Y’all know… can I get away with saying ‘y’all’? I’m thinking not, though it’s definitely at least 80% of the reason I’d quite like to be an American. I’m obviously still watching far too much Nashville.

Anyway, y’all know how much I dig pizza (I definitely can’t pull off ‘dig’, but we’ll go with it) – so much so that I do just about anything I can to eat it as often as I can, while pretending it’s an entirely different meal (see: pizza baked gnocchi, cauliflower pizza, Indian-style pizza, etc). And, since my nacho roasted chickpeas went down so well allllll that time ago (18 months!!), I thought I’d do a pizza version. Pizza roasted chickpeas!

When I say pizza, of course I really just mean that these roasted chickpeas are flavoured with cheesy tomatoey bits, no bread. So really, this is totally healthier than actual pizza – protein-rich chickpeas rather than nutritionless white bread (and there ends the only time I will ever say anything remotely negative about pizza. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly happy to eat nutritionless white bread 90% of the time).

I’ll warn you, these chickpeas were incredibly difficult to dish up – purely because the cheeky things kept trying to jump into my mouth. I just couldn’t stop them (I’ll admit, I probably could have tried harder).

My favourite thing about this dish is (obviously) the cheese – you get a combination of stringy, melty mozzarella and the crispy bits from around the edge of the pan. Together with the rich sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil, they give the perfect pizza flavour.

I had these chickpeas on their own for lunch, but serve them alongside a big heap of veg (I’m thinking something green and leafy maybe?) and they’d make a great dinner too. Nutritious and delicious.

Print 5 from 2 votes Pizza roasted chickpeas Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 1 -2 Ingredients 400 g tin chickpeas 240g when drained, drained

1/2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mixed Italian dried herbs

Salt

Black pepper

1 tbsp tomato puree

3 large chunks sun-dried tomato finely chopped

3 tbsp fresh basil chopped

30 g shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp pine nuts Instructions Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F.

Toss the chickpeas in the oil, Italian herbs and seasoning, and spread out in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast for around 15 minutes, until slightly crispy and golden brown.

Remove from the oven, and add the tomato puree, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and pine nuts. Mix well, and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and just started to go crispy around the edges. Serve immediately. Author: Becca Heyes

Have you tried my nacho roasted chickpeas yet?