A crispy vegan substitute for chicken nuggets the kids and whole family will love. The recipe requires only 10 ingredients and 15 minutes of hands on prep time. They bake up crispy in the oven for a healthy alternative to fried vegan nuggets.
Grate the zucchini and carrots using a grater with small or medium holes.
Place the drained chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until they are well chopped, but not mushy.
Place the chickpeas in a bowl, add the grated vegetables, oatmeal, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the chickpeas. Mix well with a spoon or your hands. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.
Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out the mixture. Shape and flatten into a nugget shape. Place them on a baking sheet close together, but not touching.
When all the nuggets are shaped, place the semolina with a touch of salt and pepper in a shallow plate or bowl. Roll each nugget in the semolina.
Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet or use cooking spray or spray oil on the baking sheet before adding the nuggets.
Bake nuggets in a preheated oven for 15 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.
Notes
Expert Tips for Making Vegan Chicken Nuggets:Making this recipe with a food processor makes it easier to prepare plus helps give it the correct texture. If you don’t have one, you can use a blender instead but try not to blend too fine. If you don’t have either, try using a potato masher or food ricer to mash them though it may also require some additional work to get them mashed well enough.When processing them in the food processor, use small bursts to chop. You want them to keep a bit of texture so the nuggets are mushy.Use canned chickpeas for the best texture. I’ve made this vegan chicken nugget recipe many times and they simply work better than using cooked dried chickpeas.Use a small or medium sized grater for the carrots and zucchini so they more easily mix into the chickpea mixture.To save time when making chicken nuggets vegan, work in batches by forming all the nuggets and then dipping them into the semolina.