Baked Crispy Veggie Nuggets
I hate everything about a chicken nugget. It is total grossness to me and I know it's not just because I'm a dietitian. Unfortunately, I do see the general appeal of chicken nuggets. They're crunchy,salty and bite sized which is scientifically shown to increase the addictive nature of foods. Regardless of how much other people love them, I do not. But I do love these. And so does my husband. Enter crispy baked veggie nuggets. One of the biggest obstacles to eating healthy for my clients (before and after the wedding!) is time management. Sure, you would love to eat a healthy dinner, but when you're arriving home starved and craving crispy...you see where this is going. Having a veggie dense baked crispy option on hand is your shield against fast food.
Baked Crispy Veggie Nuggets
adapted from With Style and Grace
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cubed
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1/4 cup flour (I used brown rice flour but any kind will work)
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
Directions: Chop all vegetables. Add potatoes to a pot and steam. Remove and mash. Add carrots, celery, broccoli, corn and peas to a pot and steam for approximately 10 minutes. Put the carrot mix in a food processor and pulse to chop finely. It should look like combined confetti. Mix this with the mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper to the mix and spread evenly on a pan with a silpat. The mix should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Freeze for one hour. Remove from the freezer and cut out with a cookie cutter or knife. I made mine rounds, although it's easiest to make sticks. Take individual nuggets and dip in flour then eggs the bread crumbs. Bake the nuggets at 450 until crisp (roughly 10 minutes). And they honestly do get crispy!
These are amazing to have on hand in the freezer. If you want to freeze some, freeze before you bread them and after you cut them. I love the creamy potato filling and the flavors of the veggies. The spunky pepper means I don't need to dip them in anything to enjoy!
What do you keep in your freezer for easy eats?
