Did you ever try the viral baked feta dish? The idea is you bake a feta block with fresh tomatoes until soft and then mix it all together to serve with pasta or bread. These pizza-roasted chickpeas use the same idea as the baked feta but with pizza classics. Think mozzarella and basil plus chickpeas!
It’s like pizza…But It’s Chickpeas
In just one pan you’ll have a full, filling, and flavor-packed dinner! Two types of cheese not only add that extra cheesy goodness all good pizzas are known for but also add some saltiness from the feta. It’s versatile becuase it can be served on its own or with crusty bread or pasta.
Here’s what you’ll need
Cheese: You’ll need a block of feta cheese and buffalo mozzarella. Feta adds creaminess and some salty notes, while mozzarella gives the dish that quintessential cheese pull. Chickpeas: Just grab two cans of chickpeas (may also be called garbanzo beans), drain them well, and you’re ready to go! Tomatoes: I use cherry tomatoes because they are the sweetest. But, you can use any type of tomatoes you have on hand. Oil & Spices: Grab olive oil (or avocado oil), smoked paprika, crushed red pepper, salt, and oregano to spice up these pizza chickpeas! You can also add other spices like fresh garlic cloves, garlic powder, or onion powder.
how to make pizza chickpeas
Grab your baking dish (an 8×11 is perfect) and let’s get cooking these chickpeas!
Why this recipe works
Adding the mozzarella last allows everything else the time they need to bake. This gives the tomatoes time for their sugars to caramelize and for the chickpeas to roast. Just like margherita pizza, add the basil after baking. This keeps the basil fresh and full of flavor! There’s no need to de-shell the chickpeas prior to roasting. You can, but I found this was too time-consuming to have any meaningful benefit.
Serve it with
These make an awesome one-pan dinner with just some toasty bread, but here are a few other pairings to serve pizza chickpeas with.
Vegetarian Caesar Salad paired with pizza chickpeas is an Italian dinner dream! Microwave Pasta can be topped with these tomatoey chickpeas in place of serving with bread. Cauliflower Rice can offer a low-carb base to these pizza chickpeas instead of bread.
