Roasting your own chickpeas, nuts and seeds can be an easy way for you to always have a healthy snack available. Plus, by adding your own favorite spices you can create versatile flavors to prevent snack boredom. Here are 5 of our favorite spice blends for you to try. The blends not only can be used with nuts and seeds, but add them to plain popcorn and an added twist. And don’t be afraid to experiment and create spice blends you and your family enjoy most!
Spice Combinations:
Asian 5-Spice: Cinnamon, ground cloves, ground fennel, anise powder, and ground pepper.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.
Cajun: Paprika, sea salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and dried thyme.
Curry Powder Blend: Coriander, turmeric, ground yellow mustard powder, cayenne powder, ground cumin, and ground cardamom.
Herbs de Provence: Dried marjoram, dried thyme, dried savory, dried basil, dried rosemary, dried sage, and ground fennel.
*Option: Try adding onion powder and garlic powder for added flavor!
Moroccan Spice Blend: Ground cumin, ground ginger, salt, black pepper, ground cinnamon, ground coriander, cayenne, ground allspice, and ground cloves.
Quatre Epices: Ground black and/or white pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
Sesame Ginger Blend: Sesame seeds, ground fennel, ground anise, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground ginger, garlic powder, and salt.
How to Spice:
Chickpeas: Preheat oven to 350 F. Rinse the chickpeas and drain well, patting dry to remove as much water as possible. Toss chickpeas with olive oil and spice blend of choice. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until they make a rattling noise when you shake the cookie sheet.
Nuts: Preheat oven to 450 F. Using raw, unsalted nuts, toss with olive oil and spice blend of choice. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes. They will crisp as they cool. Serve once cooled completely.
Good nuts for roasting: pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios and cashews.
Seeds: Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss with olive oil and spice blend of choice. Roast for 40 – 45 minutes, turning periodically, until nicely browned and crunchy.
Seeds good for roasting: Larger seeds like pumpkin and sunflower
Popcorn: Using plain microwave popcorn or freshly air/stovetop popcorn, add in the spice blend of choice when popcorn is fully popped and still warm. Add the spices directly to the bag, close and shake to disperse.
How do you spice your snacks?
By: Erin DeMito, RD