Try Zesty Chickpea Burgers For a Flavorful Vegetarian Dinner

These Zesty Chickpea Burgers are a delicious vegetarian (or vegan) alternative to traditional beef burgers.

If you want to make these vegan instead of vegetarian you need to swap out the egg for something that will hold the other ingredients together. Since we are using chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), I thought aquafaba was the perfect choice.

What is aquafaba? Bean water. I have no idea who the genius was that discovered this, but that liquid you drain off of the canned garbanzo beans can be used as a substitute for eggs in baking and as a binding agent. For binding you need to whip it a little until frothy first, or so I have read. I did not experiment so maybe you don't actually need this step, but I wasn't chancing it.

[click_to_tweet tweet="These Zesty Chickpea Burgers are a spicy meatless alternative to traditional beef burgers. Quick and easy vegetarian meal perfect for weeknights or weekend cookouts. #vegan #vegetarian #weeknightmeal " quote="These Zesty Chickpea Burgers are a spicy meatless alternative to traditional beef burgers. Quick and easy vegetarian meal perfect for weeknights or weekend cookouts. " theme="style2"]

Recipe

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Ingredients

 

• 16 ounce can chickpeas (drained and rinsed (reserve liquid for vegan preparation))
• ½ cup pecans
• 3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
• 1 large egg (or 2 tablespoons frothy aquafaba for vegan)
• 1 clove garlic (large)
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup green onion (chopped)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 5-6 dashes hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco, Frank's, Crystal) (more or less to taste)
• 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

Instructions

 

• Toast pecans in a cast iron skillet heated to medium until just beginning to turn brown, 2-3 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY and do not let them burn - blech!
• In a blender or food processor combine pecans, cooked chickpeas, 3 tablespoons oil, egg, and minced garlic.
• Transfer to a bowl, and then stir in the bread crumbs, chopped onions and cilantro, lemon zest Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. 
• Form mixture into four (or six) burger patties.
• Brush remaining oil on both sides of each burger patty.
• Cook the patties in the cast iron skillet over medium high heat until toasty and heated through out, about 3 minutes a side.
• Serve on buns with your favorite burger toppings.

Notes

VEGAN preparation: Reserve the liquid from the beans and whip it in a small bowl until frothy but not whipped and use instead of the egg as a binder. 

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