Tandoori Chickpeas Crostini is the ultimate party appetizer, delivering an explosion of flavor in every bite! Crunchy toasts are topped with a creamy herb spread and then piled high with roasted tandoori chickpeas. It will leave your guests craving more.
What are tandoori chickpeas?
It is a vegetarian twist on tandoori chicken. Cooked chickpeas are marinated in a flavorful tandoori marinade and oven-roasted to perfection. It captures the same bold, authentic taste of tandoori chicken, but in a vegetarian version with chickpeas. It is similar to the Indian butter chickpeas, which is a vegetarian version of butter chicken.
Once you try it, this will become your new favorite way to enjoy chickpeas. It's flavorful, spicy, and irresistibly addictive like the zucchini pakoda. And don’t limit yourself to just crostini—use the tandoori chickpeas in a wrap with naan and the same creamy herb spread for a tasty vegetarian dinner idea.
Chickpeas are one of my favorite pantry staples. I always stock up on a large case of canned chickpeas from Costco, ensuring I'm ready to whip up quick canned chickpea recipes anytime. If you don’t have canned chickpeas on hand, simply substitute with 1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas instead.
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Why you'll love it?
- Chickpeas tastes like authentic tandoori chicken
- Mega-flavorful and addictive
- Crowd-pleasing appetizer for entertaining
- Make ahead for parties
- Swap the toasts for naan breads for a tasty dinner solution
- Spicy, crispy, tangy and outrageously delicious
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
The ingredients for this tandoori chickpeas crostini recipe are typical of a tandoori chicken dish, so if you're familiar with Indian cooking, you likely have most of them in your pantry already. However, there are a few ingredients I’d like to highlight that you may have questions about:
- Chickpeas - You'll need one 15-ounce can of chickpeas. Drain the chickpeas in a colander, rinse them well, and let any excess water drain off. There's no need to pat them dry, but be sure they're not too wet either.
- Yogurt - Use plain Greek yogurt or any thick, plain yogurt.
- Kasoori methi - Dried fenugreek leaves are a key flavor in authentic tandoori chicken. You can find them at Indian grocery stores, some Asian markets, or on Amazon. I have also used it to make the air fryer tandoori chicken recipe.
- Food color - A dash of orange food coloring gives the tandoori chicken its iconic deep red hue, but you can easily skip it if you prefer.
How to make tandoori chickpeas?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
👩🍳 What type of baking pan to use? Choose a small baking sheet that can hold the chickpeas in a single layer. A 9-inch cast iron skillet is also the perfect size for one can of chickpeas (about 1 ½ cups). If you're doubling the recipe for a larger crowd, opt for a medium-sized baking sheet.
Toasts and Sauce
👩🍳 Best bread for tandoori chickpeas crostini - For crostini, it's best to use bread with some structure, like a crusty baguette. However, if you're using a softer white baguette, like I did in this recipe, be sure to toast it until it's crisp and golden. This will prevent it from becoming soggy after assembling.
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👩🍳 The creamy herb spread is a slight variation of the one I use for tandoori chicken sandwiches. It's important to use thick yogurt, like Greek yogurt, to ensure the spread has a rich, creamy consistency that stays put on the toast without dripping or making it soggy when your guests dig in.
Make ahead for parties
- Toasts - The bread can be toasted in advance and stored in an airtight container or a tightly sealed zipper bag at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Creamy herb spread - Mix and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Note that the jalapeño will intensify the heat as the spread sits, so if you prefer a milder version, reduce the amount of jalapeño when storing.
- Tandoori chickpeas - This can be made ahead and refrigerated for a few days or frozen for up to a month. Before serving, bring it to room temperature. For extra crispness, I recommend reheating in a preheated 375°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Looking for more spicy food ideas? Check out our round up post of 20+ spicy snack recipes.
Recipe tips
- Use 1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas instead of canned chickpeas.
- Kassori methi is dried fenugreek leaves adds an authentic flavor. Feel free to skip it.
- Food coloring gives tandoori dishes their iconic red hue. You can skip it entirely or substitute the cayenne pepper with 1 to 2 teaspoons of Kashmiri chili powder for a natural color and milder heat.
- Replace the toast with naan flat breads for a tasty dinner idea.
- Use these tandoori chickpeas as a substitute for tandoori chicken in the tandoori chicken salad recipe.
More Indianish recipes
Tandoori Chickpeas Crostini
Ingredients
- 14 thin slices baguette about ½ large baguette
Tandoori chickpeas
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt or plain thick yogurt
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methi optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder use more if you like it spicy
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 pinch orange food color optional
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Creamy herb spread
- ½ cup Greek yogurt or plain thick yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup mint leaves finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ½ jalapeno pepper (remove seeds to make it less spicy) finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Toasts
- Brush one side of the toast with oil or spray with cooking spray.
- To bake in oven - Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, oiled side up. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden and toasted. To air fry - Preheat air fryer to 400°F. When preheated, arrange the baguette slices into a single layer in the air fryer basket, oiled side up. You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Air fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
Tandoori chickpeas
- Pre heat oven to 400° F (205°C). Grease a small baking sheet or a medium cast iron skillet.
- Add all tandoori chickpeas ingredients (except lemon juice) into the skillet or pan. Stir well until thorougly combined. Spread them evenly in a single layer.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until crisp. While the chickpeas are baking, prepare two teaspoons of lemon juice to drizzle over them once they’re done.
- Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Drizzle with lemon juice, toss to coat the chickpeas, then spread them in a single layer to cool.
Creamy herb spread
- Add all herb spread ingredients into a medium bowl and mix to combine. Chill until serving timw.
Assemble
- Spoon a thin layer of cream herb spread on each toast and then top generously with roasted chickpeas. Garnish with fresh mint leaves, cilantro or thinly sliced jalapeno.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
I bet these are amazing! I love roasted chickpeas....they are such a great snack. I will need to try the tandoori flavor! YUM!