I’m a sucker for a good snack. When it’s relatively healthy, rather addicting, and (bonus!) goes great with beer, well … hold me.
I got the idea for these pan-fried curried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) from one of our favorite restaurants in the area. They have fried chickpeas on their happy hour menu, and because I’ve never been one to shy away from a chickpea, I ordered them. Immediately.
They were curried and kicky and a little crunchy and perfect.
I’ve enjoyed many a roasted chickpea, but this recipe was the first time I made chickpeas into snackable goodness via frying pan. It’s probably obvious what I’m going to say next: this will not be the last.
So basically, it goes like this. You heat up some coconut oil and you throw a can of chickpeas (drained, rinsed, dried) in there. And then they roll around and cook and get warm and a little crispy and golden here and there. Then you add your spices. Curry powder, cumin, and cayenne. Toss and done.
Let ’em cool for, oh, a fraction of a second or so (okay, maybe longer if your willpower is stronger than mine). And then … snack, my friends. Snack.
Pan-fried chickpeas with curry spices. Be still my snacking heart.
Pan-Fried Curried Chickpeas
Ingredients
Instructions
What a yummy snack!! I’m definitely going to make some to snack on throughout the day! 🙂
My intent is always to pace myself, but I end up snacking on all of them within about 20 minutes or so! Not my most willpower-friendly food. 😉
These sound SO fantastic! I love chickpeas and I LOVE curry…so why not combine the two? 🙂
Thanks, Hannah! Indeed they are made for each other. 🙂
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What do you think is different about making these in the frying pan? I’ve seen a few recipes for Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas, but never pan-fried…better flavors? Quicker?
Either way you do it, gotta love the versatility of the chickpea!
Hi Chloe, I’m overdue in responding to this, but better late than never? 🙂 I should have answered that question in the post! I like that they’re faster in a saute pan, and you can control the browning a bit better. But I’m a fan of them both ways!
I like the way they’re so much quicker than roasting. And I’m sure you can change the spices any way you want. Yummy.
It’s definitely a very flexible recipe! 🙂
So here’s the thing. I’m allergic to coconut…in all ways, shapes, and forms. Not intolerant, mind you. Epi-pen crazed allergy.
SO, because I adore garbanzos, AND I adore the thought of those toasty spicy snacks in my pie hole, I’m going to toast them up in bacon grease. YUP, I know you’re a vegetarian, but if loving bacon is wrong, I don’t ever want to be right. 🙂
Oh wow – what a scary allergy! I would suggest grapeseed oil instead, but even this vegetarian knows that bacon grease will taste better. 😉
I’ve been having a curry obsession lately and I have a big place in my heart for snacks. I think I could survive on them! I also happen to have all of these ingredients at home right now! Definitely making these this weekend 🙂
Hi Isadora! I hope you loved them. 🙂
You had me with the first sentence and the mention of beer 😉 I will try this at the weekend, looks really tasty, thanks!
Thanks for your recipe idea. I just made these. I used whole garam masala and whole red chilis in place of the cumin/curry/ cayanne combination…and sprinkled sea salt to taste…I love them….Although they are good while still hot, I leave them on the counter to cool and enjoy them a little dried out at room temperature…great take along snack for road trips.
Tried this out today minus the curry powder, + some paprika (limited ingredients while cooking a last minute meal).
Worked out great. The coconut oil made the flavor light and it was a great low weight side for mint lamb!
Easy and delicious! I decided to add Amchur powder (dry mango powder) a basic Indian spice that give a lime like tang. It added another flavor burst to the treat.
Delicious. I substituted olive oil for the coconut oil. Turned out great!
I need to lose weight and watch the sweets and carbs, what are good (and tasty) recipes (or titles of the recipe) for such things. I’m pre-diabetes. Don’t want to take needles for the rest of my years.
Hi Leticia, I was pre-diabetic for awhile too. It’s scary isn’t it? I was able to break out of that zone after a few months by cutting my sugar intake to less than 25 grams per day (not including fruit). Cutting carbs is another ball of wax and I don’t really have many intentionally low carb recipes on my website. Have you ever seen the blog https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com? She has some incredible low-carb recipes! Also kalynskitchen.com. I hope that helps!
Following these instructions led to deliciously flavored chickpeas that were not at all crispy. The recipe doesn’t claim to yield serious crispness so if that’s what you’re looking for you’re probably better off deep frying them. Or maybe I just didn’t use enough oil. Either way, the flavors were excellent. I just wish they weren’t so mushy!
Can you store them for the next few days?
Yep, just refrigerate! They might not stay quite as crispy but still delicious.
Delicious