Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes: Vegan Chickpea Burgers

Perfect for vegans, celiacs, and those with other digestive ailments, these chickpea burgers are a lighter choice than a regular burger and are protein-rich, full of fibre and contain zero tahini.

It’s easy to give in to a burger when you’re out for lunch. Burgers are filling, cheap and damned right tasty, but if you’re a Celiac or you struggle with big, stodgy meaty dishes, sometimes a burger can be a pathway to digestive hell.

I’m not a celiac, but I am prone to digestive problems immediately after consuming large quantities of salty, meaty products. So to be safe, a lot of the time I opt for the veggie burgers. Whilst I’m very happy they provide a burger that I can eat, sometimes I am a little underwhelmed with the end product. Usually under-seasoned and over-sweetened, with a lot to be desired on the ‘get your money’s worth’ front, I’m typically not satisfied with restaurants and their offerings.

This isn’t to say I dislike veggie burgers, rather I very much enjoy them. But I do prefer them when they’re homemade, when they’re properly thought out like a normal burger, and aren’t just a ‘pity’ burger choice on a menu.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp good quality sunflower oil
• 2 white onions, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• A good handful of basil
• 800g chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 50g almond flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 50g ground cashew nuts
• Pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Heat half of the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 4-5 minutes.
2. Stir in the cumin, turmeric and basil and fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. In a food processor add half the chickpeas, all of the flour and the onion mix until a paste.
4. Add the remaining chickpeas and cashews. Pulse so the texture is grainy, adding in the remaining oil.
5. Spoon the mixture into 8 patties and fry on each side for 5 minutes or until they start to crisp on the sides.
6. Serve on gluten-free flatbreads or pitta breads.

You can also give these other meat-free burger recipes a go: Tofu Burger, Lentil Burger, Black Bean Burger, Beetroot Burger & Broccoli Burger!