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.
Thea says
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
Alison Andrews says
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. 🙂
Tricia says
Didn’t freeze and they came out wonderfully.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! 🙂
Rachel says
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 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks so much for the awesome review Rachel. xo
Elanor says
To make them for future use, would you recommend leaving them in the freezer, or frying them then freezing?
Alison Andrews says
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. 🙂
Heidi Hawkins says
Just made these for the kids. They’re a real winner! Thanks. LOVE your site 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks so much Heidi! xo
Elsa says
What is cilantro? Is it coriander or parsley to use?
Alison Andrews says
Cilantro is coriander. 🙂
Stephanie says
Great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Stephanie! xo
Molly says
Surprised of how good these are with so few ingredients and so easy to make!! Amazing!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Molly! 🙂
Candy Bailey says
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?
Alison Andrews says
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! 🙂
Henry says
Mine failed! I need to figure out what to do to fix the rest of the ones in the freezer
Alison Andrews says
Hi Henry, sorry to hear that! If you give me more info I can try and help.
Candy Bailey says
How did you make the buns? And, if you bought them, where?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Candy, I bought these. I was living in Dubai at the time so probably at Spinneys! But I do have a recipe for homemade rolls too if you want to check it out. 🙂
Eva says
Do you think these would work well in pita bread with lettuce and tomato?
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely! 🙂
Rachael says
These really were easy and worked out perfectly the first time I made them. Seriously tasty. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe Alison.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Rachael. 🙂
Victoria says
I’m not a big chickpea fan, so I’ll be honest, I wasn’t dying to have these but wanted to expand my vegan dinners. I’m so glad I made these, because they are amazing! I don’t like cilantro, so I left it out, and the flavor was still wonderful. We ate them with forks instead of on a bun. So so good.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful stuff! So glad you liked them even though you’re not a chickpea fan, that’s a great endorsement. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Annie says
I liked it, but my daughter and husband not so much 🙁 I didn’t have all the same spices, so maybe that’s why. Also, I am not using oil, so maybe did change something as well. Next time, I’ll try it again with the same spices 🙂 Super easy to make though.