Skillet Falafel Burger Patties with Chickpeas
These yummy falafel burger patties are made with canned chickpeas and slathered with an out of this world herby tahini sauce, for a super nutritious 30 minute meal or meal prep.
These scrumptious, flavour-packed falafel burger patties are going to knock your socks off because they are SO easy to make but/and/also, they’re so delicious they’ll win over any meat eater at the table, I promise!
I mean, is there anything a chickpea can’t do? The dietitian in me loves that they’re packed with plant-based protein, fibre and a ton of vitamins and minerals. But chickpeas also have such a versatile flavour and texture that we eat them at least twice a week. I’m always on the hunt for new vegan dinner ideas.
I gave up meat a looooong time ago, and falafel (a staple of the Eastern Mediterranean) is absolutely one of my favourite foods. So, I wanted to create veggie burgers with chickpeas that offered the same flavours – plenty of parsley, cilantro, cumin and coriander – with a few hacks that make them a bit less traditional but more weeknight-friendly. I love serving them with some baked fries and a simple salad, like my herby cucumber and radish salad.
Most traditional falafel recipes are deep-fried, and they’re made from soaked, dried chickpeas but as someone with IBS, I find that I digest canned chickpeas a bit easier because they’re a bit lower (but not low) in FODMAPs. Plus, it means that you can whip up the burger mixture in like 10 minutes flat, with no planning ahead…but if you want to try an authentic falafel recipe, Mediterranean Dish has a wonderful one!
Want to eat more beans and lentils? My plant-based cookbook, Plant Magic, has some INCREDIBLE recipes, like a chickpea Greek salad, coffee-roasted carrots and lentils and shawarma-spiced cauliflower and chickpea wraps
How to make these naturally vegan falafel burger patties
If you’ve had one of my plant-based burgers before, you know that A) they are NEVER dry B) they are always soft and C) they never require you to pre-cook ingredients like rice or mushrooms because honestly, I’m too lazy for that! In fact, these ones are so simple that all you need for the patties is 8 basic ingredients plus some oil for cooking on the stovetop. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full + detailed recipe!
These naturally vegan and gluten free burgers have a soft, squishy texture but they do hold together well. Want them firmer? They firm as they cool so enjoy at room temperature or cold.
There are so many ways to serve these falafel burger patties: as a burger (duh!), but also with grain bowls and salad for a boost of protein + fiber. Ooh, and you can make mini patties, top them with a dollop of the tahini sauce as a vegan appetizer or part of a snack board!
More yummy veggie burger recipes
- Chorizo-spiced Kidney Bean and Oat Burgers
- Vegan Beet and Black Bean Burger
- Healthy Buffalo White Bean and Cauliflower Burger
- Easy 20 Minute Tofu Burgers
- Easy Cumin Lime Black Bean Burgers with Oats
Skillet Falafel Burger Patties with Chickpeas
Ingredients
Falafel Burger Patties
- 14 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained very well
- ½ cup packed cilantro
- ½ cup packed parsley, curly or flat leaf
- ½ small yellow onion, cut into chunks
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- ½ lemon, zest only (optional)
- avocado oil, for cooking
Herby Tahini Sauce
- ½ cup fresh dill, fronds and tender stems
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- dried chile flakes, to taste
For Serving Burgers
- 4 whole grain burger buns
- semi-firm vegan cheese, I like Spread 'Em Kitchen
- your favourite greens, or shredded red cabbage, pickled or fresh
Equipment
- Food Processor you could also dice everything super fine and mash by hand too!
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse onion, garlic, cilantro and parsley until finely chopped. Add chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and lemon zest and pulse until mixture is about 50% blended. You need it to stay a bit chunky or the burgers won't firm up.
- Using your hands, firmly press and shape mixture into 4 patties, about 3-4 inches wide.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes a side. If browning too quickly, turn down the heat as you want the burgers to have time to cook through before they brown.
- If desired, whip up the herby tahini by blending the dill, tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt and chile flakes until smooth with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you can mince the dill and garlic by hand and whisk everything together vigorously to combine.
- Assemble burgers with your favourite toppings, or add patties and tahini sauce to salads or grain bowls!
8 Comments on “Skillet Falafel Burger Patties with Chickpeas”
Good & Healthy foods
Thank you
These falafel burger are delicious and super easy as the ingredients just pop into your food processor!! Great recipe to have in your rotation … Loved having one the next day in a salad too!! I have not made the tahini sauce but used bitchin cilantro almond spread and hummus as a topping! Thank you Desiree!
That cilantro almond spread sounds awesome, Heidi! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating 🙂
Since I don’t want to buy a bag just for 1/4 cup is there a sub for chickpea flour. I plan to make these as I love falafel
Hi Merla,
I haven’t tested any other flours in this recipe so I can’t guarantee but I suspect a little all purpose (regular or gluten free) should work. chickpea flour has a really good moisture absorption so if the dough seems too wet, maybe add a bit extra (perhaps 1/3 cup total?). The other hack is that if you have dried chickpeas – and a really strong blender – you can actually blitz up your own chickpea flour but you would need to do a larger portion than 1/4 cup to get the blades going.
Please let us know what you try – I bet others have the same Q!
Desiree
Ended up having my husband pick up a bag of chickpea flour at the health food store. It wasn’t too expensive, but it is a larger bag so I hope I find some other uses for it.
Made the falafel. It was delicious. However, the next time I would increase the spices a little bit. Otherwise, it is perfect.
My favourite way to use up chickpea flour is to make breakfast sandwiches with my chickpea flour “egg”. Just pop it into the search box! And yes to adding more spices…I’m a more is more kind of gal but often tone it down for the blog 🙂