s

s

Vegan & Gluten-Free Superbowl Snacks: Buffalo Chickpea Nuggets & Stuffed Jalapenos!

vegan buffalo chickn wings gluten-free by Allyson Kramer-Manifest Vegan

With the Superbowl (and Puppybowl!) fast approaching, many folks are seeking out easy, delicious, party savvy foods to serve at their social gathering… but many of us have dietary restrictions that make the more traditional versions of these foods not very appealing.

Buffalo wings and jalapeño poppers have always been two of my favorite munchies, and after asking my lovely readers on facebook, I decided to recreate them into slightly healthier versions. These two fantastic football friendly finger foods will pack some heat, and satisfy any superbowl snacky cravings, all while remaining 100% gluten free and animal friendly.

 

Buffalo Chickpea Nuggets

Yield: about 15 nuggets

Chickpea Nuggets:

  • 1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 chick’n flavored bouillon cubes
  • 2/3 cup cooked sushi rice (white is best)
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
  • 2 tablespoons superfine brown rice flour
  • Olive oil for brushing

Quick Buffalo Sauce:

  • 1 cup hot sauce (brands like Melinda’s or Sriracha work great–if you want a less spicy nugget, then use a much milder hot sauce for the base)
  • 1/2 cup melted nondairy margarine
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Place the TVP into a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the bouillon cubes and water just to a boil. Stir well. Remove immediately from the heat and mix with the TVP. Cover and let rest about 5 minutes, or until fluffy. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse together the cooked rice and chickpeas just until the chickpeas are broken apart and combined with the rice. The mixture will be tacky, not crumbly. Transfer to the bowl with the TVP and mix well. Gently stir in the superfine brown rice flour.

Using very clean hands, shape the mixture into nugget shapes, making sure to pack the mixture together well while forming. You can easily do this with a nice squeeze from your palm, and then form them into nuggets from there. Place onto a silicone mat (or parchment) covered cookie sheet and brush the tops of the nuggets with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes, carefully flip over using a flat metal spatula, brush the other sides with olive oil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and mix up sauce by whisking together all the ingredients until smooth.

Liberally brush the buffalo sauce onto the chickpea cutlets (carefully, the nuggets are still fragile at this point) and place back into the oven, increasing oven temperature to 400 ºF. Bake for 20 minutes, flip over, brush again with the buffalo sauce and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes (they will firm up upon cooling), and then douse with more sauce. Serve with celery and your favorite vegan ranch or blue cheese dressing.

 

stuffed baked jalapeños

Stuffed Jalapeños

Yield: about 12 appetizers

  • 6 jalapeno peppers
  • 1 medium baking potato (Yukon or Russet work fine) fully cooked
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon non-dairy margarine
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup minced parsley
  • 1/3 cup vegan shredded cheese, such as Daiya

Preheat your oven to 385 ºF and lightly grease an 8 x8 inch shallow metal pan or cookie sheet.

Slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise, scoop out all the seeds, and remove the pith (the white part) from the pepper. Careful to keep those fingers away from your eyes!

Peel the baking potato and place into a food processor along with the garlic, margarine, and sea salt. Blend for at least 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. The starches of the potato will release and it will turn very gooey. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the parsley and shredded vegan cheese.

Place the peppers cut side up and fill with the cheesey mixture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the oven, until the filling is browned on top and slightly bubbly. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and serve hot.

 

 

 

Share with friends!

27 Responses to Vegan & Gluten-Free Superbowl Snacks: Buffalo Chickpea Nuggets & Stuffed Jalapenos!

  1. vANESSA says:

    I made these and loved them. It’s been awhile since I got my buffalo wing fix. I think I could almost give these to a meat eater and fool them. The taste and texture is similar to some processed nuggets I ate back in the day, except these of course have no meat in them. But then again I’m not sure how much chicken those processed nuggets had in them either. Thank you for the recipe they came out perfect.

  2. Miriam says:

    Loved the flavor of the chick pea/tvp filling. Mine fell apart a little though. Not a prob for me but a little problem for my toddlers- LOL.
    I think: 1. I over cooked them 2. My rice wasn’t very sticky
    But I only made half of the mixture tonight. The rest I mushed together into a baggie for later. Do you think I can redeem the 2nd half by adding an ener-G egg tomorrow? What would you recommend? Thanks so much! You rock.

    • allyson says:

      Hi Miriam,

      So happy you tried them out! I can imagine that would be tough for little ones hands. :) Yes, I think either an enerG binder (premixed, obvs) or an extra flax/chia egg or 2 would work to bind them back together… or even a pureed 1/2 of a skinned baked potato could work well (pureed in a mini-food processor until sticky/goopy). hope this helps!

      And thank you!!

      <3

      • Miriam says:

        Thanks so much, Allyson! I’m going to try chia tomorrow and I will definitely use some for real sushi rice next time ;)

  3. These look absolutely delish :) My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures. I’ll be making these as soon as I possibly can – great snacks for a family night in. Thanks so much Allyson.

  4. MarieRoxanne says:

    Will be trying some of those good looking nuggets, I am not sure of the Jalapenos because I don’t like “hot” so I may just use bell peppers for that recipe.

  5. Happyinreno says:

    Made the buffalo chickpea nuggets and they were super yummy! I do think there was something missing though, so I plan on experimenting a little bit more with the recipe. I may have over blended the mix. But our kids loved it and so did my carnivore dad :) Thanks for sharing.

  6. Rebecca W. says:

    The Superbowl is over, but I still want to try those buffalo chickpea nuggets out! Would be great for a night watching hockey.

  7. […] Stuffed Jalapenos Yum! This recipe will fool anyone into thinking they are eating something to feel guilty about, just make sure you don’t eat the whole plate like I almost did! These are great for a party, easy to eat, and are a great offering for carnivores and vegans alike! The recipe suggests you use Daiya dairy-free cheese, which I did and it is an awesome substitute! Don’t worry about the heat with these either, the longer you bake, the less spicy they get. […]

  8. Ora says:

    Hey Allyson,
    I was wondering if there would be a soy-free option that could be substituted for the TVP??
    thanks for always sharing your wonderful recipes :)

    • allyson says:

      Hi Ora,

      So sorry I just saw this! You could try using pulsed chickpeas (not overcooked, canned might be best) in place of it–or this is this new product called “Beyond Meat” sold at Whole Foods that would work great if diced into small pieces–basically the tvp gives the nuggets a “meaty” texture. You could also try minced white button mushrooms… :)

      Thank YOU for reading! <3

  9. Emily says:

    I made the stuffed jalapenos tonight, and they were delish! I love the filling, and the fact that these yummies are much healthier than they taste. I think I left mine in the oven a tad too long – they were a little deflated – but the taste made up for that. I served them with a vegan ranch-style dip.

  10. Becky Striepe says:

    Ooh I have been looking for a good baked jalapeño poppers recipe! This is going right on my to-make list!

  11. Adam says:

    These look amazing. Just curious as regards to the cook rice because yr not supposed to reheat rice if you’ve left it at room temp so do you put the rice in straight away or do you cool it down in the fridge ready for when it’s needed.

    Thanks

    • allyson says:

      hmmm… well, you certainly can cook it and use it immediately. I used leftover rice from the sushi I made the night before, which was refrigerated. I’d say either would be okay, as long as the rice used is sticky (glutinous). :)

  12. Simona says:

    TVP (textured vegetable protein)is usually made from high (50%) soy protein soy flour or concentrate, BUT can also be made from cotton seeds, WHEAT, and oats!!!

    • allyson says:

      yes, I definitely recommend reading all ingredients on food labels–especially if you have an intolerance. I use Bob’s Red Mill, which is 100% soy.

      Thanks for the tip!
      <3

  13. Looks delicious! Any ideas for not using TVP? Do you think tempeh would work?

  14. Teresa says:

    I am SO excited about those nuggets. Ever since going gluten free, I’ve been looking for a good alternative that is vegan. I will absolutely be giving these a shot ASAP. Thank you1

    • Teresa says:

      I made these tonight! Mine don’t look anywhere near as pretty–and they fell apart a bit, but wow, were the buffalo nuggets amazing! I love the taste and texture. I may experiment with making these nuggets that are not buffalo flavor. Thanks for the recipe-I’m sold!

  15. vegansandy says:

    Mmm… Very attractive all this: I am going to buy proteins of soya :)
    Thank you for the recipes :)

  16. VH says:

    These both look amazing! We’re going to have to try out the nuggets ASAP! Yum!

  17. Those nuggets look incredible! Pinning to try later. Thanks!

  18. These look amazing! I have no interest in the game, but definitely want to make these snacks anyway!

  19. Vegyogini says:

    How impressive! I’m especially intrigued that you used a potato-based mixture to stuff the jalapenos. That looks way better than all the cream cheese fillings I’ve seen in the past (and have never tried).

    • allyson says:

      I’m so glad you appreciate that! I truly prefer this type filling to any store bought cream cheese… and it’s so cheap and easy! xoxo