Sneak healthy vegetables into your family dinner with these wholesome chickpea nuggets
These great-tasting vegan chickpea nuggets are loaded with vegetables and wholesome ingredients. They make a perfect snack for fussy children – and adults!
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With no added ‘nasties’ but plenty of vegetables, these tasty little nuggets are perfect for fussy children, as they’ll be getting loads of natural nutrients without even realising.
Healthy and flavoursome, they are also a good choice when catering for anyone with allergies, as they can be easily adapted by switching just a few ingredients.
To make these chickpea nuggets gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs and oats. For added crunch, swap 50g of your breadcrumbs for 50g of crushed up cornflakes.
And the best part? This child-friendly recipe is so fun to make, little ones will love helping with dinner.
Serve these nuggets with a hidden vegetable tomato sauce to squeeze in extra veggies without the fuss.
How to cook chickpea nuggets with an air fryer
These nuggets will crisp up beautifully in an air fryer in half the time!
If you’re using an air fryer, heat it to 200°C, 10 minutes before you want to cook your nuggets and cook them for just 15 minutes. Easy.
Recipe tips
The freshly grated courgettes and carrots in this recipe will contain a lot of water, which can make your nuggets soggy as they cook.
To keep them firm, make sure you don’t add too much water when you make your nugget mixture. You want to add just enough for the mixture to stick together when you squeeze it with your hands. Add any extra water a tiny bit at a time to avoid an overly moist mixture.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Calories: 83
Servings: 20
Rating:
Nutritional information per serving:
Serving size
One nugget (44g)
calories
83
fat
1.7g
saturates
0.6g
carbs
14.5g
sugars
1.3g
fibre
2g
protein
3.5g
salt
0.49g
Calories: 83
Servings: 20
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
(Servings: 20)
- For the nuggets:
- 20 20 g tinned chickpeas, drained
- 2.25 2.25 g oats, blitzed to make a flour
- 0.025 0.025 courgette, grated
- 0.05 0.05 small carrot, grated
- 0.05 0.05 Tbsp milled linseeds
- 0.15 0.15 Tbsp chickpea flour
- 0.2 0.2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 0.05 0.05 tsp salt
- 0.05 0.05 tsp onion powder
- 0.05 0.05 tsp garlic powder
- 2.5 2.5 g vegan cheese, grated
- 1-2 Tbsp water, if needed
- For the nugget coating:
- 7.5 7.5 g panko breadcrumbs (or gluten-free breadcrumbs)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. In a bowl, mash the drained chickpeas with a potato masher until all are fully smashed.
- To the chickpeas, add the blitzed oats, courgette and carrot, then stir to combine.
- Next, add the milled linseeds, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and cheese. Stir together with a wooden spoon or mash together with your hands. Add a little of the water, if needed, to make the mixture pliable.
- To make your nuggets, roll the mixture into golf-ball-size balls then squash gently to form a roundish nugget shape.
- Next, pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish and one-by-one dip the nuggets in; ensuring each nugget is fully coated. Place on a baking tray and cook for 25-30 minutes in the oven, until browned.
- Serve with a side of vegetables and tomato sauce.
