These Red Lentil Veggie Nuggets are a recipe that the whole family will love! When I was a child, I loved chicken nuggets and would pretty much eat them every day of the week given a chance. In an attempt to provide my son with a healthier and more vegetable-packed alternative, this recipe does the trick. These Red Lentil Veggie Nuggets are fun for snacks or meals or tucked into lunch boxes. You can serve them either warm or cold, with some ketchup or honey-mustard sauce on the side for dipping.
These crispy, crunchy, irresistible Red Lentil Veggie Nuggets are jam-packed with vegetables. Cauliflower, carrots, onions and peas are all snuck into these bite-sized nuggets. First the cauliflower, carrots and onions are pulsed in a food processor or Vitamix. Then the veggie mixture is cooked down and folded into the red lentils. The resulting red lentil and veggie mixture is then scooped into bite-sized nuggets and coated with breadcrumbs.
If you are gluten-free, this recipe works equally well with garbanzo bean flour instead of flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs. For the breadcrumbs, I prefer to make my own. It is super easy and allows you to use ingredients that you likely already have at home. Just take a slice of bread and place it in the oven at 350 degrees F or 175 C for about 30 minutes. Let the bread cool completely then break it into pieces and process in a food processor or Vitamix. I especially like to use the end pieces of a loaf of bread when making breadcrumbs.
This recipe is adapted from Catching Seeds.
Red Lentil Veggie Nuggets
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils (rinsed well)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 medium carrots (chopped into large chunks)
- ½ red onion (chopped into large chunks)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (divided)
Station 1
- ¾ cup spelt flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Station 2
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons honey mustard or 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Station 3
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F or 220 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the lentils, water and ½ teaspoon salt into a medium-sized pot. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain off the excess water and set aside.
- While the lentils are cooking, add the cauliflower, carrots and onions into a food processor or Vitamix. Process until the mixture has been cut into small pieces.
- Heat a medium-sized nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the oil and the processed veggie mixture. Sauté until softened, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add in the frozen peas and cool until the peas are defrosted and all the water has been cooked out of the mixture. Add in the garlic, nutritional yeast, Italian seasoning, honey, nutmeg and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Add the cooked lentils to the food processor or Vitamix. Process until they form a paste. Scoop this mixture into a large bowl, add the cooked veggie mixture and stir to combine. Add ½ cup of the spelt flour and stir well to combine. Set aside.
- Next, set up the breading stations. In three separate bowls, whisk together the ingredients for each station. Line them up on the counter.
- Scoop a small spoonful of the red lentil and veggie mixture and form it into a nugget shape. Coat the nugget with flour from station 1. Then, dip it in liquid at station 2. Lastly, coat the nugget with breadcrumbs from station 3, pressing the breadcrumbs gently onto the nuggets to encourage sticking. Place the nuggets onto the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Bake the nuggets for 25 minutes, flip and bake for another 25 minutes. Let the nuggets cool for about 10 minutes prior to serving.
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
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