Chickpea Nuggets Recipe

Chickpea nuggets are a baked, vegan version of chicken nuggets made from canned chickpeas, oat flour and breadcrumbs, no eggs or meat needed. Just six ingredients bind together using aquafaba, the liquid from the tin, then get rolled in crumbs and baked until golden and crunchy. They take about 30 minutes start to finish.

Getting children to try something new is a mere marketing practice. You know, when I made some falafel for lunch one day, I named this recipe “chickpea nuggets” instead of falafel and my kids devoured them right away. They asked me to make these chickpea nuggets again, but I wanted to make a more “chicken-nuggety” chickpea recipe.

One with the tastes and textures you would expect in a chicken nugget but vegan and baked.

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These chickpea chicken-style nuggets look like the real thing, but don’t let them fool you. They are totally vegan and need only 6 ingredients. Plus, they are super tasty!

What Makes These Chickpea Nuggets Stick Together?

Two basic ingredients you probably already have in your pantry are the secret behind turning a simple can of chickpeas into chicken-style nuggets: rolled oats and the liquid derived from the soaked chickpeas themselves called “aquafaba”. Turning the oats into oat flour will make them hard to recognise in the nuggets but their use will make the recipe more nutritious and filling. As a replacement of eggs, we use the chickpea liquid to bind and hold the nuggets together on the outside.

Chickpea Nuggets Recipe

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup gluten-free or panko breadcrumbs,
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 1 (15 oz./425g) can garbanzo beans (undrained)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

-Place a grilling rack in the centre of your oven and preheat to 375F/185C.

-Place the breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking tray and toast until golden brown, for about 5 minutes. Move to a bowl and keep aside to cool down while making the chickpea nuggets. Ling the baking tray with parchment paper.

-Use the blade attachment in your food processor, place the oats and grind until you achieve a fine flour consistency. Transfer into a bib bowl and keep the food processor for later use.

-Drain the canned chickpeas over a deep bowl or measuring cup, and reserve them along with ¼ cup of the liquid. Transfer the chickpeas into the food processor and add the garlic, salt, and onion powder. Process until you get a crumbly consistency. Reserve the combo in the food processor.

-Stir ¼ cup of the chickpea liquid in a small mixing bowl until it forms a foam layer on top. Combine this foamy liquid with ½ cup of the oat flour in the food processor and process until it becomes a ball. You may end up with little excess oat flour, which you can keep and add to the chickpea mixture at 1 tbsp increments every time.

-Split the chickpea dough into 12 even bite-size portions and form into nuggets. Roll each nugget totally in the panko bread and transfer on the lined baking tray.

-Bake until golden brown and crunchy, for approx. 15-20 minutes. Serve with your favourite condiment on the side e.g. ketchup.

Are These Chickpea Nuggets Gluten-Free?

They can be. This is a gluten-free recipe when you replace the panko with gluten-free oats or breadcrumbs.

How Long Do Chickpea Nuggets Keep?

You may keep any leftovers in a sealable container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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