Kids go crazy for this vegan alternative to chicken nuggets. Serve our tender-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside chickpea bites with ketchup and BBQ sauce for dipping, and feel free to offer hot sauce for spice-loving adults. Leftovers are great for next-day lunches too, because they taste delicious hot or cold. To prepare the nuggets in an air fryer, cook them for 15 minutes at 370˚F. These other chickpea dishes are healthy and delicious like this one.

By Darshana Thacker Wendel,

Ingredients

  • ½ cup whole grain bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups)
  • 1½ cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Ketchup, BBQ sauce, and/or hot sauce for dipping

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a small, shallow bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and Italian seasoning.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chickpeas, rice, onion, garlic, cumin, turmeric, nutritional yeast, lime juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste; pulse to a coarse texture that sticks together when pinched between two fingers. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a potato masher.) Mold about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into an oblong nugget, then roll the nugget in seasoned bread crumbs, and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Repeat until all of the mixture is used. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip nuggets and bake for 20 more minutes.
  • Serve hot with ketchup, BBQ sauce, and/or hot sauce for dipping.
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Comments (3)

(5 from 3 votes)

Recipe Rating

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E Roark

Ok, but not overly great. So far this is my least favorite of the recipes I’ve made from this site. I’ve will try it again with a few more herbs. The flavor just wasn’t there.

Vanessa

I'm wondering if I pre make them without cooking, freeze them and cook in an air fryer when I need them?

KT

How did it go? Tell us!

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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