It’s no secret that I do my best to eat as many vegetable and even vegetarian dishes as possible. Of course this isn’t an entirely vegetarian house, but I like to limit red meat to once a week and have at least two vegetarian dinners too. Over the past few years there’s been an enormous shift in the meatless section at the grocery store and now there are just limitless options to make it so easy to go meat free even if it’s just for one night.

That being said, you do have to be careful with some of those things. Sure they might be meatless, but that sometimes means that they’re loaded up with tons of fake nothingness as ingredients. These Air-Fried Veggie Nuggets are not only meatless and vegetarian, they’re also vegan and made with simple pantry and fridge staples that you likely already have on hand!

They come together in no time at all too and are surprisingly easy to make. I’d say from start to cook it’s all of 5-10 minutes of prep work. I decided to cook these in the air-frier to really get that crispness and texture that I was looking for in a proper nugget.

I will definitely be making these again soon. They’re great for dipping and dunking in your favorite nugget sauce just like any other nugget would be. I served mine with some sautéed green beans and had a perfectly veggie full dinner.

Air-Fried Veggie Nuggets

Yield: 4

Author: The Skinny Fork (Amanda Plott)

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Easy to make meatless faux chicken nuggets that are absolutely loaded with protein and veggies too!

Ingredients

1 (15 Oz.) Can Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans, Drained & Rinsed
1/2 C. Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs
1/2 C. Grated Zucchini
1/2 C. Grated Carrot
1/4 C. Minced Onion
1-2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Dried Parsley
1 Tsp. Dried Oregano
1/2 Tsp. Dried Basil
1/4 Tsp. Paprika
Black Pepper to Taste

Instructions

Place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend into a thick paste.
Using a 1-2 Tbsp. scoop, spoon out portions of the paste.
Lightly shape into a chicken nugget.
Coat the inside of an air-fryer with non-stick spray and set some nuggets in the basket.
Set it to cook at 375 for 5-6 minutes, flip over, and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until crispy and crunchy.
Rinse and repeat for remaining nuggets.
Once done, enjoy right away!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

242.05

Fat (grams)

4.46

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.45

Carbs (grams)

43.63

Fiber (grams)

10.45

Net carbs

33.19

Sugar (grams)

7.17

Protein (grams)

11.38

Sodium (milligrams)

674.5

Cholesterol (grams)

0

Nutritional Claims: High Fiber • Vegan • Vegetarian • Pescatarian • Mediterranean • Dairy Free • Egg Free • Milk Free • Peanut Free • Tree Nut Free • Soy Free • Fish Free •Shellfish Free • Pork Free • Red Meat Free • Crustacean Free • Celery Free • Mustard Free • Sesame Free • Lupine Free • Mollusk Free • Alcohol Free • Sulphite Free • Kosher