Last Updated on January 30, 2024

Are you looking for Sautéed Chickpea Recipes to try? The easiest way to make pan-fried chickpeas. It’s fiber-and protein-rich, full of flavor, and it pairs well with salad, tacos, or rice. It’s a classic weekly staple that’s budget-friendly and easy to prepare.

Chickpeas are the wonderbread of the legume family due to their versatility in the culinary world.

The Arabians turned them into the popular Falafel with love; the Spanish adore them so much and the Germans put them on the map as a coffee delicacy!

Sautéed Chickpea Recipes

The word, ‘chickpea’ is interchangeable with ‘garbanzo beans.’ You’ll often see garbanzo beans in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes which refers to chickpeas.

Chickpeas came onto the scene during the B.C. era, and are one of the oldest cultivated plants on earth. They earned their global fame for their extremely long shelf life, neutral taste, and high fiber content. In fact, dried chickpeas have almost 10 grams of fiber per cup!

Dried Canned Chickpeas are useful in many dishes. Our Sauteed Chickpeas, for example, uses canned chickpeas pan fry until crispy, seasoned with dried spices, fresh herbs, and lemon juice to give it a zesty taste.

Other creative ways to use spiced chickpeas such as chickpea salad or buffalo chickpea wraps. All it takes is sautéed chickpeas coated in seasonings and herbs then topped with leafy greens.

A Sauteed Chickpea recipe like the Fried Chickpea Gyro uses scallions, turmeric, and cloves with fried chickpeas for a deliciously crunchy guilt-free lunch.

And I say guilt-free because roasted chickpeas, or rather chickpeas in general, are gluten-free and loaded with vitamins and plant-based protein.

So whether you’re enjoying them roasted straight from the oven, baked or air-fried, cooked chickpeas are an easy, weekly meal prep staple you can’t afford to pass up!

are chickpeas healthy?

The answer is YES! It is an excellent meat replacement in many vegetarian and vegan dishes because chickpeas are high in protein.

As a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, chickpeas may also aid in weight management, improve digestion, and reduce disease risk.

Ingredients You Need

Chickpeas – I used canned chickpeas, you can also use cooked chickpeas.

Olive Oil – to pan-fry chickpeas.

Seasonings – Garlic Powder, Ground Turmeric, Paprika, and Salt.

Lemon Juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice gives this dish a citrus flavor. This can be optional, leave it out if you prefer a crispy texture.

Herbs – chopped Parsley or Cilantro.

How to Make Sautéed Chickpeas

Open canned chickpeas, rinse under running water then dry on a clean kitchen towel. Heat olive oil in a skillet/frying pan on medium heat.
Add chickpeas and saute until it turns golden and crispy on the surface. Before adding the spices, turn the heat to very low to prevent the spices from burning. Add the ground turmeric, paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Mix until chickpeas are well coated.
Add lemon juice (optional, leave out if you prefer a crispy texture) and stir (no more than 2-3 minutes to avoid burning the spices).
Turning off the heat then finish it with chopped parsley. Serve as a side dish or with salad or rice.

Cook’s Notes

Ensure that the canned chickpeas are rinsed and let them completely dry on a clean kitchen towel before cooking them. This helps to not have hot olive oil splash everywhere and prevents you from being harmed.
Mix in spices and turn the heat to very low, then turn off the heat once the chickpeas are coated with lemon juice and herbs. Spices are easily burned, so we want to avoid burning them (burned spices will make the dish taste bitter).
You can sub olive oil with coconut oil or vegan butter to add extra flavor to your sautéed Chickpeas.

Air Fryer and Oven Instructions

When oven roasting or air-frying canned chickpeas there are a few things to be cautious about.

Toasting the spices separately then stir in at the very end. Dried toasting separately and then incorporating keeps you from switching heat temperatures and also helps limit your contact with the hot oil.

Neither option will limit the flavor. As a matter of fact, toasting your spices separately will help you to prevent dried spices from burning and will also enhance their fragrance (but it is not necessary if your dried spices are fresh).

In air-frying or oven-baking, you only need very small amounts of oil. Here, you can coat the canned chickpeas in light oil, salt, and pepper and air-fry until crispy.

Air-frying chickpeas also gives you the luxury of swapping out oils, for example, swapping olive oil for coconut oil. If you choose to use coconut oil, make sure that you use very little. Coconut oil is a thicker substance than olive oil, so a tiny amount gets you a long way.

Once the beans have become crispy, remove them and immediately toss in the spices. Either serve right away or return to the air-fryer for a few minutes to heat up (no more than 2-3 minutes to avoid burning the spices).

How to Store – Can You Freeze Chickpeas?

Freezing chickpeas is heavily debated; however, the answer is yes! Cooked chickpeas fare better in the freezer within an air-tight container.

Recipes like Hummus, which is canned chickpeas pureed in a blender and seasoned, keep well in the freezer without much change in the taste. But be warned, not all chickpea recipes reheat well after freezing.