Environmentalists and foodies have been hailing crickets as the future of eco-friendly protein for some time now. As well as being a complete protein source since they contain all essential amino acids, they have Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and high levels of calcium and vitamins. However, it’s not just their nutritional value that’s helping them make their way onto people’s plates. They’re also an extremely versatile ingredient since they can be made into flours, powders, and even pasta. Read on to discover five delicious dishes you can make with crickets.

Crunchy cricket chicken nuggets

If you’re longing for fried chicken with a super-crunchy coating, try cricket chicken nuggets. Easy to prepare and cook, this dish is ideal when you’re looking for satisfying fast food that packs a real protein punch. Use cricket flour to coat the chicken and give each bite a wonderful crispness. Once you’ve tried chicken with cricket crumbs, you’ll never go back!

Chocolate brownies

A rich, delicious chocolate brownie is surely one of the nation’s favourite desserts. Next time you’re making a batch, we recommend adding cricket flour to the mix. With similar qualities to all-purpose flour but with 30% more protein, it’s an excellent way to add nutritional value to these tasty snacks. Cricket flour has a slightly nutty taste that works perfectly in brownies.

Pizza

When you want to chow down on a cheesy pizza without the guilt, we recommend adding cricket flour to give your meal a huge protein boost. Replace around 25% of the flour in the recipe with cricket flour to achieve the same flavour and texture for your pizza base. To make the dough, combine the flours, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Mix in oil and warm water and then knead the ingredients together with your hands until the dough is soft but not sticky. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and then leave it in a warm place for around 20-30 minutes. You can add any of your favourite toppings to a pizza made with cricket flour.

Mushroom and cream cricket pasta

Pasta has long been the world’s most popular dish, but did you know you can now buy cricket pasta? Made from 100% natural cricket flour and durum wheat, it contains twice as much protein as regular pasta. Since cricket pasta has a somewhat nutty, earthy taste, many people choose to pair it with a mushroom and cream sauce.

The pasta holds a rich, creamy sauce very well, making it a very sumptuous dish. Cricket pasta is almost indistinguishable from regular pasta and compliments many different sauces, including classics like tomato and carbonara.

Despite their many health benefits, many people are still squeamish about feasting on critters like crickets. Luckily, there are products that make eating insects a lot more palatable, even making you forget you are chowing down on bugs entirely. Some truly fantastic dishes can be created using cricket flour and cricket pasta. These products are a great way of integrating the protein boost of crickets into cooking without the ick factor!