Spicy Chickpea Burger
I guess this 60+ degree weather was starting to mess with my head because all I could think about was firing up the grill and making some (vegan) burgers… crazy, right? I mean it’s JANUARY. In COLORADO. But I still couldn’t stop thinking about my favorite grilled treat of all, my very own Spicy Chickpea Burgers.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get the hubster on board for firing up the grill, but that’s okay because my chickpea burgers are just as yummy baked. These are my go-to for any backyard eating, and since that’s usually in the summer I tend to favor the grill, if only because I don’t want to heat up my kitchen. But it’s winter now, as much as Mother Nature seems to keep forgetting, so bake them I did!
I cooked my own chickpeas, as usual, but all other ingredients are store bought. I love these things. I eat them as burgers, and I crumble them up over the salads I take to lunch. I’ll even tear bites off and eat them cold straight out of the fridge, but I highly recommend you try breaking these into bite sized pieces and adding them to a salad- it’ll take your lettuce to a whole new level! This time around I enjoyed them on Oroweat sandwich thins with fresh avocado, tomato and lettuce. The heat of the burger and the cool creaminess of the avocado were the perfect flavor combo.
True story: When I first went vegetarian I ate a lot of the Morning Star and Boca type frozen burger patties. They were okay. I kept seeing recipes online for veggie burgers, and I always wondered why these bloggers were making their own from scratch. Did their local grocer not carry Boca? Then one day I made some black bean burgers from scratch, and I was hooked. I saw the proverbial light! These came along later, the spring/summer of 2011 to be exact… and now I’m sharing them with you. I hope you give them a good home (in your belly).
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ red bell pepper cut into large chunks
- ½ large onion, cut into large chunks
- 1 can (or equivalent) of chickpeas, cooked/ drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon thai chili sauce, or more if you like heat
- 1/2 + cup bread crumbs (you may need to had more, depending on consistency)
- Mix the chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water, stir and set aside.
- Drop bell pepper and onion into food processer. Blend for just a few moments until the pieces are smallish, but not minced.
- Pour in beans, and blend until everything is all mixed n’ mashed together. You don’t want it to be liquid or completely smooshy, in fact a few bean chunks are a good thing!
- Pour entire mixture into medium bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, including a scant 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Mix with your hands until everything is completely blended. Add more breadcrumbs if needed- you want this to be sticky and you want to be able to form pretty little patties that will stay together.
- Place entire bowl into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. It gives the flax egg time to gel but I also think it give the flavors time to develop and meld together!
- Divide into patties (4-5 depending on your bun size).
- If you’re grilling, I recommend foil or a veggie tray- but baking is super awesome too. Spray a little cooking spray on a baking sheet, and give these babies about 20 minutes (10-12 each side) in a 375 degree oven. I like to finish mine under the broiler for just a few moments, to get that charred look that you get on the grill.
- Be mindful as you're adding in the breadcrumbs... you want to be able to work with the mixture, but you don't want it so dry that it falls apart.
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Yum! Those look amazing! The weather has been crazy here too. On Sunday, it was 70 degrees! And today, it’s 62. But yesterday was 45. Totally tornado weather for sure. Also, thanks for the tip about crumbling burgers over salads. I made some black bean-sweet potato burgers last week and one fell apart but I saved it. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but that’s a perfect plan.
I luurve them on salads! Adds some substance without the starchiness of a crouton!
Um, these look so delish! And we still keep the Amy’s burgers on standby for just such moments of burger craving. But I do love the chickpea! Sixty degrees would be lovely right about now!
I totally keep some store-bought patties in my freezer too- you never know when you might need ’em!
Oh, this sounds so delicious! Sometimes you just need a good burger. And I heartily approve of your generous smear of avocado! 🙂
I can smear avocado with the best of ’em 🙂
Mmm, mmm, mmm, I love me a good veggie burger. And I happen to know just how good these ones are, as I’ve had the pleasure of eating one Barb made! I’ve tried making my own chickpea burgers at home with so-so results, so I’m always looking for new recipes. Also, I like mine topped with a little schezuan sauce and a pineapple ring…but anything goes well on a veg burger!
Thanks for the glowing review 😉 Schezuan and pineapple sounds really good!
yum! “chickpea” and “spicy”…my two favourite descriptors of a recipe. 🙂
Me too!
I am making these right now! My kitchen already smells delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
That’s awesome, and I’m a little bit jealous!
The “crust” on these look so good, at least it looks like it has a crust – YUM!
These were amazing, so good! I added some salt, and put a tooooooon of Srirachi in to make it extra spicy. Thanks for the recipe!
Just tried these myself and loved the recipe! I posted about my attempt on my blog. Thank you!
This burger recipe looks great. I am not vegan, so please enlighten me….what is a flaxseed egg?
It’s an egg replacer made by mixing ground flax seed with water! Healthier and (more importantly in my opinion) more compassionate. You can also use chia seeds and tons of other options!
Super yummy, added some pepper and sautéed the pepper and onion before blending. Give it a shot and definitely purchase some chilli sauce ( and add a little extra) 🙂 thanks for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them!