Recipe love: Plant-based chickpea bites

If you’re looking for a nutritious plant-based meal that children and adults alike will love, you can’t go by these Plant-based chickpea bites. This is one of our favourite summer recipes.

Willow Swim girls in swimmers eating outdoors

From left: Model wears Sophia swimsuit in Gumnuts print, $68. Model wears Sophia swimsuit in Falling Flowers, $69.

Ingredients for plant-based chickpea Bites

  • 3 Tbsps coconut oil
  • 1 garlic clove finely diced
  • ½ brown onion finely diced
  • 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1 to 2 Tbsps nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds 
  • 1 Tbsp hemp seeds
  • 2 Tbsps almond meal, optional nut-free ingredient oat flour
  • ½ cup cooked sweet potato
  • ½ cup cooked pumpkin
  • 2 Tbsps breadcrumbs
  • Mixed vegetables to serve
Willow Swim kids in backyard recipe plantbased chickpeas

How to make plant-based chickpea bites

  1. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan, add diced garlic  and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, approximately  four minutes. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
  2. Pour the chickpeas in a bowl along with the cooked sweet potato and pumpkin. Using the back of a fork to mash ingredients until combined.
  3. Add the cooled onion mixture, nutritional yeast, chia seeds, hemp seeds and almond meal to the chickpea mixture. Mix until combined.
  4. Roll into 3cm balls and roll in the breadcrumbs.
  5. Add two tablespoons of oil in a pan and cook balls, on a low heat, until they are cooked through or slightly brown.
  6. Serve with chosen vegetables. We serve ours on skewers with fresh vegetables like tomatoes and cucumber.

Willow Swim recipe plantbased chickpea balls