11 Jul Savoury Chickpea Muffins

This Savoury Chickpea Muffin recipe was made by,  Jess Kotlowitz, The Green Dietician.

These muffins use chickpea or gram flour as a base and are basically the vegan version of a savoury egg muffin or crust-less quiche. Chickpea flour can be used in a variety of baked goods, has a fine texture, is low GI and super high in protein and can be found at Dischem or at most health shops, Indian or Asian supermarkets. I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found on onegreenplanet.org and it has become a staple in our home as a healthy high protein snack, a quick on-the-go breakfast or an accompaniment to salad and vegetables to make up a convenient meal. This is also an amazing recipe for people who are plant-based but who struggle to digest whole legumes or who don’t love eating beans but still want to get enough protein into their diets. Chickpea flour is very easy on the digestion and doesn’t really taste like beans or chickpeas, especially when baked into something like this. I also love that chickpea flour is so budget friendly!

Lastly, there are so many variations on this basic recipe. You could add vegan cheese to make these into cheesy muffins or you could try different combinations of vegetables for example, butternut and spinach or jalapeno and corn! The possibilities are endless.

For my patients on calorie-controlled meal plans:

2 muffins =

• One legume/ protein serving
• A fat serving
• One veg serving

SERVES 30 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

For the vegetable filling:

• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small to medium onion, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 200g mushrooms of choice, chopped
• 100g sundried tomatoes in vinegar, drained and chopped 
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons Italian herbs
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the batter:

• 4 cups chickpea flour
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon kala namak* (optional)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups of water

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C.
2. Spray your muffin tins generously and set aside. You will need approximately 3 x 12 well muffin tins
3. Begin by heating up your cast iron or sauté pan over medium heat with olive oil.
4. Once hot, add your onion and garlic and saute until translucent.
5. Next, add your chopped veggies and herbs and sauté until softened and cooked through (about 4-6 minutes).
6. While the veggies are cooking, place your chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, seasonings, and baking powder into your stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
7. Then add your water and blend to combine. If you are mixing by hand, add your water bit by bit, mixing continuously to prevent lumps from forming.
8. Into your prepared muffin tins, add a heaped desert spoon of your vegetable mixture to the bottom of each muffin well. Repeat until all the veggies are used.
9. Next, pour about ¼ cup of the batter into each muffin well, covering the vegetables in batter. The muffin well should be almost full.
10. Bake for 22 minutes or until golden on the top and firm to the touch.
11. Remove and let cool completely.
12. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Notes:

* Kala Namak is also known as black salt and is a sulphuric salt which adds an egg-like flavour to the batter. You can find it at most Indian spice stores or at certain health shops.