These are made with only 2 essential ingredients – Chickpeas and Quinoa!
They are loaded with protein, packing in almost 4 grams of protein per nugget.
Why we love chickpeas
In addition to being packed with protein, they are also loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber and they are amazing for your digestive system.
They are also extremely versatile in the kitchen. In this recipe alone, they are used in 3 ways. We have also used chickpea flour as an egg scramble, and added mashed chickpeas to make our vegan burgers.
How to make the crispy chickpea nuggets
Start by soaking your chickpeas overnight in spring water. While it is ok to use canned chickpeas if you're in a hurry, nearly 40% of cans contain BPA which can cause several health issues including cancer. We try to avoid cans when at all possible.
When the chickpeas have expanded, place in a large ceramic pot on medium high heat and bring to a boil before covering and reducing to a simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
While your chickpeas are cooking, begin cooking your quinoa. You will need 1/2 cup of dried quinoa and 1 cup of spring water. Bring to a boil in a small ceramic pot on medium high heat before reducing to a simmer and covering. You will continue to cook until the water has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
Once your chickpeas are tender, mash with a potato masher or fork. I prefer placing mine in the food processor for about 30 seconds on low speed. This gives me the perfect consistency quick.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Begin forming the chickpea nuggets and place them on parchment paper until you're ready to place them in the air fryer to cook.
You could roll them out and cut them, but I love the shape you get when you form them by hand.
If you prefer, you can bake them on 450 for about 15 minutes, flipping half way through. However, I prefer the crispiness the air fryer adds.
These go great with homemade ketchup or Date Lady BBQ sauce
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Delicious Crispy Chickpea Nuggets
This is a healthy, vegan version of the chicken nuggets you grew up eating!
- Prep Time15 min
- Cook Time45 min
- Total Time1 hr
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup of chickpea water (saved from cooking)
- 1 cup of cooked quinoa
- 3/4 cup of quinoa flour
- Vegan chicken salt (https://amzn.to/2xRw1FH)
- 1/4 cup of chickpea breadcrumbs
- Chili powder (optional)
DIrections
- Mash the cooked chickpeas or blend until they have a mashed texture. You do not want to over blend or they will not form well.
- Add in 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 1 cup of the left over chickpea water, and 1 tablespoon of vegan chicken salt to the mashed chickpeas.
- Mix all ingredients together. This will end up close to a dough type mixture.
- Form your chicken nuggets by hand. I recommend staying thinner so they cook easier and do not end up mushy in the center.
- Coat your chickpea nugget in the chickpea breadcrumbs. If you'd like a little extra spice, you can add a bit of chili powder to the breadcrumbs to taste.
- Place the nuggets in an air fryer on 400 degrees.
- Cook the nuggets for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
If you do not have the vegan chicken salt, you can use the following seasonings in place of this (sea salt, tumeric, onion powder, garlic powder).
Be sure when coating your chickpea nuggets with breadcrumbs to shake off the remaining breadcrumbs gently, otherwise the breadcrumbs will burn in the air fryer.
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