You know, I called these the easiest vegan chickpea burgers because they are. Well at least they will hopefully be for you because I am going to do my absolute BEST to explain this so well that they will be flop proof!
Because here’s the thing. The first time I made these it was a smashing success. So of course I approached the second attempt with all the overconfident self assuredness you might expect and proceeded to totally flop them!
My chickpea veggie burger mix was too wet, who knows why, maybe my onion and cilantro had higher water content than the first time, and I failed to compensate with adding extra flour. The result? Very squishy burgers!
What you’re going for here is nice and firm of course! So you need a bit of flexibility. Follow the recipe but if you end up with something that doesn’t easily want to form a ball, then your mix is too wet, you’ll need more flour.
I adapted this recipe from a Jamie Oliver recipe. His recipe adds sweetcorn and lemon and doesn’t use onion or garlic.
I knew I wanted to use onion and garlic, but adding raw onion to the food processor with the chickpeas and other ingredients would have added too much moisture. So the solution was to cook them first!
Lightly fry up the onion and garlic in some avocado oil (or other oil of your choice, I got a bit fancy with the avocado oil, I even bought some sesame oil, who knows what I’ll get next! 
) until just before they start to brown.
Then add them to the food processor with drained chickpeas, cilantro, a little flour and some spices.
Then you dust a baking tray with flour, dust your hands with flour too and form the chickpea burger batter into 4 balls.
If the batter is sticking to your hands too much, add more flour.
Then you do a neat little trick where you take a piece of parchment paper, place it on top of each chickpea burger ball, and then press down on it with the bottom of a glass. This flattens your chickpea ball into a perfect burger shape!
Then place the baking tray with the burgers into the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Then you fry them up in a little more avocado oil (or other oil – you know the drill!) until perfectly browned!
There’s a further step that is completely optional, and that is to place the burgers into the oven and bake for a further 30 mins.
The only time you would do this is if you really want the firmest of firm burgers.
We tried it both ways and liked them a lot both ways. So it’s really an optional step if you have the time to do it or feel so inclined. It also works as a ‘fix’ if your burgers ended up too squishy.
But if they look good as is, then serve them right away. The chickpea burgers pictured here did NOT have any extra oven time. Just pointing that out. And they look good right?
And then of course you know how to serve them! Some avocado, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard in a deliciously soft bun!
Adding some vegan cheese or maybe some vegan mayo would also be awesome here.
We totally loved these vegan chickpea burgers and I really hope you do too. They’re wonderfully savory, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, packed with flavor and veggie burger goodness!
Have them for lunch or dinner, with a side salad or fries, or just on their own.
You will love these vegan chickpea burgers, they are:
- Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside
- Deliciously flavorful
- Simple and fun to make!
- 8-Ingredients!
If you’re gluten-free, then switch out the flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour and serve them between two gigantic lettuce leaves!
I hope you love these fabulous vegan chickpea burgers! If you have any comments or questions, post them down below!
And if you’ve made this recipe, pop back and rate it and let us know how how it all turned out!
For more delicious dinner recipes, check out:
- Marinaded Tofu Burgers
- Vegan Burgers
- Cheesy Garlic Vegan Alfredo
- Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas
And don’t forget to tag your pics #lovingitvegan on instagram, nothing makes us happier than seeing your gorgeous vegan creations! 
Thanks!
Oh and don’t forget to sign up for our email list! You’ll get an awesome (free) recipe ebook, and you’ll stay updated with all our latest recipes!
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Easiest Vegan Chickpea Burgers
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
The easiest vegan chickpea burgers! Deliciously savory, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, packed with flavor and veggie burger goodness.
Ingredients
- 1 Onion
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 15oz (425g) Can Chickpeas*
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro (loosely packed)
- 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour (use gluten-free for gluten-free version) – plus more for rolling**
- 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp Avocado Oil (or other oil)
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic and add to a frying pan with 1 tsp avocado oil and fry until just before they start to brown.
- Drain the can of chickpeas and add the chickpeas to a food processor with the cooked onions/garlic, paprika, coriander powder, cumin, freshly chopped cilantro and flour and process it into a thick burger batter.
- Sprinkle flour over a baking tray and cover your hands with it as well. Scoop the batter out onto the tray in 4 even sections, roll in the flour and form into 4 balls.
- If the batter is very sticky or too wet, add more flour so that it easily forms a ball.
- Take a square of parchment paper, place on top of each ball and press down on it with the bottom of a glass to flatten it into a burger shape.
- Place the baking tray with the 4 burgers into the freezer to firm up for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes add 2 Tbsp avocado oil to a frying pan and heat up until hot.
- Add all 4 burgers to the frying pan and fry on each side turning regularly until browned and crispy, roughly 5 minutes on each side.
- If you want your burgers extra firm and crispy you can place on a parchment lined baking tray and bake in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for a further 20-30 minutes.
- Serve on hamburger buns with sliced avocado, crispy lettuce, sliced tomato, ketchup and mustard.
Notes
*If your canned chickpeas don’t contain salt, you might need to add some salt.
*If you’re making this gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
*Nutritional information is for the chickpea burger patties only, without the burger buns and additions.
*Prep time is only for the actual hands on prep, it doesn’t include time spent chilling in the fridge.
*Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver.
- Category: Entree, Dinner, Savory
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Burger (of 4)
- Calories: 196
- Sugar: 3.8g
- Sodium: 158mg
- Fat: 9.9g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 22.3g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 5.6g
Keywords: chickpea burgers, vegan chickpea burgers
This recipe came out absolutely perfect!!! I’m one week in to the vegan lifestyle and this is definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
So happy to hear it worked out so well Bri, thanks for the wonderful review! 🙂
Can I substitute spelt flour for all purpose flour ?
Hi Denise, I haven’t tried it but I think it could work!
Just made some and so excited to try them but it’s late now so they’ll have to remain frozen until I’m ready to cook them. Can I avoid frying all together? Would they still turn out crispy on the outside if I baked them at 400? How long do you think I should bake them from frozen?
Hi Natalia, if you read the other comments, you’ll see others have baked them for 40 minutes and said they were great that way! 🙂
This was delicious. Works with tsatziki (instead of mustard or ketchup) and also adding a tiny bit of sriracha to vegan mayo (that was the best(, Thank you, Alison
★★★★★
Oh that sounds great! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review Kate! 🙂
These were great. Didn’t have cilantro, added a little turmeric. Next time I’d add a little something for more of a zing… curry, hot pepper flakes, not sure. We put salsa on top this time to get the zing. Maybe put a small amount of salsa in the batter next time.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Rich, thanks so much for sharing and the awesome rating. 🙂
Just wanted to say that I used this recipe as a base and added extra spices. I didn’t refrigerate them,since I was going to bake the patties. These were so delicious, even my teenager enjoyed them. Thank you for sharing your masterpiece.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the awesome rating. 🙂
These were so delicious! I used parsley instead of cilantro because that was what I had on hand and chickpea flour instead of all purpose. My husband and children also loved them, especially my 10 month old. I didn’t blend it too much so it was chunky which made the texture wonderful. I also added an egg as I’m not a vegan because I’ve had some issues with vegan burgers falling apart in the past. But in terms of flavour, this recipe was just spot on and so simple. I added about 1 1/2 tsp of salt to a doubled recipe.
Highly recommend. Thank-you!
★★★★★
Hi Mary-Kate! I’m so happy to hear they came out so well! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful rating. 🙂
Another big hit thank you!
I usually use dried pulses (100g dried usually yields the same amount as a tin once soaked overnight and cooked in a pressure cooker). I tend to cook my pulses in a big batch and freeze “tin sized portions” in the cooking water and defrost overnight in the fridge when needed for a recipe.
Please would you consider trying out jackfruit burger recipes? I don’t trust anyone but you guys to get it right!!
★★★★★
Hi Satin! So glad it was a hit! And thanks for the tips for using dried, very helpful. I have added the jackfruit burgers to our ‘to-do’ list, that would be a great one to do. Jackfruit isn’t easily available in my part of the world, but as soon as I get hold of some, that will be the first thing to try! 🙂
Hello. I would like to know, why do you use canned chickpeas? I would think, as a vegan, you wouldn’t want to do the preservatives and would rather to cook the chickpeas from fresh. I know I have that option for myself, but, no judgement intended, I would like to know why you do it.
Thea
Hi Thea, I don’t have any problem using canned foods, the meaning of the word ‘vegan’ can be quite misconstrued, it is about avoiding animal products, nothing at all to do with avoiding canned foods. 🙂
Didn’t freeze and they came out wonderfully.
★★★★★
Awesome! 🙂
These have become a regular feature in my household now, so easy to make and really tasty! I make mini versions for my little one too, he loves em. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks so much for the awesome review Rachel. xo
To make them for future use, would you recommend leaving them in the freezer, or frying them then freezing?
★★★★★
I think if you just left them in the freezer before frying that would be ideal, because then you could just fry them straight from the freezer, it might take a few minutes longer in the frying pan but that would work great. 🙂
Just made these for the kids. They’re a real winner! Thanks. LOVE your site 🙂
★★★★★
Awesome! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks so much Heidi! xo
What is cilantro? Is it coriander or parsley to use?
Cilantro is coriander. 🙂
Great recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks Stephanie! xo
Surprised of how good these are with so few ingredients and so easy to make!! Amazing!!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Molly! 🙂
I have another question. I have a food processor but only the part for grating and slicing vegetables. Would a blender work for this recipe?
It might be okay, depending on the kind of blender you have. It is very thick, so if you don’t have a powerful blender, then it might be best to just do it by hand. Mash the chickpeas with a fork and then add all the other ingredients in and mash it all together like you would a pot of mashed potatoes. I think that would work fine too! 🙂
Mine failed! I need to figure out what to do to fix the rest of the ones in the freezer
Hi Henry, sorry to hear that! If you give me more info I can try and help.