Friends, this one was a doozy. My husband LOVES my home made chicken nuggets and can usually eat more than the rest of the family combined. However, he became a vegetarian earlier this year and so chicken nuggets are off the menu. He was so sad this morning when I told him I'm making nuggets for lunch and he couldn't have any. I felt bad and decided I was going to figure something out. I needed texture, crunch and flavor; I can do that! Did some research and came up with the following DELICIOUS nuggets. I'm not exaggerating, I ended up sharing these vegetarian nugs with him instead of the chicken ones. The texture on these nuggets is crispy/crunchy on the outside, soft but with a bite on the inside and super flavorful.
FYI: search for the tips below for how to make these vegan.
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 handful parsley
1 handful spinach
1 chopped carrot
1/2 chopped medium onion
2 tbsp oil
1 egg
2 tbsp potato or corn starch
salt and pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder or chicken seasoning
For the dredge:
WET: 2 eggs whisked with the same spices/seasonings
DRY: 1 part each of potato starch and flour with the same spices/seasonings
Method:
In a food processor, add all the nugget ingredients and blitz until well combined. Form small patties using an ice cream scoop or 2 spoons. Dredge the nuggets in dry, wet then dry again. You can also substitute the second dry dredge with bread crumbs for more crunch. Fry patties for 2-3 minutes on each side in a shallow vegetable oil on medium/high heat until golden brown and crispy. Serve with spicy mayo, ranch or just plain ketchup.
Tips:
To make these vegan, sub egg in the nugget with egg substitute like chia egg. Skip the wet dredge and use dry only. The egg in the batter acts as glue so your mix will be more mushy, you can form the patties and freeze them for 30 minutes to make this step easier.
You can sub carrots for any other veggie you want, you can also add veggies like zucchini
