Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Clearly I’m a mother because I’ve now made two different nugget recipes in less than 4 months.
You all love those tofu nuggets as much as I do, which makes me so happy. I know that there will come a time in the very near future where Vander requests nuggets like all of his friends and I want to have an option that I can serve to everyone! Then, hopefully, those kids start to requests these nuggets in their house! Is that how we change the world? One nugget at a time?
I saw this recipe for chickpea nuggets a few weeks ago and instantly wanted to try them. So, I went home to make them and… they were just OK. Pretty bland and didn’t come together the way I wanted.
So, I tweaked that recipe and eventually created these- my version of chickpea nuggets! They look just like regular nuggets and have a similar chick-y taste. To get that, we’re using a liberal amount of poultry seasoning which gives the characteristic sage-rosemary taste that chicken nuggets kinda have.
The beauty of this recipe is that it comes together pretty easily. Throw the chickpeas into the food processor and pulse them until they are almost crumbs. You want to crush the chickpeas first without adding in flour, so you don’t have to mix the chickpeas and flour too much.
I use oat flour because regular flour can make these too gummy. Sometimes gluten does that, when it’s processed too much. The dough can become glue-like and the texture is off. Since most of us don’t have oat flour lying around, we are quickly making a batch in the food processor first. Blend regular oats until you get a flour, which takes about 2-3 minutes.
I know not everyone has a food processor, though I think a blender can be used for this recipe as well. You just might have to stop the blender more often, scrape down, and then continue to process.
You can use regular or panko breadcrumbs for these, but you will need to toast the crumbs first. This gets them nice and golden brown, so the nuggets actually look like nuggets! Because we are baking them, they also need a little fat. Therefore, I liberally spray the baking sheet before putting the nuggets on, then spray/drizzle olive oil over on top. The extra bit of fat makes these nuggets super crispy and meaty. So do it!
I think these taste best with ketchup, though my copy-cat Chick-fil-A sauce is also pretty bomb. BL loves these with BBQ sauce!
I can’t wait to hear what you think! If you try them, let me know in the comments below.
PrintVegan Chickpea Nuggets! Looking for soy-free nuggets? Try these! Chickpea and oat nuggets ! Crispy, browned nuggets that kids and adults will both LOVE. Adapted from The Kitchn
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(3 comments) leave a comment
The BEST and easiest chickpea nuggets! My picky toddler son loves them! Thank you for another yummy recipe.
★★★★★
Can you freeze them for later? If you can, what would temperature and time would you suggest?
Hi Tana, I haven’t tried freezing them before. I would recommend freezing them individually, then reheating at 350 until warmed through. Again- I haven’t done this, but that’s where I would start. If you try it, let us know! Thanks, Alex