Air Fryer Nooch Chickpeas (185 Cal, 11g Protein, 8g Fiber)

Chickpeas already have a decent protein-to-calorie ratio for a legume. The air fryer transforms them from soft and forgettable into something crunchy enough to replace chips. The real move is the nutritional yeast — it coats each chickpea during cooking and forms a crispy savory shell that delivers B12, zinc, and selenium with every handful. At 185 calories you get 11g protein, 8g fiber, and a folate count (180 mcg) that covers nearly half the daily value in a single serving.

Ingredients

#

• 1/2 can (about 1 cup) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dulse flakes
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 can (about 1 cup) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dulse flakes
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

#

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Dry them thoroughly — this is the most important step. Spread them on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and roll gently to remove surface moisture. Wet chickpeas will steam instead of crisp.
2. Toss dried chickpeas with smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, dulse flakes, and nutritional yeast. The nooch sticks to the slightly tacky surface of the chickpeas and forms the coating.
3. Spread in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
4. Air fry at 390°F for 15 minutes, shaking the basket at the halfway mark.
5. They should be golden, crunchy on the outside, and slightly creamy in the center. If you want them fully crunchy throughout, add 2-3 more minutes — but watch closely because they go from crispy to burnt fast.
6. Eat immediately for best texture. They lose crunch within a few hours as they cool and reabsorb ambient moisture.

Walford Notes

#

Nooch as coating is a different application than the post-oven dust on the batch prep vegetables. Here, the nutritional yeast goes on before cooking because the goal is a crispy shell. Some B12 degrades at 390°F, but enough survives in the interior of the coating (where temperature is lower) to still deliver 4.3 mcg — roughly 180% of the daily value.

Dulse replaces salt and contributes iodine. Combined with the smoked paprika and cumin, you do not miss sodium chloride.

Folate at 180 mcg is significant. Most people associate folate with leafy greens, but chickpeas are one of the densest legume sources. This single serving covers 45% of the daily value.

Fiber at 8g — soluble and insoluble. The soluble fiber feeds gut bacteria (prebiotic effect) and the insoluble fiber supports transit time. At 185 calories, this is one of the highest fiber-per-calorie items in the rotation.