How To Roast Canned Vs Dry Chickpeas

Roasting chickpeas transforms them into the crunchiest, most flavorful versions of themselves. A stint in the oven removes all moisture, thereby concentrating their savoriness, crisping them up, and introducing any seasonings you sprinkle over them before roasting them. Unlike raw vegetables, however, you must roast chickpeas from their cooked form. Therefore, the only real difference between roasting canned versus dry chickpeas is the extra steps involved in cooking dry chickpeas. 

Unlike vegetables, dried chickpeas have virtually no water content, and moisture is needed even in a dry cooking method like roasting. While you still need to dry the canned or cooked chickpeas with a towel before roasting them, the moisture that remains inside of them is key to getting the airy, crunchy texture that makes roasted chickpeas so addicting. If you were to put dry chickpeas into the oven, they'd transform into inedible, burnt jawbreakers. 

To instill the moisture necessary to roast dry chickpeas, they require an overnight soak, followed by an hour and a half simmer in a saucepan. If you have an instant pot or pressure cooker, you can cook beans from dry without soaking them in around 45 minutes. If you pre-soak your beans, they'll take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to cook in a pressure cooker. Canned chickpeas may be more convenient, but we think dried chickpeas soaked and cooked from scratch taste better. Whether you're using canned or cooked chickpeas, draining them is the first step to roasting them.

While moisture is important for roasted chickpeas, you still need to dry them out as much as possible so that they crisp up and absorb the oil and seasonings you toss them with. After draining and rinsing cooked chickpeas, you can lay them on a paper towel lined baking sheet to dry out for half an hour to an hour. You can also dry them with paper towels by patting them lightly once or twice if you're in a hurry. The question of when to season roasted chickpeas has caused controversy — some recipes argue that you should add the seasonings along with the oil, while others opt for tossing roasted chickpeas in dried seasonings when they're hot out of the oven.

Our recipe for easy roasted chickpeas lies in the former camp of applying seasonings pre-bake; you can try both methods to see which works best. Assemble the oiled chickpeas on a baking sheet, ensuring not to overcrowd them for the crispiest results. If you want to save yourself the dishes, line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Oven temperatures range from 375 degrees Fahrenheit to 425 degrees Fahrenheit — our recipe splits the difference, requiring a 30 minute bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Shake your baking pan a few times throughout the cooking to make sure the chickpeas dry out completely in the oven. Of course, you can also use an air fryer for even quicker and easier roasted chickpeas.