Chickpea “Chicken” Nuggets
I’m in love with this recipe. These crunchy chickpea nuggets are fast, cheap, and a healthier alternative to chicken nuggets. And they pair perfectly with your favorite dipping sauce, whether it be buffalo, BBQ, or even plain old ketchup.
Time You Need
- ~15 minutes prepping
- ~15 minutes cooking
What You Need
- 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and dried
- 1 cup chickpea flour 1 ½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ½ cup corn starch
- ½ cup of cornmeal
- Oil (for frying)
- 1 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- ½ tbsp Chili powder
- 2 tbsp Garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper (to taste)
- Favorite wing or bbq sauce (for dipping or tossing nuggets in)
What You Do
- In a mixing bowl or food processor, add chickpeas, chickpea flour, chicken broth, crushed bouillon, and all seasonings. Using a food processor or hand blender, process the mixture until it forms a dough. If it’s too dry, add more stock, or too wet then add more chickpea flour.
- The dough should be semi-wet, and form together easily.
- Take a small handful of dough (about ½ cup worth) and form into faux wing shapes. Have fun with it. Make it look as chicken nugget-y as possible.
- Repeat for the rest of the mixture and set “nuggets” off to the side.
- Using the hand blender or food processor, process shredded cheddar cheese into a fine powder.
- Mix the cheese powder with corn starch and corn meal.
- In a large skillet, heat about one inch of oil over medium heat.
- While waiting on that oil to get hot, dredge the nuggets! Take one nugget at a time and roll through the corn starch/cheddar powder mix. Set to the side and repeat for all nuggets.
- Taking 4-5 nuggets at time, carefully place them in skillet and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Reduce heat if the nuggets are browning too fast.
- Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the process for all nuggets.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!