The easiest vegan chickpea burgers! Deliciously savory, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and packed with flavor.
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.
And if you love delicious things made with chickpeas then also check out our divine vegan falafels and our chickpea meatballs.
So, 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!
How To Make Vegan Chickpea Burgers
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- 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 and process them until well mixed.
- 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!
- And your burgers are ready to serve!
Bake In The Oven For Extra Firm Burgers
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 at 350°F.
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?
Serving Suggestions
And then of course you know how to serve them! Some avocado, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard in a deliciously soft bun for the win.
Adding some vegan cheese or maybe some vegan mayo would also be awesome here.
Have them for lunch or dinner, with a side salad or fries, or just on their own.
Gluten-Free
If you’re gluten-free, then switch out the flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour and serve them on gluten-free buns or between two gigantic lettuce leaves.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftover chickpea burgers stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the frying pan or in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
You can freeze the burgers before or after cooking. You can reheat them or cook them up from frozen, just allow a couple of minutes longer to make sure they’re heated through.
More Delicious Vegan Burgers & Sandwiches
- Tofu Burgers
- Vegan Burgers
- Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Portobello Burgers
- BBQ Jackfruit Pulled Pork
- Vegan Sloppy Joes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Easiest Vegan Chickpea Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Avocado Oil
- 15 ounce (425g) Can Chickpeas Drained
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp 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 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.
Video
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.
These were a quick sub for falafel. I added a little bit of salt. Served with salted red onions, tomatoes and fresh lime juice, and a little tahini sauce. I’m pleased with the flavor, just the texture was a bit too mushy. Not sure if I used too much flour and that affected the texture, but they whipped up quick for a nice veggie lunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, Can I cook the mixture first to add more flavour (so the onions, garlic and spices)?
We already pre-cook the onions and garlic.
I never comment on things but for this recipe I just had to!! This was amazing! I’m not even vegan, but will definitely incorporate these burgers into my meals! Thank you for this great, delicious recipe! 🙂
So happy to hear that Sara! Thanks so much!
Oh my gosh, all the family ate them! My fussy 10yo loved them. Easy, delicious, healthy and very economical. I used EV Olive Oil as didn’t have any avocado oil and I doubled the recipe.
Did you also cook the chickpeas you soaked or did you just soak them for the recipe?
We used canned chickpeas (drained). If you don’t want to use canned chickpeas then you can use 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas. I would definitely cook them and not just soak them.
Super tasty. I added salt to the spice mix & subbed onion powder for the coriander and then served it on a wrap w/ a tahini sauce. Will definitely be a go to veggie burger recipe.
Thanks Ann!
I’m not a vegan I do eat small amounts of meat but my family call me strange cos I always choose things veggie when eating out. I absolutely love these chickpea burgers they are superb thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them Anita! Thanks for the great review!
Can you keep these in the freezer for quick meals during the week? How do they hold up?
Yes definitely, they freeze very well.
These look fabulous other than needing to sub out the cilantro. Have you tried freezing these for meal prep? How did they hold up to freezing and reheating? Thanks!
Hi Brandi, at the step where they go into the freezer to firm up, you can just leave them in the freezer until you’re ready to fry them up.
I made these today 🙂 switched up some spices and subbed kale on hand for greens. The recipe was easy and oh so tasty!
Can you refrigerate this batter to make at a later time??
At the step where they go into the freezer, you can then just leave them in the freezer until you’re ready to fry them up.
Have you tried these in an air fryer? Wondering about time and temp to use less overall oil
Hi Abby, I haven’t tried them in an air fryer, but I would estimate about 10-12 minutes at 350°F.
The burgers are delicious. Of course I had to add cayenne pepper to spice it up.
I’m using black beans next time just to see the difference in taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi! I love this recipe! They’re the only burgers I make now! I am gluten free but also lectin free, so I can’t use many of the gluten free flours that are staples for most. Karla, I make these using 2 tbsp cassava flour and 1 tbsp almond flour and they work beautifully! Not sure where those fall on the carb scales, but maybe it will help you find suitable replacements. Thanks for the awesome recipe, Alison! (P.S. I have also made using parsley when out of cilantro and they also work super well with that flavor!)
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Tina!
I love this recipe, it’s super adaptable. The last time I made them, I skipped the herbs and spices and added a tablespoon of dried dill. They were dynamite!
Fantastic! Thanks so much Chelsea!
Hi-
What other type of flour can be used? Trying to lower the carb intake. Thanks!
Hmmm, I’m really not sure!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I plan to use chickpea flour (seems logical, right?). I used black bean flour (pricey and hard to find, but worth it) in the black bean burger recipe on this website and it turned out great.
We liked these but they were quite soft/mushy. Any tips on how to get them to stay together better/be firmer? Also think they definitely need salt.
Hi Amelia, add a little more flour as needed so they are easier to form into burgers, and then of course, freezing them before frying also helps them to maintain their shape.
Use dried chickpeas soaked for 6 hours.