Cheesy Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas — Fast, EASY, healthy, and keeps you full and satisfied!! Vegan and gluten-free doesn’t have to be boring! Perfect lunch, hearty side, or meatless main! You’re going to LOVE the cheesy touch!!
Healthy Veggie Side or Entree
This is my kind of food. Honestly this is what I eat day in and day out and I never tire of it.
I won’t lie and say that I eat pasta and bread and brownies every day. Sounds fun, but I like to fit into my clothes. Hence this healthy veggie side / main dish is how I am satisfied but still fitting into my pants.
If you’re looking for a fast, easy, and healthy way to eat vegan and gluten-free AND for it to taste great and keep you full and satisfied, this is the recipe for you. <— Did you catch all that because those are some major perks.
This is a great quickie lunch recipe, meatless main, or hearty veggie side dish you’re going to love.
Let’s get one thing cleared up about the recipe right off the bat. There is no actual cheese involved. Instead I used nutritional yeast. It used to be an elusive product, but now you can find it everywhere from Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods or Amazon (my personal fave).
It’s what vegans like to tell you tastes like cheese and lends a cheesy flavoring to soups, stews, kale chips (2009 vintage recipe when I was 100% vegan), roasted vegetables, and the like.
Does it taste like cheese? It has the savory, unami quality but the texture is totally different. You cannot compare a hunk of aged cheddar or a soft and tender piece of brie with nutritional yeast flakes. But if you are vegan, like I was for many years, it’s pretty awesome and it’s packed with a ton of B vitamins, protein, and fiber.
Lightly charred broccoli and crisp-tender sugar snap peas with chickpeas that are firmer on the outside and tender on the inside, yes please.
What’s in the Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas?
To make this easy veggie side dish (or main!), you’ll need:
- Canned chickpeas
- Olive oil
- Broccoli florets
- Sugar snap peas (or additional broccoli)
- Nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas
I like to bake the chickpeas on their own for about 15 minutes before adding the broccoli florets, sugar snap peas, and seasonings to the sheet pan.
Then, the whole pan gets returned to the oven to bake for another 10-ish minutes. I prefer to bake the veggies just until the broccoli is crisp-tender, but feel free to leave it in a little longer if you like yours to be softer in texture.
Can the Nutritional Yeast Be Substituted?
No, the nutritional yeast cannot be substituted. It’s a very unique ingredient with its own flavor profile and texture.
However, you can totally change up the seasonings and simply follow the cook times for this recipe. Roasted chickpeas, broccoli, and sugar snap peas can be doctored up so many different ways!
Ways to Serve This Recipe
As I mentioned above, you can enjoy this recipe as a healthy veggie side or you can enjoy it as a meal on its own.
To stretch the roasted veggies even further, try serving them over brown rice or cauliflower rice. If you add a sauce of some kind, you’ll basically have created your own buddha bowl.
You can also try tossing the warm veggies and chickpeas with massaged kale or another leafy green plus a little salad dressing to make a warm and filling salad.
Tips for Making Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas
There are lots of recipes for baked chickpeas that are touted as ‘cripsy.’ I don’t find that baked chickpeas are ever truly crispy because they’re not fried.
However, if you let them cool for about 15 minutes before diving in, they do crisp up more and are somewhat crunchy. And they are coated in ‘cheese.’ My favorite.
On that note, as much as I love nutritional yeast, this is a very easy recipe to customize. Feel free to play around with the broccoli and roasted chickpeas seasoning — pretty much any blend of herbs and spices will work here.
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Cheesy Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas
Ingredients
- one 15-ounce can chickpeas, garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry (I use no salt added or low salt versions)
- olive oil cooking spray, or a tiny bit of olive oil may be substituted
- 3 to 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 to 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ to ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- fresh parsley, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a sheet pan with foil for easier cleanup.
- To the sheet pan add the chickpeas, lightly spray them with cooking spray, and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, add the broccoli, sugar snap peas, evenly drizzle everything with olive oil, evenly sprinkle the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and toss with your hands to coat evenly.
- Bake for an about 10 minutes, or until broccoli is as done as desired; I prefer mine more crisp-tender but if you like it softer then bake longer.
- Optionally garnish with parsley before serving. The chickpeas will firm up and 'crisp up' as they cool so if you don't mind eating this dish warm as opposed to piping hot, waiting an additional 15 minutes before serving improves the overall texture of the chickpeas for me.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was the first time I used nutritional yeast, and I think I’m just not used to the texture of it. I wasn’t a fan of this recipe, but I bet if you were vegan and used to nutritional yeast, you might like it. I’m too accustomed to real cheese, but I’ve been trying to cut it out of my diet for health reasons. I don’t think I’ve been without cheese long enough to appreciate nutritional yeast! My 3yo daughter loved th chickpea portion of this recipe and I’m saving the leftovers for her for tomorrow.
I completely agree that it is an acquired taste. And if you were to give up regular cheese for a long time, or never knew what it tasted like in the first place, this would be a good substitute. I personally like both cheese and nutritional yeast, but I realize I might not be in the majority. And I’ve been using nutritional yeast for probably 10 to 15 years so I’m very used to it.
I’m glad your daughter liked this!
This was the first time I used nutritional yeast, and I think I’m just not used to the texture of it. I wasn’t a fan of this recipe, but I bet if you were vegan and used to nutritional yeast, you might like it. I’m too accustomed to real cheese, but I’ve been trying to cut it out of my diet for health reasons. I don’t think I’ve been without cheese long enough to appreciate nutritional yeast! My 3yo daughter loved th chickpea portion of this recipe and I’m saving the leftovers for her for tomorrow.
Hi Averie!
Love this recipe, however, I don’t see cheese in the list of ingredients or when to add it.
Looking forward to making this…love everything in it!
Warm wishes,
Kym
Please read the blog post in full.
I still don’t see where the cheese comes in with the Cheesy Roasted Chickpeas and Broccoli – and I’ve read the entire blog.
Nutritional yeast
hey girl- this looks so good!
OK, I’m confused! Where does the “cheesy” part come from since there’s no cheese in this recipe?
Please read the blog post in full.
Roasted chickpeas are so delicious! I am loving the nutritional yeast here. I need to make this soon!
I love nutritional yeast on veggie, popcorn and in blender soups. It has become more mainstream and easier to find–Kroger has also been carrying it for many years now. This recipe sure puts it to good use!!
That’s great to hear that Kroger has it! I have never checked my local Ralph’s (same parent co. as Kroger) but that’s nice to know. And I love it on popcorn and in blender soups, too!