This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Packaged snacks from the grocery? Why bother when you can be eating these sweet, crunchy and nutritious Roasted Honey Cinnamon Chickpeas!
There are so many snack foods on the market, but how many of them are actually nutritious? The shelves of most supermarkets are overflowing with a seemingly endless amount of snack food choices, the majority of which, at best, contain a good deal of salt, sugar, hydrogenated oils and more. You can’t even completely rely on the label “organic” when it comes to packaged food. Sure, it may mean what you’re buying contains less pesticides than the non-organic alternatives, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t made with additives and a host other stuff you’d rather not be feeding your family.
These Roasted Cinnamon Honey Chickpeas are my version of healthy junk food. They’re probably not prepared the way you’re used to eating chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), which are soft in texture once cooked and traditionally used as the basis for savory dishes like hummus, soups and stews. Instead, these are super crunchy and sweetened with a light coating of cinnamon and honey, making them even more addictive than those junky snacks you can’t pry out of your child’s hands. In fact, with only three wholesome ingredients including the protein packed chickpeas, you’d be hard pressed to find another snack food that’s this good for you.
I brought a container of them with me to Chloe’s gymnastics class last week where the kids and moms camped out afterwards for their mid-morning snack couldn’t get over the fact that they were eating beans. One mom came over to ask me, “where did you buy these”? Mission accomplished!
Photo by Maren Caruso
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Roasted Honey Cinnamon Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place the beans between two paper towels and pat dry, loosening the outer skin of the beans.
- Remove the outer skins of the beans and pat dry to remove any other excess liquid (removing the outer skin of the beans takes a few minutes, but it’s a great job for getting kids involved).
- Whisk the cinnamon and oil in a bowl to combine, add the beans stirring to coat and place on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 40 minutes.
- Remove the beans from the oven, place in a bowl and toss with the honey.
- Place the beans back into the oven and roast an additional 7 minutes.
- Cool completely and serve.
- * Store in a covered container on your counter for up to 2 weeks
these are so great and I’m really excited to find such a yummy alternative to roasted nuts. My son has a severe peanut allergy, so this is great! Will definitely double or maybe triple the recipe next time.
i followed the recipe exactly and i had no problems. this recipe is very good! the beans do shrink so i will be doubling the recipe next time.
We have been making a savory version of this for years. I have never removed the skins and mine turn out perfectly every time. I just dry, add my desired seasonings and put in a thin layer on the pan. I never use the same seasoning combination twice. We have used garlic powder, onion powder, curry, coriander, chili powder, salt, red pepper and cumin. I make sure to shake the pan about every 10 minutes and I watch them very carefully in the last half of baking, because they can burn. Some of my kids, like them super crunchy, but some don’t, so I usually remove some a few minutes early to get the crunchy outside with the smooth texture inside. We often have these for dinner with small roasted potatoes and sauteed kale. I can not wait to try this sweet version for school lunches!
So, can I ask what happens if I don’t take off the skin. I’m about to make 4 cans worth and ugh! I’m dreading the de-skinning!
I use my hands while they rinse in a colander and roll them between my palms and against the colander itself. About half the skins come off this way on their own. YAY! The rest I pinch between my thumb and 1st 2 fingers and they pop right out. Still a little tedious, but I don’t have to skin all of them!
I made 2 seperate batches of these today. The first one was horrible! The chickpeas were popping and when I opened the oven the heating element had some attached that were on fire. They came out tasty but it is going to be a pain to clean out.
The 2nd batch i reduced the oil to 1/2 tblsp and it still happened. Not as bad but half way through I noticed my oven was smoking. 🙁
So I made them I thought perfectly after reading the whole thing including all you awesome reviewers and I roasted them for 27 min at 400. Then I coated them and roasted for 5 more minutes due to my 4yr olds impatience. She loved them even though they were not crunchy at all. The shelling took 3 people and I think it needs more honey. I am so glad I didn’t cook the chickpeyes and used canned. That is crazy effort for a snack that gets eaten so fast!! I will be cooking them longer next time and making a double batch like some recommended! Great recipe though! Very filling and nutritious which is what I’m all about!!!
keep in mind that everybody’s ovens run differently….especially if you consider electric and gas. I cooked mine exactly like the directions said and they turned out perfectly. If you’re having problems, try reducing the cooking time and/or check them half way through.
Total bummer – followed to a tee… not edible. Buuuurnt! So many having issues – was it really kitchen tested?
Oops, I guess I need to learn to read better!
I completely missed the part about adding the honey at the end, I just mixed it all together and stuck them in the oven. I guess I’ll just keep my eye on them…hopefully they will be ok!
Thanks for the advice, everyone! I ran into some of the same issues. I’ll have to keep a better eye out. My 18 month old loves them! I can’t wait to try them savory!
These burned so bad that I had to toss out 98% of them. Will decrease the cook time before/after adding the honey. The couple that I was able to eat sure tasted good. My daughter even seemed to like them. Taking some of the advice that I’m reading, I’m hoping that the next go ’round is better! Will also double the amount as “de-shelling” these is not my idea of fun!
These are soo good! My three year old loves chick peas and she skinned and ate all of the skins for me! Think ill watch them a little closer next time they did get a little too crunchy! And maybe a little more honey!
has anyone tried tossing it with plain ole sugar instead of honey for 2nd roasting? just curious if it still maintains the same crunchiness? thanks!
ok, tried these twice.
1st batch they were too soft.
2nd batch, perfect!
I realized that I didn’t de-shell them enough the first time. You really have to take the shell off every single bean!
Love the idea for the savory version! I will have to try those next. I’m doing South Beach so these are great for me and for the kiddos.
Has anyone tried this recipe without “skinning” the chickpeas? We eat them so fast I can hardly keep up with skinning the beans.