A little spicy and with a definite South Asian flair, these vegan chickpea burgers are an excellent solid veggie burger and taste great. With turmeric, cumin, parsley, lemon, and more, they’re punchy and can take some serious toppings. I love a burger that’s baked instead of fried (less standing around, usually better texture) and these are baked after some cooking of the aromatics.
This is a slightly more time-consuming recipe, with a pretty long list of ingredients, but it makes a lot and is well worth it. You’ll need cooked rice so keep in mind that it’s a good burger to make if you have leftover rice – otherwise you’ll have to prepare it in advance.
If you want more vegan burger ideas, try my spicy black bean burgers, Nina’s bombay burgers with cauliflower, or chickpea sweet potato burgers. This recipe is adapted from the Buddha burger from the now defunct restaurant Boon Burger in Winnipeg.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chickpeas: these can be cooked or canned. If using canned chickpeas, make sure to drain and rinse very well.
- Brown rice: this should be cooked and ideally day-old. I prefer short grain but any type of rice will work (not wild rice, which is not rice at all, but brown, white, black, etc.).
- Spices: the key element in the recipe, don’t skimp! You can reduce the amount of hot pepper if you’re sensitive to it.
- Parsley: cilantro is an ideal sub. See parsley substitutes.
- Make it gluten-free: use gluten-free breadcrumbs and chickpea flour.
Step by Step
Step 1: fry the onion in oil for several minutes, until they start to become translucent and slightly browned.
Step 2: cook the ginger and garlic for a couple minutes, then stir in the spices.
Step 3: stir in the chickpeas and rice.
Step 4: add the parsley, breadcrumbs, and other remaining ingredients. Stir very well.
Step 5: take half the mixture and blend until smooth (this can be done without a machine, see below).
Step 6: return the processed mixture to the pot and stir very well.
Step 7: form six patties and place on an oiled, parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 8: bake for half an hour, flipping halfway through.
Recipe Notes
The first time I made these, I served with a tamarind mayo that went really well with the flavours in the burger: a half teaspoon tamarind paste for every two tablespoons mayonnaise, and a bit of grated fresh garlic.
Otherwise, serve with regular mayo, chutney, red onion or pickled onion, avocado or avocado aioli, sliced tomato, and so on. It’s not great with dill pickles but excellent with a good South Asian pickle. Choose any kind of bun you like.
This makes six rather large burgers, so I sometimes make eight instead. Bake for 26 minutes (still flipping at the halfway point) if making eight smaller burgers.
How to Store
Storage: keep the baked burgers in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days but note that they dry out a bit when stored. Refrigerate the burger mixture in a sealed container for up to three days before baking.
Freezing: transfer the fully cooled burgers to an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. They do dry out a bit, so I recommend brushing with a little oil before reheating in the oven.
Expert Tips
- Season to taste: these are vegan and can be tasted before baking if you don’t use chickpea flour (it’s not great raw).
- Bake, don’t fry: I did try frying these and it kind of works, but they are much more delicate and rather oily when fried. Baking has much better results.
- Make it without a blender: I recently made a batch of these curry burgers in a house without a food processor or immersion blender, simply mashing roughly with a potato masher, and it was fine. Aim for a texture that looks like the one in photo six above.
More Chickpea Recipes
Chickpea Noodle Soup
Summer Greek Chickpea Salad
Chickpea Pumpkin Curry
Beetroot Hummus
If you make these Spicy Chickpea Burgers or any other vegetarian main dishes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Vegan Chickpea Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger or finely grated
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds or 1 ½ teaspoons ground
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon coriander seed or ground
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons water, divided
- 500 grams chickpeas cooked or canned, drained and rinsed well
- 140 grams cooked brown rice
- 70 grams breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour or spelt, rye, or wheat
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over low-medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 8-10 minutes, until translucent and lightly browned. If it's browning too much, reduce the heat.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium onion
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another couple of minutes, until fragrant.2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Stir in the spices and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Add 2 tablespoons of water to deglaze and lift anything that might be sticking to the bottom of the pot.1 tablespoon ground turmeric, 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon coriander seed, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 4 tablespoons water, divided
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chickpeas and rice, coating well in the spices. Stir in the breadcrumbs, flour, parsley, lemon juice, and salt.500 grams chickpeas, 140 grams cooked brown rice, 70 grams breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons chickpea flour, 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Take half of the mixture and blend it in a food processor (see note) with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Add back to the pot and mix very well to combine. This is what holds the burgers together.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil the paper with a little extra olive oil and set aside.
- Form the mixture into six large burgers, about 2-2.5cm (~1 in.) thick and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, carefully flipping the burgers after 15 minutes and returning to the oven.
- Serve hot with desired toppings. Leftovers will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Leave a Reply