The Best Way To Store Roasted Chickpeas For Maximum Crispiness

When you're not making hummus, roasting chickpeas is one of the best ways to enjoy the small but mighty bean. Crispy, crunchy, and caramelized, roasted chickpeas are excellent as snacks, salad toppers, soup crowns, and much more, but like any food, roasted chickpeas don't maintain their fresh-out-of-the-oven appeal forever. However, proper roasting and storage can preserve their delicate char for longer.

Maintaining the texture of roasted chickpeas starts before they even go into the oven, especially if you're working with canned chickpeas. Thoroughly drying them before roasting helps to remove any excess canning moisture that can linger after cooking. Even if you're working with raw beans, they typically require overnight soaking to reduce roasting time and ease digestion, so it's important to completely dry chickpeas prior to roasting, regardless of which type you use. Although it's tedious, removing the skin from chickpeas helps them develop and maintain their crunch. The skin can trap steam during roasting, which will keep them soft instead of crispy.

Once they're finished roasting, proper storage makes the biggest difference in preserving their texture. Although a lidded glass jar or container does a decent job at preserving their texture, the best way to store them is in a bowl at room temperature with a paper towel draped across the top to prevent dust and other contaminants from disrupting their quality. This allows air circulation to prevent moisture build-up, keeping chickpeas nice and crispy days after you roast them. If you use a glass jar, keep the lid slightly unscrewed to achieve a similar effect. If you have any available, store them with silica packets, which are designed to absorb moisture.

Cooking is all about experimenting, and no matter how experienced you are, mistakes and mishaps are part of the process. But for every cooking blunder, there are multiple solutions. In the event that your roasted chickpeas go soft, there are a few ways to bring them back to life.

Give day-old roast chickpeas a facelift in the air fryer, where the circulating heat quickly restores their crunch and makes them taste freshly roasted again. Similarly, a quick stove-top sauté with a small drizzle of oil can also bring them back to life. Of course, you can always reanimate them in the oven, where they originally developed their quintessential crunch. Additionally, tossing them in a thin layer of cornstarch before reheating can form a delicate crust that revives their texture.

Improper food storage can ruin your favorite meals, and roasted chickpeas are no exception. Avoid the unnecessary extra steps of remedying soft or soggy roasted chickpeas by storing them at room temperature in a bowl draped with a paper towel or tea towel.