Chicken Nuggets were a huge treat back in the day when they first emerged at the famous fast food joint. They seem to have continued as a favourite snack, especially for children. So, how nice for all of us that there is a kinder, healthier, and, I think, tastier vegan/vegetarian alternative.
If you go to Pinterest, you will find that there are MANY veggie versions of chick'n nuggets, with main ingredients ranging from chick peas to jackfruit to pumpkin to jackfruit and several other versatile plants. Some people seem intent on replicating the original chicken-like texture and flavour in their nuggets, while many of the other recipe creators simply look for new ways to create a savoury chunk of yumminess with the capability of holding together for a dip.
If you have fond memories of the nugget, and/or your child or other loved one has a craving, one of the following recipes will satisfy I am pretty darn sure. If you are looking for another creative recipe for Meat-free Monday/Meatless Monday, the same is true.
1. ChickPea Nuggets (as in the picture above). This recipe uses actual chickpeas, canned or home-cooked. In the picture above, you see that the baked batter on the nugget is maybe a little paler than you would expect-- that is because I used ground Soda Crackers as my coating. Looks pale, but is a nice light battering and something a lot of folks have on hand. Otherwise, these nuggets taste not unlike falafal, if you are familiar with the lovely Middle Eastern savory chickpea balls. Indeed, these particular nuggets make a great insert into wraps with lots of fresh salad greens, some red pepper slices, tomato, and a lovely Lemon-Sesame Dressing. But they are also super-great as a dippable Nugget. The original delightful recipe for these ChickPea Nuggets can be found HEREat Vegan Heaven.
2. Cauliflower Chick'n Nuggets
The recipe for these mouth-watering looking morsels can be found HERE at the Healthier Steps site. They are vegan and gluten-free, so a healthy match for anyone who is looking for those criteria. What I appreciate about this recipe is that it uses a shorter list of ingredients than many of the nugget recipes. If you have cauliflower florets and a few other ingredients on hand, you have the makings of a great, quickly-put-together snack!
3. Actual VEGGIE Nuggets
The following video is an example of not being so much hung-up on the "chick'n" part of the nuggets but really digging the little dip-worthy nuggets for themselves. As you can see in the video, an egg is used in the recipe (the actual recipe is right under the video HERE) but you can sub with a tablespoon or two of chia or flax seed added to the blender/processor, or you can use one of the many egg-substitutes available commercially. Definitely worth a try!
4. Tofu Chick'n Popcorn Nuggets
This recipe (shown just above) offers a pretty good take-off on the more common commercial vegan small-sized nuggets, or "popcorn". The real benefit of using tofu is that it is a high plant protein binder with the same gripping quality as egg would add to your recipe. Be sure to use ORGANIC, NON-GMO Tofu though. You don't want to be suffering from the chemicals that go with GMO agro-industrial growing, and the ORGANIC labeling is generally the way to ensure that you don't have a GMO product. In fact, be sure to buy ORGANIC-grown and NON-GMO in general. Grow your own if you have the opportunity. You can find this recipe HEREat the Under A Lemon Tree site.
5. Gourmet No-Chicken Nuggets
This final recipe is definitely the more time-consuming and ingredient-diverse of the nugget recipes listed above, but has a very good response from people who have made and eaten it. I don't think it is a mistake that the website's name is Connoisseur us Veg-- pretty witty if you say it aloud and think about it. So, yes, the recipe not only contains chickpeas, but also artichoke heart, red wine vinegar, and liquid smoke. The nuggets are also both breaded and coated. I am thinking that these are the nuggets that you serve to an adult dinnah pawtay and not to your kiddos at lunchtime! hehe. They sure do look luscious and I am sure the gourmet vegan chefs out there are drooling to try these! Find the recipe HERE.
When I was a kid, and oblivious to a lifestyle that didn't include dairy, eggs, and chunks of animal flesh, I absolutely loved Pork 'n' Beans from a can. My mother was a 'modern' 50s mother-- she didn't waste time with baking bread or canning or such. There were so many other things to do, more interesting than slaving over a hot stove. We did have a large electric frying pan that contained some sort of 'goulash' every day at lunch time. Usually the base item was hamburger (there really are 101 ways to serve hamburger).
As a young adult university student, and later, as a young wife and mother in the 70s, I came across Diet for a Small Planet by Francis Moore Lappe. I relished the lovely vegetarian recipes, mostly swimming in cheese or containing eggs-- ovo-lacto vegetarian. But it was at that time that I let go of the old myths around needing to eat animal products to be healthy. By and by, over the years, my husband and I committed to veganism for health and ethical reasons. I am SO happy that I have never had to give up beans, although I guess there are a few "vegetarian"- type diets around that believe that the leptins in beans are a bad thing. I don't belong to that group of veg-heads. And I definitely DO NOT miss the little slimy piece of pork in my baked beans.
Bleak and dreary foggy January day-- with no view of the Comox Harbour-- when Baked Beans are really appreciated!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS VEGAN OVEN-BAKED BEAN RECIPE
4 C. of Cooked White Beans-- Great Northern or Navy Beans-- or 2- 15 oz. cans of Beans
1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped fine
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped fine or minced
3 C./711mil Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce (I use the "Simple Organic" brand from Costco)
1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 C. Maple Syrup
2 T. Blackstrap Molasses
1 T. Prepared Mustard, your choice
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 Large Bay Leaf
Pepper (to taste-- or about 1 teaspoon)
1 T. Smoked Paprika
1 C. Water
I could well have done these baked beans up in my Instant Pot in less than half the time, but the truth is that I wanted to use my mother's sweet old (1960s) Ellgreave "Saxony" design bean pot. I LOVE my Instant Pot, but there is something very soothing about a pottery baking pot. My mom was a big fan of legume dishes-- she would have welcomed these beans!
METHOD OF PREPARING:
Using a large wok or skillet, saute the onions until translucent and then briefly saute the garlic.
Add all other ingredients to the wok/skillet and bring to a boil, stirring.
Turn down to low and put a lid on the wok/skillet.
Let the mixture simmer for the next 3 hours, stirring and checking often so that the beans do not burn. Add a little more water if the mixture is dry.
Preheat the oven to 300-350 degrees Farenheit/150-177 degrees Celsius
When the beans are soft and the sauce is rich and thick, transfer the pot to the oven. I put mine in a cake pan to catch any possible overflow (and there was some).
Cook for 3 hours in the oven, checking occasionally to stir and see that there is no over-drying and burning.
I was deeply into a detective-mystery novel when my husband ruptured my thrall (twice!) to suggest that I might want to read this book of essays on the power and joy of reading literature. I was irritated and made rude dismissive gestures.
However...
I ran out of something to read and decided to pick this up.
I apologized to my husband for my unspoken assumptions. This slim and quickly read book contains eleven essays by twelve esteemed writers talking about their individual love stories around reading. It was a little like stepping back into an English Lit class at University nearly 50 years ago, but, really, a great pleasure to have the rich experiences and rewards of books and reading reiterated in a time when the electronic media would sometime make "old school" literature and literary pursuits seem outdated and without value in a changing world. Not so.
Since reading this book my husband has pitched to our younger grandchild (11 years old) that we would like to read to her at least weekly. Online of course, since she lives in another province. She was highly receptive, even thrilled, and suggested that our reading aloud to her would be "soothing", which was not exactly the descriptor we expected, but given her very stressful young life, the word is fitting. She even suggested a couple of her favorite books. Her teen sister has not returned our call yet-- she might be a harder sell.
This is a delicious and easy-to make recipe, and I vouch that the crust for this veggie pie is absolutely not able to be a disaster (from a person who always fails at pie crusts).
I suggest that you might want to make the following ahead of time:
1 1/2 Cups of White Beans (or you can just opt out and buy a 15.5 oz can)
Here is the list of other ingredients that go into this pie:
1/4 Cup NonDairy Milk (unsweetened works best)
2 T. Nutritional Yeast (NOT brewer's yeast or baker's yeast)
1 T. Almond Butter
1 T. Corn Starch
1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked (ground) Black Pepper
1 small Onion, minced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
9 ounces Baby Spinach
6 ounces Cremini (brown) Mushrooms, finely sliced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes, soaked in water to rehydrate, minced
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes or other seasoning of choice (optional)
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
Line pie tin with parchment paper OR use a silicone dish (I used a silicone cake dish). Alternately, if you are not worried about oil, spray lightly with a non-stick cooking spray.
Blend up the white beans and milk in a high speed blender (or in a regular blender until the mixture is totally blended). Add in the nutritional yeast, almond butter, corn starch, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper. Blend until totally smooth.
In a medium size bowl, mix together the cooked quinoa with a 1/3 Cup of the above bean mixture until well combined.
Press the quinoa-bean mix into the bottom and up the sides of the pie tin (or other pan you are using).
Bake the shell for 8 minutes, and then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
Heat the Best Gold Soup Bouillion and a couple of tablespoons of water (or 1/4 cup of other broth) over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook to soften.
Add the minced garlic and the baby spinach to the pan, stirring until the spinach wilts (in about 2 minutes).
Add in the mushroom slices, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes and 1-2 tablespoons of water or broth to keep the vegetables from sticking (if needed).
Add in your preferred seasoning. Add in the salt and pepper as well.
Cook until the veggies are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. WARNING: the fragrance will be somewhat overwhelming and you will be tempted to "test" the vegetables-- don't. Just kidding.
Combine the rest of the bean mixture (like a custard) with the cooked vegetables and spoon and spread the mixture evenly to the top of the quinoa shell.
Cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil and bake until firm (about 30-40 minutes).
Let cool for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving!
Vegan Oven to Table: special recipes like this Veggie Pie that can be served up during the most elegant of dinner parties or to your family, of course.
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that you can order through Amazon by clicking on this link.
