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Lentil Veggie Nuggets

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Delicious veggie nuggets packed with red lentils. These bite sized nuggets make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! 

Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! My Fussy Eater blog Does anyone else have chicken nugget obsessed kids? My children love chicken nuggets and would pretty much eat them every day of the week given a chance. So in an attempt to get them eating a healthier and more vegetable-packed alternative, I’ve been working on my own recipe for these Lentil & Veggie Nuggets. 

Lots of veggie nugget recipes out there are made with mashed potato but I decided to use red lentils instead as the base as they provide a lot more nutrition. Red lentils are an excellent source of dietary fibre and are also a really good source of iron, protein and some B Vitamins.

To the lentils and vegetables, I also added some breadcrumbs to help bind everything together (bread can be gluten free if you like) and also some grated cheddar cheese for extra flavour.

  Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! My Fussy Eater blog  The mixture makes about 15 largish nuggets (or more if you make them smaller). If you don’t want to cook them all at once you can freeze them on a plate or tray in a single layer and then transfer to a sealed freezer bag. Then cook them from frozen, adding an extra 5 minutes or so to the cooking time.

I now always have a batch of these nuggets in the freezer on hand for busy days. They make a great lunch served with some chopped carrot, cucumber and peppers on the side. Or for dinner they taste delicious with some homemade potato wedges and peas. Yum!

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Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! My Fussy Eater blog

Lentil Veggie Nuggets

★★★★★ 4.5 from 22 reviews
  • Author: Ciara Attwell @ My Fussy Eater
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 15
  • Category: Main Meal
Print Recipe

Description

Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These bite sized nuggets make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers!

Ingredients

  • 150g (1 cup) dried red lentils
  • 2 slices wholemeal bread
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 1 small courgette, grated
  • 75g (1 cup) grated cheddar cheese
  • 50g (1/2 cup) frozen peas and corn
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Instructions

  1. Soak the lentils in cold water for 3-4 hours or overnight.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200c / 400f  and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  3. Blitz the bread in a food processor until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency. Tip the breadcrumbs into a bowl and put to one side.
  4. Drain the lentils well and add them to the food processor with the grated carrot and courgette. Blitz until all the lentils have broken down and the ingredients are well combined.
  5. Add in the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, frozen peas and corn and dried herbs and mix by hand.
  6. Form the mixture into approximately 15 golf ball sized balls. Place on the baking tray and flatten with a spoon.
  7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.
  8. Allow the nuggets to cool for 10 minutes on the tray before serving (this helps them to firm up).
  9. Serve straight away or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 48 hours.
  10. The nuggets can also be frozen before cooking. Freeze in a single layer on a plate or tray and then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen adding an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time.

 

Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! My Fussy Eater blog Delicious veggie nuggets packed with lentils. These make brilliant finger food for kids and toddlers! My Fussy Eater blog

Comments

  2. This recipe was a fantastic inspiration. I am a grown woman that is a very fussy eater, so these looked like a great idea. I modified the recipe, building on your initial idea, adding brown basmati rice and a bit of falafel mix, then stick blending it. I left out the zucchini, but spiced it up with some chaat masala mix, salt and black pepper. We baked them off and made a sour cream dip with dill and other herbs and it was so good! My 6 year old also chomped them down. Next time, we’ll add in some heavy veggies, like chopped kale and mustard greens and some hot chilis, too. We’d also like to try them as patties for veggie burgers as they seem to hold together really well. Thanks again for the inspiration, or it would have been another night of me complaining and/or ordering a pizza!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. So glad I came across this receipe! My 2 year old son is going through a stage where he is refusing EVERYTHING at meal times. It’s utterly frustrating and disappointing. I was a bit skeptical about these but literally willing to try anything that will get some nutrition into him and to my surprise HE LOVED THEM!!!!
    They are incredibly nutritious as well. Thanks for the great receipe. 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  4. Can you just substitute brown lentils for red lentils or do you have to change the soaking time? Also, can you omit the cheese (we’re vegan and I don’t want to buy fake cheese)?

    Reply

  6. These were very good. I only used 1/4 c of cheese. I added nutritional yeast for more cheese flavor. Next time I will add the corn and peas to the processor.

    ★★★★

    Reply

  9. I made these a few days ago using chopped up steamed broccoli and cauliflower instead of peas and corn. I was looking for a veggie dish for my 2 year old granddaughters as well as my husband, who also thinks eating veggies is a chore. These came together nicely. I was afraid they would not hold together well but they were just fine; cooling to firmness was not even needed. We did not really care too much for the taste of the red lentils. The nuggets had a vaguely ‘grassy’ taste. I do not know if it is because of the age of my lentils or because they aren’t really cooked. The taste sort of grew on me after eating a few of them and a drizzle of blue cheese or ranch dressing enhanced the flavor. I also thought they were OK the next day cold.

    I will probably make this again and experiment with different lentils, perhaps cooking them a little.

    ★★★

    Reply

  12. Wow tried these today and they were great. Very little flavour, but that’s good when it comes to kids (who will be trying them later tonight). Texture was surprising considering they were oven baked- crisped up really nicely on the outside and moist on the inside. I had them with tomato sauce, but partner preferred a sriracha mayo. If I hadn’t have cooked them I never would have known what was in them – no taste or texture of lentils or veges. I was worried at first that my mixture seemed grainy (thought maybe I hadn’t soaked my lentils properly) but all worked out fine once cooked. Thanks for the recipe. Fingers crossed they are a hit with the kids

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. These look yummy! I’m going to try them today. I want my son to eat more egg, and I thought I could add one to this recipe. What do you think, would that turn out ok? Would I need to add more bulk like lentils and/or breadcrumbs to prevent them being sloppy? Thanks so much!

    Reply

  15. These look awesome! I would like to make these
    Tonight…do you think if I soak the lentils
    For 7-8 hours would that be ok? It’s morning here and would love to make these for dinner.
    Thanks so much 🙂

    Reply

  18. The only substitution I made for this recipe was to omit the corn and peas and replace them with grated cauliflower, adding it to the food processor with the other veggies. I really enjoyed them, my kids weren’t fond of them this time, but (shockingly!) my husband LOVED them…so it looks like the kiddos will have many, many opportunities to try them in the future! Thanks for this tasty and simple recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  19. Hi,
    These turned out to be really good….
    First time I baked something and it was edible ????
    A small question though, if I want to cook the lentils how can I avoid the mixture from turning mushy??

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Rajesh, using cooked lentils will definitely make the mixture more mushy. Maybe start with using less and you might need more breadcrumbs to soak up the moisture. Let me know if it works for you!

      Reply

  21. My little half vegan loved these!!! Highly recommend, the flavor is amazing and so easy to make. Thank you! Our little 16 month old is allergic to dairy, nuts, eggs & tree nuts. We just used dairy free cheese. Question what happens if you over blend? I definitely over blended they still came out OK just a little bit more like bricks and I’m wondering if that’s why?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Ashley, if they still came out ok then thats fine. Sometimes if you over-blend things in the food processor they become too mushy and won’t hold their shape but if they still worked then thats fine!

      Reply

  23. These are awesome!!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to have found a veggie nugget recipe my whole family loved (I have tried several others with less than stellar reviews)…I made them for dinner tonight and my husband and kids adored them and said I am making these at least once a week 🙂 I am delighted to do so, especially knowing I can make them ahead and freeze. Thanks so much for sharing these!!!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  27. I made these today and my family LOVED them! We’re big on flavour so I added green onion and 3 cloves of garlic. My 3 and 4 year old devoured them, and my husband was still sneaking them off the tray hours after dinner! Thank you so much, this recipe is a keeper!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  28. I forgot to turn them…oops! And I don’t have a food processor so I had to use my blender. It took forever to blend! Used broccoli since I’ve never even heard of courgette. Haha! Oh yes and I cooked the lentils so after blending, the lentils turned to mush. After all of my mistakes, baby girl still loves them! Thanks for this vegan option. It’s perfect!

    Reply

  29. Lentils are also a great source of folate; so this seems like a great recipe for pregnant women who might not want to cook all the time (or need an easy midnight snack) when prepared and frozen ahead of time. Just a question about the “turning,” though. Do you mean to turn the tray in case our oven cooks unevenly? Or do you mean to turn over (flip) each nugget? Thanks for the recipe. Sounds delicious, and I’ll have to try it as soon as I get some zucchini

    Reply

  30. I know this is an older post but hope someone can help. Hoping to make this for my kiddos but one is lactose intolerant. Can I just miss out the cheese or would I have to substitute it with something else?
    ????

    Reply

  31. I tried them out today (I flavored them with Mrs. Dash seasoning) and made 28 smallish nuggets. I froze half of them and baked the rest.

    They were really very delicious. The kids liked them so I’m looking forward to making them again, but I think they came out a bit dry.

    I looked again and it would appear that your lentils were cut up in to much finer pieces than mine. I’ll run them in the food processor longer next time, and hopefully that will make the texture less… crunchy lol!

    Thanks so much for the recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  36. My 3.5 year old is really fussy about vegetables. I tried a creamy lentil curry but she wouldn’t go for it. These were a complete hit! Thank you Ciara! Very easy but Preparation time is much longer than 10mins though (excl soaking the lentils) but I will definitely do a big batch and freeze.

    Reply

  37. Hi
    I was planning on making these but I have split red lentils that say on the instructions no need to soak. Should I or not?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  42. Do we not cook the lentils first? I see where it says to soak them, and subsequently drain them, but I don’t see any instructions saying that they need to be cooked. Won’t they be hard?
    Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, I’m new to working with lentils.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  45. Really tasty, easy to make, moreish little nuggets. Perfect if you’re looking for a break from using onion, garlic or tomatoe for flavouring. My son has taken one of of left overs to school in his lunch box today. Went down well with all the family. Great for snack food or in a main meal. Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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