Pan-fried chickpeas that are crisp on the outside and creamy inside are great on their own as a snack, or topped with yogurt as a vegetarian side dish.
I’d read a number of blog posts by professional bloggers that made a case for peeling chickpeas. I was sold on the benefits, but still I wrote peeling chickpeas off as an activity reserved for people for whom blogging is a full-time job.
But then my friend Katie, who juggles grad school and work, wrote about what she calls game-changing hummus. The secret to super creamy hummus, as you may already know, is peeled chickpeas. I decided right then and there that if Katie can find time to peel chickpeas, I can too.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear me now proclaim my love for peeled chickpeas, just like Katie and all those other bloggers before me. They’re absolutely right – peeling chickpeas is worth the trouble. If you can carve out 10 or 15 minutes to do it, peeled chickpeas make extra creamy hummus, and in the case of this recipe, extra crispy pan-fried chickpeas.
I’ve now been a chickpea-peeling convert for some time, and this technique seems to make quick work of it.
1) Spread the chickpeas out on half a dish towel. Fold the remaining half of the dish towel over the top of the chickpeas and gently rub the dish towel over the surface of the chickpeas. I do this for about a minute and it loosens the peels.
2) Pluck the chickpeas off the towel one-by-one, tossing the peel aside as you go.
3) Transfer the peeled chickpeas to a bowl.
Once they are peeled, when the chickpeas meet hot oil in a pan, the outsides turn deep golden brown and so crisp that they are one of my favorite crunchy snacks.
I tossed my chickpeas in a spice mixture that is sweet, salty, and a bit smoky – it’s similar to the spice mixture I use when I roast chickpeas, but I took a great cue from Bon Appétit and finished them with fresh lime. We always end up eating these straight from the bowl – it’s hard to resist them for much longer.
However, if you can save some, I have a really delicious way to use them as a topping for this gazpacho.
More Snack Ideas
- Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
- Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Sugar Chips
- Slow Cooker Ranch Party Mix
- Sweet and Spicy Mango-Avocado Salsa
- Lemongrass Basil Snack Mix
- Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Snack Mix
- Crispy Baked Spring Rolls
- Oatmeal Cookie Dough Energy Bites
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans
- Pumpkin Spice Pretzel Bites
Favorite Tools
Pan-Fried Crispy Chickpeas with Lime
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Saute Pan
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp fresh-cracked Black Pepper
- Vegetable Oil
- 2 cups Chickpeas (from a can or dried chickpeas that have been cooked and cooled) (see note)
- Zest and Juice from ½ Lime
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the paprika, chili powder, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Pour enough vegetable oil into a medium saute pan to coat the bottom. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Carefully add the chickpeas to the oil and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove chickpeas from the oil with a slotted and transfer to a plate covered with a paper towel. Allow to cool for a minute and, while still hot, transfer the chickpeas to the bowl with the spice mixture. Toss to coat. Squeeze lime juice and zest over the chickpeas and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Cooks illustrated had an easy way to do this. Add 1 1/2 tsp baking soda for a can of chickpeas. Mix. Heat in microwave for 2 mins until hot. Put them in a bowl with water. Shake the chickpeas around with your hands. Do this two or three times with fresh water. Have a safe flight.
Leigh – is that right!? That’s amazing – I can’t wait to try it.
I love my fried chickpeas with salt pepper garlic powder and cayenne powder fragile that crunchy than squeeze on Lemon for a few minutes. Definitely no sugar
I love toasted chickpeas!!
I’m not a chickpea fan but you may have changed my feelings towards them. These look delicious! I love the idea of adding spice to them and sauteing them. Great snack idea Jess! 🙂
Crispy chickpeas are out favorite travel snack! I make them when we go on the road. I make cinnamon/sugar chickpeas but I need to try these, Jess. Safe travels!
Mmm, cinnamon sugar, Sally! I haven’t tried that yet, but I definitely will now!
I love roasted chickpeas, but I never thought to pan fry them! What a great idea! I am totally going to try this. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for your note, Melissa! Roasted chickpeas are my go-to, but they really do get extra crispy this way.
Will have to try! And given I have an intercontinental flight coming up soon, I should read about flight snacks too!
So that is the secret to creamy homemade hummus. I had no idea. Have safe travels. Eat your weight in blueberries!
First, I hope you have a ton of fun while home in Kansas : ) Second, these chickpeas sound like an awesome snack. I’ve always felt the same way about spending time peeling chickpeas … but now you have me rethinking that attitude!
These look great, but you have got to try them with green garbanzos.
Fresh Nature Foods makes a flash frozen fresh product out of the pod ready to use.
Can I do it without the sugar?
Miranda – you definitely can! The sugar is not necessary, but you might want to cut back on the salt a bit as well until you taste the final product.
You know, I’ve never had crispy chickpeas get crispy enough for me. It seems the secret is, once again, peeling the little suckers. Dang. I thought I had gotten around that by figuring out chana dal for the hummus, but it seems chickpea peeling is destined to be a part of my life! I can’t wait to try these out 🙂
These look so good. I’m obsessed with those Peapod Snap Crisp thingies from the grocery store, but I feel like these are probably so much healthier (and cheaper too). Have to make.
I am also obsessed with the pea crisp snacks that I get from the grocery store! I’ve even found them online for a cheaper price! Next time I go to the store it’s going to be a couple cans of chickpeas instead… happy snacking!
Can I use dried chickpeas and soak them in water? I can’t find fresh chick peas.
Definitely, Lezlie! I actually always use dried chickpeas. You’ll need to soak them in water overnight and then boil them until they are tender (depending on how old the chickpeas are the boiling can vary from 45 minutes to a couple hours). I boil chickpeas in big batches and then freeze them. Just take out and thaw as many as you need to make this recipe or any other.
Hi Leslie – definitely! I love using dried chickpeas – here’s how I prepare mine for roasting or for pan-frying – https://www.inquiringchef.com/2011/03/10/my-new-favorite-thing-spiced-chickpeas/.
I have never made anything like this, but these were amazing! I decided to short cut the recipe, though, and instead of making the mix of spices per the recipe, I just used sprinkled Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning on them. That seemed to work well and the lime juice gave it a nice flavor.
TL – love that idea – great suggestion! Next time I’ll definitely have to try another spice mix – the creole seasoning sounds so good.
I have a bag of chickpeas that someone gave me. I would love to try and roast them and make a crunchy snack but I was wondering if I had to soak these first and then drain, pat dry and roast?
Hi Carrie – it’s a great question. I recently switched over to using dried chickpeas and will probably never go back to the canned version, but they do take a bit more work. Dried chickpeas have to be boiled for a good long time to become tender and then they’re ready to be roasted. I wrote a bit more about my method in this post – https://www.inquiringchef.com/2011/03/10/my-new-favorite-thing-spiced-chickpeas/. Good call on the step you mention to pat them dry though – getting them really dry is the best way to insure they come out of the oven nice and crisp. Hope that helps!
I just got done making this recipe it’s veery good. I’am not a big chickpeas fan
But these are very good.
Was just about to label these as bland and tasteless…
Then I realized I had forgotten the lime…
Thank you for the yummy recipe.
How do you go about storing these after frying? Is a pantry in sealed jar okay? How long will they last?
Hi Emma. I usually store them in the refrigerator, but they easily keep there for over a week.
Why didn’t anyone mention the chickpeas exploding all over your kitchen? I dried them in a towel, I removed the skins, I put them in the pan and they exploded all over the place. The few that remained in the pan tasted great… but it was quite a risky dish to cook for how few actually made it to the end… I’m guessing I did something wrong, but I can’t tell what based on the instructions…
Hi Emily – I’m intrigued. I’m not exactly sure what might have happened. Did the explode right when they hit the pan? If they still had moisture in them and hit very hot oil, that might explain it. I’ve never had this happen, but it sounds quite intense!
can o store the fried chicken peas if yes for how long.
They will keep in the fridge for a few days, but will dry out as they are stored. These are definitely best consumed right after cooking.
OH, MY, GOD! Did a double batch of these and thank goodness I did! Couldn’t slow down enough eating them to add the lime, but once I take a breath, I will. The spice mix is going on everything in the future!
Awesome! So glad you liked them, Diane! (I use that same spice mix all the time! I just put it on roasted chicken thighs last week!)
Mine are not crunchy. In fact, they’re chewy. What did I do wrong?
Hi Kara – the only time I’ve had this happen is when the chickpeas were quite damp when I cooked them. It’s possible that they needed to be really thoroughly dried before hand, but it also may be totally out of your control. Some brands of chickpeas just have a tendency to retain more moisture that continues to release as they cook, which prevents the outside from getting crisp. It might be as simple as trying a different brand of chickpea!
BA recipe this is based on says to fry 15-20 minutes, not five? I’m confused. BIG difference. I’ve tried a number of recipes that are oven baked, and never get crispy satisfaction. Now resigned to frying. Will try.
Hi Jacqueline – definitely a big difference and it honestly can depend on the brand of chickpeas. Goya or Bush’s garbanzos are my favorite and they are super tender – I think they get super crispy in 5 minutes. The heat under the pan does matter though, so give them as long as they need until crisp. I’m totally with you though – I have never had success in the oven. Stovetop for the win for sure!
I’d like to try these I’ve never tried it.
Fantastic! I took the time to peel the canned chick peas. Did about half the can just to try the recipe (and I got impatient). Made a much smaller amount of the spice mix (just did it by feel based on published proportions). Used a cast iron skillet to sauté the chickpeas. Took a bit longer than 5 minutes to get a crust, but I don’t think I had the pan was hot enough at first. Shook them in the spice mix. Super crunchy and flavorful. Served with an okra and tomato sauté dish and cheese quesadillas. Will be making again. I was careful to pat peas dry with towel before cooking.
To peel (de-skin) chickpeas, put them in a large pot of water and just lightly squeeze handfuls together. The chickpeas rubbing against each other will separate skin from bean and skin floats to top so you can skim skins off. Takes about 2 min per can.
Am in Chile, where they sell garbanzos already peeled. Now I understand why. Grew up eating crispy channa, ready made. Eager to try this tomorrow. Always thought it would be more complicated.
Oh that’s fantastic! I wish I could find some already peeled…it makes such a big difference!
Hi Jess,
I peeled half of the chickpeas 🙂. Do you think it is better to use a stainless steel pan over a non-stick pan? They tasted delicious (wish they were crispier on the outside. I read all of the previous comments).
Thank you!
Hi Maria – the pan can definitely make a difference, so it’s worth trying. Some nonstick pans are okay to get pretty hot but a stainless steel or cast iron will definitely let you get them to a piping hot temp before the chickpeas are added. Very dry chickpeas can also help – the drier they are the more they’ll crisp up in the hot oil.