Spiced Tahini Chickpeas might look a little bit like dog kibble (let’s be honest) but I assure you their flavor resounds of the Middle East and they’re delicious little morsels of goodness perfect for snacking or adding to salads, wraps, soups, tagines and garnishes on dips and such. Coated with a spiced tahini mixture and perfect as a snack with a beer or your favorite beverage of choice, I bet you won’t be able to stop eating them.
Jump to RecipeSpiced Tahini chickpeas would be delish in this Easy Chicken and Chickpea Tagine; in this Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad or in this Mediterranean Herb and Olive Salad. Funny, but when I moved to North America, over two decades ago, chickpeas were usually referred to as “garbanzo beans”. They still often are and are written on the label as such but I’ve noticed the online community seem to have embraced the much simpler, and dare I say, cuter, word of chickpeas. If they’d just start calling shrimp “prawns” I’d be very pleased. Maybe I need to start…
SPICED TAHINI CHICKPEAS
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tahini sesame seed paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or regular paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 2 x 15 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained & patted dry with a paper towel
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients except the chickpeas in a medium bowl. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat the chickpeas in the tahini mixture.
- Tumble the chickpeas onto the baking sheet and spread in an even, single layer. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking until browned with a little crunch – I find letting them cool for a minute or two is a good indicator of crunch as they develop more crunch when cooled but don’t keep that texture the next day so I like to make them on the day of serving, usually no more than two or three hours ahead. Makes about 3 cups.