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.
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!
And don’t forget to tag your pics #lovingitvegan on instagram, nothing makes us happier than seeing your gorgeous vegan creations! 
Thanks!
- 1 15oz (425g) Can Chickpeas*
- 1 Onion
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Cilantro/Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ½ 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)
- 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, spices, 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. Roll the batter into 4 balls and place onto the baking tray.
- 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 fridge 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.
**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.
Those are scrumptions!
My go-to patties! It’s on the menu every week. Very tasty and unbelievably crunchy!! I used raw almonds too for added texture. Thank you!
Fantastic! Almonds sound like a great addition! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Made these today and they were delish! Topped mine with pickles and slaw. Yum! You have a new fan.
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing! 🙂