Sweet Potato Chickpea Nuggets
These Sweet Potato Chickpea Veggie Nuggets make for great finger food for infants and toddlers. These veggie nuggets are super tasty and excellent for picky eaters. Also, they're gluten-free, dairy-free, and Vegan friendly.
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 15 oz chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup flax meal
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1.5 tsp pink sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
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Start prep work; Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Drain and rinse chickpeas then pat dry. Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into fourths.
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Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and fill with enough water to cover them. Make sure sweet potatoes are completely submerged in water. Place saucepan on stovetop on high heat. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling sweet potatoes until they are soft and tender. Once sweet potatoes are ready, drain them and place them in food processor bowl.
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Add prepped chickpeas into food processor along with cooked sweet potatoes. Pulse on high for about 30-40 seconds. Until sweet potatoes and chickpeas are well combined and smooth texture is reached. Make sure there aren't any chunks of chickpeas or sweet potatoes left.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine oat flour and flax meal. Sprinkle in spices and herbs; paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, pink sea salt and black pepper. Whisk together until well combined.
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Fold sweet potato and chickpea mixture into dry ingredients. Using a spatula, continue mixing until all ingredients are well combined and there are no traces of flour left. You want your flour to be very well incorporated into sweet potato and chickpea mixture. You should be left with an almost doughy texture.
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Place Saran Wrap over bowl and place mixture in the fridge. Allow it to chill for abut 20-30 minutes.
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Once time has passed, remove mixture from the fridge. Place prepped baking sheet pan next to bowl with mixture. Preheat oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Using a spoon, start scooping out mixture. Use your hands to shape mixture into small nuggets that are about 3-4 inches long and about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Align nuggets on prepped sheet pan. Continue this process until all mixture has been shaped into nuggets. This mixture can get sticky as it comes back to room temperature. Just work through it and if it gets too sticky, sprinkle a bit of oat flour on your hands and that will help.
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Once all nuggets have been prepped, place in preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to cool-down and finish setting for about 10 minutes.
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Serve with BBQ sauce, ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
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- Slice sweet potatoes in half or even fourths to boil- This will cook the sweet potatoes faster.
- Make sure to drain and rinse your chickpeas- If you are using canned cooked chickpeas. Also, make sure to pat them dry to soak up any moisture.
- The mixture can get pretty sticky- Placing the mixture in the fridge and allowing it to chill for a few minutes, makes it less sticky and easier to work with. However, as it come to room temp it may get sticky again. You will have to work through it and shape them as nuggets or circles if you prefer. (I think they look cuter when shaped like nuggets). Once they're baked they will keep together and get a great nugget like consistency and texture.
- If it starts to get too sticky- Sprinkle a bit of oat flour on your hands and that will help.
- This recipe is meant mainly for toddlers and kids- So it's lightly seasoned and it can be easily tweaked for infants too. If you are making for older kids or adults, feel free to add more seasonings to your liking.
- Substitute for flax mean- Use blanched almond flour.
- Substitute for oat flour- Use blanched almond flour.
- Switch up your sweet potato- Use purple sweet potatoes for a fun color. Use butternut squash or pumpkin as an alternative.