Chickpea Patties

These easy and quick chickpea patties are amazing for burgers or served as finger food or appetizer with a side sauce. Make them ahead and use in sandwiches for healthy lunches. So versatile! Their flavor is amazing and they are made completely egg-free, dairy-free and easy to make gluten-free.

These vegan chickpea patties have been a huge success in our house. They are inspired from my vegan chickpea burgers, but the recipe is a little simpler and perfect for quick meals.

And these amazing chickpea cakes are going to be perfect for back to school season! They are loved by our children (and grown ups too), but they are also completely nut-free so you can use them to fill your children's lunch boxes.

You can use this chickpea patty recipe to boost the protein content of your meals by topping grain bowls and salads or make the patties smaller for a fun finger food for kids to dip in sauces (aka ketchup, obv). We stuffed large tortilla veggie wraps with our leftover patties the next day and the mixture held well enough to make 4 larger patties to enjoy in burgers. We tried it and it was delicious! Such a versatile recipe!

Fully egg-free, dairy-free and ridiculously easy-to-make, they can be made ahead of time during the weekend and quickly reheated for weeknight dinners or lunches. Packed with nutrient dense carrots + canned chickpeas and simply flavored with onion, garlic and spices. You probably already have everything you need to make them!

Hope you give this recipe a try! 🧡

What's to love about this recipe

• Simple recipe that's really easy-to-make.
• Healthy, high-in-fiber and filled with plant-based protein.
• Easy to customize! Make burger patties, croquette size patties or turn them into mini patties that are easier-to-grab for tiny hands.
• Tasty savory flavor that can easily be personalized with your favorite spices.
• Deliciously tender in the middle and surrounded with crispy edges.
• Vegan and easy-to-make gluten-free.
• Great for dinner, lunch, appetizer or a quick filling snack!

Ingredients you'll need and substitutions

• Canned chickpeas: you can use homemade cooked chickpeas if you prefer. In that case, use about 1 + ¾ cups of cooked chickpeas to make this recipe.
• Onion: I tried both yellow and red onion and they both work well, although we preferred the more pronounced flavor from the regular yellow onion. Feel free to use shallots instead or even a generous handful of chopped chives would do it.
• Carrots: for flavor, but also adds extra valuable nutrients and a nice color.
• Breadcrumbs: I used regular fine breadcrumbs and it worked out well. I haven't tried using flour or panko breadcrumbs yet. Feel free to use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs for even more flavor!
• Garlic: better than garlic powder I think, but if the dry powder form is all you have, then just add about ¼-1/2 teaspoon instead of fresh garlic.
• Nutritional yeast: please, do not substitute! It deepens the flavor and also contributes to the final texture.
• Spices: I used dried basil, oregano and paprika. BUT, there is so much room for customization, so use your favorite spices such as smoked paprika, dried parsley, curry powder or chili powder.

As a side note, feel free to use fresh herbs such as parsley, basil or cilantro. It would add lots of flavor!

How to make them

Process

Start by prepping your ingredients: roughly chop the onion, grate the carrots and chop/crush the garlic.

Then, add all ingredients (except for the water) in a food processor and process until MOSTLY combined. Then, use a spatula to stir in the food processor and process/pulse once more.

Once the mixture is almost uniform, but still has some texture, then add 2 tablespoons of water and pulse a few times.

Check on the texture by pressing the mixture in between your fingers to see if it holds well together. If it needs more moisture, then add one extra tablespoon and pulse again. Repeat until desired consistency. I usually add a total of 4 tablespoons of water.

Shape

Depending on how you want to serve this recipe, you can shape the mixture into 6-7 patties or only 4 larger ones for burgers. You could also make smaller patties to serve as mini croquettes for kids or enjoy as appetizer.

You can really shape them the way you want as long as you aim for a thickness of about ¾ inch so they cook well and evenly into the pan.

Sear

Warm up a large non-stick pan and spray some avocado oil over. You can make this recipe oil-free, but know that they won't brown as much in that case.

Then, distribute the patties over the pan and cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side. Just check by lifting them after a few minutes to see if they are browned enough before flipping. This should take about 10 minutes or so. You might have to cook them in a batches.

Serve right away while still warm with your favorite sauce or use in burgers or sandwiches. Enjoy!

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Watch how to make them

Helpful tips

• Even though the food processor will crush the ingredients nicely, I still prefer to roughly chop the produce first by hand. This will help measure what you need, but also, you won't have to process as much to crush the ingredients which will result into patties with a better texture.
• Make sure to drain well the chickpeas before transferring to the food processor. It is important not to add too much water initially so they are not too soft at the end, plus, you will want to add water a few tablespoons at the time to better control the stickiness of the patties.

Baking method

You can definitively bake these in the oven instead of pan-frying them. You can make them completely oil-free that way or simply spray a little avocado oil over the patties before baking to make them crispier.

To bake them: pre-heat the oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook for about 30-35 minutes flipping halfway through and watching carefully.

Serving suggestions

These can be serve as chickpea fritters topped with a vegan yogurt sauce such as this homemade dairy-free tzatziki. Also would be great topped with a green goddess dressing, especially if you have extra fresh herbs from the garden. You can also use them just the same way you use falafel (try them in this falafel buddha bowl!)

I like to top them with chopped chives for more freshness and our kids love them dipped in ketchup. Use hummus as a dipping sauce instead for even more fiber and plant-based protein.

To make burgers using this recipe, then simply make 4 larger patties and layer with your favorite burger fixings such as vegan mayo, ketchup, sliced onion, lettuce, etc.

As seen in the pictures, my favorite way to serve them actually is alongside a marinara sauce. The patties have a great Italian flavor, which goes well with a tomato based sauce. You can also serve them with tomato pasta for a fun Italian meal that's more filling!

Storing tips

These are great for meal-prep! Keep leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. You could even make the mixture ahead, shape in patties, store them uncooked (and well covered so they don't dry out) and simply pan-fry when ready to eat.

You can also make more and freeze the extra. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight or for 1-2 hours at room temperature before reheating them.

Reheat using the stove for a crispier result, but we also reheated them using the microwave in a pinch and it worked out well.

FAQ's

More chickpea recipes you might like

• Vegan falafel bowl
• Chickpea tray bake
• Chocolate covered chickpeas
• Vegan chickpea blondies
• BBQ chickpeas
• Chickpea oat burgers
• Chickpea curry stew
• Vegan chickpea dill salad

I hope you like these vegan chickpea patties as much as we do! If you try them, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how they were. Your feedback is so helpful!

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