The other night I had a wild hankering for chicken nuggets. The problem? I’ve recently made the decision not to buy any meat unless it’s been ethically raised. Yep, it’s been a big leap for me! Maybe more on that in another post.

But back to the nuggets: so going out for these or picking some up at the store was just not an option. We also don’t keep a lot of oven or microwave ready foods in my house. So wanting something that would hit that ‘late night craving’ spot ASAP forced me to get creative. And thank goodness for that, because perhaps without that push these beauties might never have come along.

These Chickpea Nuggets are crunchy, satisfying, and great dipped in ketchup! Vegan friends, you can substitute the egg for one flax egg, and use vegan friendly Worcestershire. My meat eating friends: try this! You just might be surprised.

This recipe makes 12 nuggets.

Ingredients

• One can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 . Add all ingredients to a food processor until mixed well – almost to a paste, but still leaving some bits of chickpea or quinoa for texture. Using a large spoon, scoop out 12 nuggets. Coat each chickpea nugget in corn starch and arrange on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, flip the nuggets over and let them bake for another 10.

You will know these babies are done because they will be nice and crunchy on the outside. You can add more salt to these once they are done, if you desire it, and serve with whatever sauce you like!

I have adapted the directions slightly from the first time I made these. Only slightly, as I initially tried frying the nuggets in a pan, as opposed to baking them. I found it a bit more messy and time consuming, but if you really want your nuggets fried you can do that too.

Happy Eating!