Sauteed Chickpeas (Croutons)
These quick and easy sauteed chickpeas are the perfect healthy snack or high protein side dish. They work great as a gluten-free alternative to croutons on salads too. These seasoned pan-fried chickpeas are sure to be a new family favorite!
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❤️ Why make this recipe
I started making sauteed chickpeas when my boys were just toddlers and they have remained one of their favorite snacks ever since. They’re the perfect snack for little ones, plus they can be seasoned in countless ways to suit your taste and add high-fiber vegan protein to any meal.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Chickpeas aka Garbanzo Beans – this type of bean works best, but you could swap it out for white beans or navy beans if you need to.
- Cooking Oil – you can use any cooking oil that you choose like olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. You can use spray oil to lightly coat them for a lower-fat option.
- Seasonings – you can use any herbs and spices that you would like and season your chickpeas in a variety of ways.
- Note – I like to use poultry seasoning (or sage), nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to make them taste like croutons. You can also use basil, pesto, or oregano for an Italian-style seasoning or taco seasoning, or fajita seasoning for a Mexican style. A little splash of soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is also delicious.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A Large Heavy Bottomed Frying Pan – to distribute the heat evenly. An iron skillet works best.
🥄 How to make sauteed chickpeas
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 – Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Place them on a paper towel or a clean tea towel and pat them dry getting off all of the excess moisture.
Step 2 – Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat until warm, then toss in your rinsed chickpeas and sprinkle with salt.
Step 3 – Sauté the chickpeas over medium heat stirring frequently with a long-handled spatula or wooden spoon. (The chickpea skin can pop and spatter as they heat up.)
Step 4 – Pan-fry the chickpeas until crispy and slightly golden on all sides. (This will take about 6-8 minutes.)
Step 5 – Turn off the heat and sprinkle with spices (poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and black pepper.) Then stir until they are coated in the seasoning mixture.
Eat the chickpeas hot as a snack or allow them to cool and serve them in place of croutons in green salads along with some vegan ranch dressing, maple balsamic dressing, vegan Caesar dressing, oil-free tahini dressing, or sweet onion dressing.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Getting as much moisture as possible off of the chickpeas before frying will help them not to spatter as much while cooking and make your chickpeas crispier.
- Don’t add the spices (other than salt) until you turn off the heat or they will burn during the cooking process.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: These seasoned chickpeas are best when eaten soon after cooking while they are still crispy, but they will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Reheating: Reheat the sauteed garbanzo beans in a dry skillet for a few minutes until warm, but be careful not to burn the seasoning.
🌟 More chickpea recipes
- Chickpea Red Lentil Curry
- Vegan Pesto Hummus
- Chickpea Salad with Cucumbers
- Citrus Salad With Chickpeas
- Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
- Vegan Omelets
- Chickpea Tofu
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Sauteed chickpeas recipe
Sauteed Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, (about 1 1/2 cups) drained and rinsed (aka garbanzo beans)
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil, (enough to coat the bottom of the skillet)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Seasoning mix
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Equipment
- Iron Skillet or another heavy-bottomed frying pan
Instructions
- Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Place them on a paper towel or a clean tea towel and pat them dry getting off all of the excess moisture.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat until warm, then toss in your rinsed chickpeas and sprinkle with salt.
- Sauté the chickpeas over medium heat stirring frequently with a long-handled spatula or wooden spoon. (The chickpea skin can pop and spatter as they heat up.)
- Pan-fry the chickpeas until crispy and slightly golden on all sides. (This will take about 6-8 minutes.)
- Turn off the heat and sprinkle with spices (poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and black pepper.) Then stir until they are coated in the seasoning mixture.
Notes
- Getting as much moisture as possible off of the chickpeas before frying will help them not to spatter as much while cooking and make your chickpeas crispier.
- Don’t add the spices (other than salt) until you turn off the heat or they will burn during the cooking process.
- You can use spray oil to lightly coat them for a lower-fat option.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!
These taste delicious, but I cooked the chickpeas longer than the recipe suggests and they still didn’t get crispy. I think I was worried about overdoing them and drying them out, and perhaps I should have waited another couple of minutes. Is there a way to tell for sure?
Drying them will only help them get more crispy. They probably needed another minute or two on the stove to crisp up.