Crispy air fryer chickpeas! The ultimate crunchy, healthy snack that’s simple to make and absolutely addictive! With five flavour options to choose from, including smoky spicy, chili lime, sweet cinnamon, ranch and Italian!
If you love roasted chickpeas, but find them time consuming to make, you have GOT to try this simple way to get the CRISPIEST chickpeas ever!
This chickpea snack is so much faster to make, no need to rinse, dry, or skin them. Just easy peasy, deliciousness! Woohoo!
BONUS! I’ve got some incredible flavours for you to try!
You’re going to love this crunchy snack! These air fryer chickpeas are:
- Totally versatile, with 5 different flavour options, or go ahead and create your own flavour!
- Actually crispy!!! And we achieve that WITHOUT oil! Whoop!
- Healthy, wholesome and delicious. What more could you ask for in a snack?
How to make them
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Gather your ingredients for the flavour option of choice. You’ll need a can of chickpeas and it’s liquid (AKA aquafaba), at a minimum.
Drain your can of chickpeas over a bowl to reserve its liquid, and DO NOT rinse them. Then place them in the basket of your fryer. (photo 1)
Air fry the chickpeas for 10 minutes, shaking your basket, or mixing at the halfway point. (photo 2)
Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon of the aquafaba, with HALF of the seasonings needed for your flavour choice. (photos 3-4)
Then pour the mixture over the chickpeas and mix well to coat. (photos 5-6)
NOTE: If you’re making the chili lime flavour, mix the full tablespoon of lime juice with the aquafaba, do not reserve half.
Continue air frying for another 5-7 minutes, until desired crispiness is reached. (photos 7-8)
NOTE: Different fryer models will operate at different speeds, so check on them often, and mix every few minutes, to ensure they don’t burn.
Transfer the chickpeas to a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning. Enjoy!
Commonly Asked Questions
While these taste best freshly made, you may keep leftovers at room temperature in a paper bag. Do not store in the fridge, or a sealed container as this will keep them moist, resulting in a loss of crispiness.
You may use any basket style model. However, this recipe has not been tested with a toaster oven style. We use and love our Ninja Foodi 8qt, but any basket model will work. Be mindful of cook times, as that will vary according to the fryer you have.
Stored at room temperature, your air fryer chickpeas will keep for about 2-3 days. After this, they may start to lose some crunch.
Simply because it’s unnecessary. Rinsing them often causes many of the skins to come loose and then those loose pieces burn in your fryer. So rather than rinse and then peel all those pesky skins off, just skip the rinsing entirely.
No problem. Follow the same directions and simply swap one tablespoon of cooking oil for the chickpea liquid. Keep in mind this will increase the calories and the fat.
Expert Tips
- Do not rinse the chickpeas. Rinsing them makes the skins come loose and then they burn if you don’t remove them all, which is tedious and completely unnecessary.
- Use no salt added chickpeas since we’re not rinsing them, to control the sodium level.
- No need to dry the chickpeas. Your fryer will dry them for you, making these roasted air fryer chickpeas easier than ever!
- Mix your chickpeas every few minutes once seasoned, to prevent burning.
More air fryer recipes
- Air Fried Carrots [Two Ways!]
- Air Fried Spaghetti Squash [Healthy+Low Cal]
- Healthy Air Fried Mushrooms
- Air Fried Butternut Squash
- Air Fried Hash Browns From Scratch
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito
Rosa
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chickpeas
- 15 ounce can, no salt added chickpeas drained, but reserve the liquid and DO NOT rinse
- 1 tablespoon aquafaba (the liquid from the can you reserved)
Smoky Spicy
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Chili Lime
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Sweet Cinnamon (Churros)
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Italian
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Ranch
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Drain your chickpeas over a bowl, so you can reserve a tablespoon of the aquafaba, and do NOT rinse them.
- Place the drained (but not rinsed) chickpeas in your fryer basket in a single layer. Air fry at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, mixing at the halfway point.
- Meanwhile, combine the tablespoon of aquafaba (and lime juice for the chili lime option) with HALF of your seasonings for your flavour of choice. Then open the fryer (once cooked for 10 mins) and evenly pour the mixture over the chickpeas and mix well to evenly coat. Continue air frying for another 5-7 minutes, until desired crispiness is reached. Make sure to mix them every few minutes, to prevent burning.
- Immediately transfer your air fried chickpeas to a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning while they're still hot. Mix well and enjoy.
Deborah Herrick
Sorry for the other comment I made. I did not read the instructions carefully enough. I do still wonder if the middle rack in my air fryer is where I should cook these. Thanks.
Rosa
No problem Deborah. The middle rack should be fine. Enjoy. 🙂
Deborah Herrick
Question: is the aquafaba used only in the chili lime flavored ones? Do I need to spray the Air Fryer oven rack with anything for any of the flavors? And would I use the middle rack ?
Narelle Batten
Just made the cinnamon sugar chickpeas & they were delicious! Thank you 😊
Rosa
You’re very welcome! Thrilled you enjoyed Narelle. 🙂
Megen Smith
When I put the other half of the spice ingredients on at the end, they all just fell off and stayed in the bottom of the bowl. Wouldn’t it be better to add them with the aquafaba half way through? They are good, even with half the spices.
Rosa
Hi Megan, during my testing, I found when adding all the spices to the air fryer, they can burn a little. If you add them while the chickpeas are still hot, they’ll stick better. So glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Rachel H
This was so tasty! Can’t wait to try them all!
Rosa
So glad you enjoyed Rachel! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Karen
Just made the Italian recipe. Very good!
Rosa
Yay! So glad you enjoyed Karen. 🙂
Karen Bruno
I have a toaster oven air fryer and when I put the seasonings and liquid on it and then return it to the basket it makes a huge mess…any ideas?
Rosa
I don’t use a toaster oven model, but can you perhaps place a layer of foil under the rack for easy clean up?
Karen Bruno
I will try that.
Lucie
Can I make this with dried chickpeas – I will cook them in the Instant Pot first.
Rosa
Sure, that works. Just reserve some of the cooking liquid (aquafaba) from the IP before draining it all.