Crispy air fryer chickpeas are the ultimate healthy snack. This whole food, plant based snack delivers all the wholesome crunch without the oil. They’re perfect for munching all by themselves, and they add a welcome crunch to salads or bowls. What’s more, these snackable chickpeas are both inexpensive and so easy to make!
How To Make This Recipe
For this recipe, we prefer to use low sodium chickpeas. This is because we’re using the chickpea liquid, or aquafaba, and we like to control the salt. There’s no need to rinse, skin or dry the chickpeas for preparation. We simply drain them while reserving a couple teaspoons of the liquid. Those chickpeas will dry in the air fryer.
We’re bringing a variety of spices to the party. Our preferred spice mix includes garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and optional chili powder. Liquid aminos add an additional layer of salt and savory depth. Soy sauce is a great alternative to liquid aminos. Or, you can just use additional aquafaba.
Chickpeas, aquafaba, liquid aminos, and spices.
This recipe is highly versatile. So, feel free to experiment with your own favorite flavor combinations. We’d love to hear what you choose!
Prepare Chickpeas
We begin by preheating our air fryer to 390°F. Once preheated, we transfer our chickpeas to the air fryer basket in a single layer. We have two rounds of air frying here, and our first round lasts about 10 minutes. To help these cook evenly, we shake the basket at the halfway point.
While those chickpeas cook, we prepare our spiced mix by combining our garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and chili powder in a small bowl. In a second bowl, we then whisk together our aquafaba, liquid aminos, and half of our spice mix.
Spiced aquafaba.
After our first round of air frying, we toss our chickpeas with the seasoned aquafaba. Then, we return them to our air fryer for a second round of cooking.
Chickpeas tossed in our spiced aquafaba.
We continue to air fry our chickpeas for another 5 to 10 minutes more. To prevent burning, we shake the basket every few minutes. They’re ready when crunchy on the inside and golden brown on the outside.
Crunchy, golden brown chickpeas.
Ready To Serve
Next, we transfer our chickpeas to a bowl while still hot and toss with the remaining spices. Then, we dig in! We enjoy munching on these at room temperature as a snack. Or, we boost our favorite salad with these amazing chickpeas for added protein and crunch.
Enjoy those crispy air fryer chickpeas.
While these chickpeas are best served right away, you can store them in a jar at room temperature for up to a week. Be aware that moisture in the jar will be absorbed by the chickpeas. If those leftover chickpeas get soft, just pop them back in the air fryer a couple of minutes to crisp them back up. Watch closely to prevent burning.
Now, let’s dig in!
More crunchy snacks:
Recipe Card for Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas
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Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15 ounces chickpeas drained with liquid reserved
- 2 teaspoons reserved chickpea liquid or aquafaba
- 1 teaspoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder optional
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 390F.
- Transfer the chickpeas to the air fryer basket in a single layer and air fry 8 to 10 minutes, shaking at the halfway point.
- Meanwhile, prepare spiced mix by combining garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and optional chili powder in a small bowl.
- Combine aquafaba, liquid aminos, and half of the spices in another small bowl.
- Toss the chickpeas with the seasoned aquafaba and return to air fryer.
- Continue to air fry for 5 to 10 minutes more, shaking the basket every 5 minutes, until crunchy on the inside and golden brown on the outside.
- Transfer the chickpeas to a bowl while still hot and toss with the remaining spices. Serve at room temperature.
