These vegan chicken nuggets are about to blow your mind. They are extremely easy to make, ready in a few minutes, and made entirely of healthy ingredients!
So, the truth is that I have not had chicken in over 10 years. But when I made this recipe for a good meat-eating friend of mine, she told me it tasted exactly like chicken. I think we can trust her on that…
Vegan Chicken Nuggets or Vegan Omelet?
The interesting thing about this vegan chicken nugget recipe is that its fate had been quite different than the result. I originally intended to create an oil-free omelet, only to have it completely stick to my pan.
(Perhaps one day I will come up with a good recipe, and will definitely share it with you! Have any of you ever successfully made an oil-free vegan omelet before?!?!?!).
Then, I gave it a little try and found out that the flavor was awesome. So I just turned it into “omelet chunks”, aka, vegan chicken nuggets!
When I brought it over to my friend’s house, I didn’t explain what it was. I just told her it was yummy. When she tried it, “vegan chicken nuggets” was her first response!
The reason why I love these vegan chicken nuggets so much, besides their amazing flavor and beautiful color, is that they are actually super healthy. They are made of completely whole food, plant-based ingredients, and are even pretty low in salt (that would be a first for me, aren’t you proud?)
Some Tough to Swallow Facts
I wanted to take this opportunity to share some facts with you about chicken. Even though I personally have never liked the flavor of chicken, I was forced to eat it as a child at least once a week. And I know that many people are very addicted to the flavor and texture of chicken. So perhaps these facts (along with this amazing recipe) will allow you to step away from the chicken.
Here are some health facts about chicken from The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
- First off, chickens can soak in “fecal soup” (their feces) for up to an hour before being packaged
- In addition, Peracetic acid and chlorine are both commonly used to treat chicken for contaminants (and, of course, they end up in the food)
- Most chicken is contaminated with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics
- Arsenic in chicken could lead to increased risk of lung and bladder cancer deaths
- Lastly, both 4 ounces of beef and 4 ounces of chicken contain approximately 100 milligrams of cholesterol (which can lead to heart disease, the #1 killer in the USA)
- Firstly, chickens can distinguish between more than 100 faces of their own species
- They form complex social structures called “pecking orders”, and every chicken knows their place in the chicken social ladder
- Also, chickens love to sunbathe
- These little babies experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, so they dream just like humans
- In addition, chickens have pain receptors that give them the ability to feel pain and distress. This means that more than 452 million caged hens are currently suffering, most moments of the day.
- Hens defend their young from predators, and they put them under their feathers to protect them. The babies become pretty much invisible under mama’s feathers – it’s so cute!
- Chickens have more than 30 types of vocalizations to distinguish between threats.
- And lastly – mamas talk to their babies while they are in the womb, teaching them calls before they even hatch
So, now that we are all in the clear that chickens do not = food, we can proceed to enjoy my version of chicken: chickpea vegan chicken nuggets!
Vegan Chicken Nuggets Recipe, with Hemp Yogurt, Quinoa, and Peas
Don’t let this amazing recipe fool you. It’s just as fancy as it sounds…
Just kidding – it’s very, embarrassingly simple to make, but tastes absolutely incredible.
Also, you can serve these with the amazing provided yogurt sauce, or with one of these incredible oil-free vegan sauces.
Ready? Let’s turn chicken into a cruelty-free, healthy treat!
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Vegan Chicken Nuggets Recipe, with Hemp Yogurt, Quinoa and Peas
Ingredients
For the vegan chicken nuggets:
- 1.25 cup sprouted garbanzo bean flour
- 1.3 cup water
- 0.25 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 0.25 tsp ground turmeric
- pinch black pepper
- 0.5 tsp chophouse seasoning
- 0.25 cup coconut aminos
For the hemp yogurt sauce:
- 0.5 cup hemp seeds
- 0.25 cup water
- 4 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 0.5 tsp Himalayan salt
Instructions
For the vegan chicken nuggets:
- Blend flour, water, salt, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and chophouse seasoning in a blender until well incorporated.
- Heat a non-stick pan over high heat. Test it by sprinkling a drop of water. If it sizzles, then it is ready.
- Pour blender mixture into the pan, and swirl it around the pan so that it's evenly spread out on the entire pan.
- Continue to cook until the top is no longer wet and shiny, and is completely dry.
- At this point, start to cut up the omelet with a spatula inside the pan, and fold pieces together. I show how to do this in the video here.
- Add the coconut aminos, and flip the pieces over, making sure they are completely dry on both sides.
For the hemp yogurt sauce:
- Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend until completely smooth.
For serving:
- I served my chicken nuggets on top of some quinoa and defrosted green peas, with the sauce drizzled on top.
Notes
Latest posts by Marina Yanay-Triner (see all)
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I feel like you could cook these in a muffin tin if you wanted a more uniform shape (I happen to like the ‘organic’ shape the frying pan made in the video, but sometimes kids and company want their food pretty).
Hey Stef! I thought the “organic” shape looks more like chicken nuggets 🙂
I’ve never tried using a muffin tin on the stove top. Have you? If you try it, please let me know!
looks delish.what is chophouse seasoning? but .25 cup aminos do you mean 1/4 cup or 125ml?
sorry was typing too fast below – what i meant to say regarding the aminos is this: is 0,25 cup a 1/4 of a cup or +-60ml?
Hi Carla! Hope you give this yummyness a try! Chophouse Seasoning is an insanely delicious blend of spices. You can get the exact one I used via the link (just click on chophouse seasoning in the recipe)
And 1/4 of a cup for the aminos :). Let me know how it turns out for you and how you like it!
[…] acid that is found in small amounts in animals, and some plant foods like soy, walnuts, flax, hemp (try these vegan chicken nuggets with hemp sauce) and chia (try these chia pudding recipes). Human bodies do not make their own ALA – and this is […]
Absolutely delicious!!!! Made this for dinner with the yogurt sauce and was so thrilled with the taste and texture. Made roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus to go with it instead of quinoa. Reminded me of a falafel a little. At first, I was a little scared, but it came together nicely! Thanks for another delicious recipe😋
Yay Kari I am so glad you loved this recipe as much as we do!
[…] Chickpeas are extremely versatile. You can eat them as tuna pate (check out this recipe on my Instagram), hummus, or delicious vegan chicken nuggets. […]