Make Chickpeas Taste Better Than Potato Chips With This Easy Pantry Staple

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If you love your salty snacks (and who doesn't?), we have a game-changing idea. Potato chips are irresistibly delicious, but we all know the unfortunate truth that they're a far cry from healthy, with their sodium and unhealthy fats. But you don't have to give up the experience of enjoying a crunchy, savory snack; in fact, you can even upgrade that experience with chickpeas. Health-wise, chickpeas are nearly the opposite of potato chips with protein, fiber, manganese, vitamin B6, potassium, and more. They're also super tasty with their toothsome, nutty, creamy, earthy character. It's so easy to make crispy chickpeas in your air fryer or your oven, which already gets you a snack just as satisfying — if not, more — than potato chips. But with a sprinkle of ranch powder, you'll forget you're not indulging on a crave-worthy but not-so-healthy treat.

You can buy Hidden Valley ranch seasoning powder, or easily make your own ranch powder, too, just by whisking together salt, garlic, onion, buttermilk powder, and dried dill, parsley, and chives. There are plenty of creative ways to use ranch powder, so it's more than well worth having it in your pantry — and ranch powder-seasoned chickpeas are so good, they're reason enough. All you have to do is toss chickpeas in an oil like avocado oil and the seasoning, and then roast in the oven for about half an hour or in the air fryer for 10 minutes.

Ranch powder-seasoned chickpeas are healthier than chips, but don't feel like a sacrifice. If anything, they're a complex and more filling upgrade. They're also so easy to make. All you need is the seasoning and the method that works for you: roasting canned or dried chickpeas in the oven or the air fryer. Chickpeas need just a bit of moisture to crisp when they're roasting — too much and you'll have soggy chickpeas, too little and they'll be dehydrated. You must remove some moisture from canned chickpeas and add some to dried. For dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, and them simmer them for 60 to 90 minutes pre-roast. For canned chickpeas, you'll want to rinse them, drain them, and let them dry on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. You can also gently pat them dry with paper towels.

Once prepped, oiled, and seasoned, your chickpeas are ready to roast, where they'll get nice and crispy. You can always add more seasoning when they're done roasting if you think they need more flavor. Once you start making ranch roasted chickpeas, you'll want to experiment with other flavor combinations. All it takes is one extra ingredient to give crispy chickpeas a flavor boost, but you can always combine, mix, and match. Try roasted chickpeas with cumin and cinnamon, or chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, gochugaru flakes and sesame oil, dried basil and parmesan cheese, rosemary and thyme, za'atar and maple syrup — the sky's the limit.