Chips
- Sprouted Hummus with Kale & Chives
- No-Jello Chocolate Pudding Cups
- Salted Caramel, Chocolate, & Pecan Shake
Have you ever sprouted chickpeas? Which flavor will you try?
[…] Crunchy Sprouted Chickpea Snacks – 3 Ways (E) – All The Nourishing Things a great alternative to corn nuts! […]
I just finished making this. Lot of mine turned out small and hard and a little dark. Did I under cook the chickpeas??
It’s possible. I cook my chickpeas in the Instant Pot and get perfect results every time. I soak them for 2 days, drain, and then cook in the Instant Pot for 8 minutes on high pressure. Maybe give that a try? Also, did you use a dehydrator or your oven? If the chickpeas browned, it’s possible your oven temp was too high.
I don’t have a dehydrator, can I bake these in the oven after cooking? thanks!
Use the lowest temperature on your oven and keep an eye on them. Remove them from the oven as soon as they’re crisp.
I don’t have an Instant Pot. How long should I cook them on the stove?
Until they’re soft. I have no clue because I’ve never cooked them like that. Sorry.
Are the chickpeas sprouted in fridge or on counter.? It is unclear for those of us who’ve never sprouted legumes
Sprouting always occurs at room temperature. Seeds won’t sprout in the fridge. Hope that helps!
These all sound so delicious! Do the chickpeas have to be cooked, or can you season and dehydrate the raw, sprouted chickpeas?
The chickpeas do need to be cooked. Otherwise, they’ll break your teeth; they’re so hard!
Are your Crunchy Sprouted Chickpeas THM friendly?
Yes! You should use as little oil as possible just to get the spice blends to “stick”. With reduced oil, these would be THM:E!
Do you describe anywhere how to use the mason jar sprouting lids? I read directions on the Amazon product page but it seems a bit confusing as to the rinsing/waiting to sprout part. Thanks – love this site!
The sprouting lids fit into the ring of the jar. You can also find a sprouting jar kit like this: http://amzn.to/2oVQKAr
The lid stays on during sprouting and acts as a screen so you can rinse and drain whatever you’re sprouting. It’s a good idea to rinse every few hours. Then, when you see little tails growing out of whatever you’re sprouting, you’re done! Does that help?