Say hello to my new best friend. I mean, my new favorite veggie burger. (You can’t be friends with a veggie burger, right?)
Ever since I discovered the trick of quick-soaking chickpeas instead of using canned chickpeas to make the perfect falafel, my mind is spinning with applications.
Don’t worry. This is the first experiment of many.
This 10-ingredient version uses chickpeas as a base and is infused with sun-dried tomatoes* for a savory, sweet tomato flavor, which is balanced with fresh garlic and herbs (parsley or basil).
*Note: you can learn about the origins of sun-dried tomatoes here.
The beauty of this burger is that it doesn’t crumble when bitten into like most veggie burgers. Friends, this is huge! Not only is it delicious and flavorful and full of plant-based protein, but it acts like a “true burger” in texture. Pinch me, I’m dreaming.
I hope you all LOVE this burger! It’s insanely flavorful, hearty, satisfying, grillable, and perfect for cookouts or easy weeknight meals.
If you give these a try, leave a comment, rate it, and tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we know how they turned out! Cheers, friends!
Herbed Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers (GF)
Ingredients
BURGERS
- 1 1/2 cup dry (uncooked) chickpeas
- 1 cup packed fresh chopped parsley or basil (basil for sweetness, parsley for bitterness)
- 1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
- 6 cloves garlic (6 cloves yield ~2 Tbsp)
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper (or sub a pinch of cayenne)
- 1-3 Tbsp tahini (ground sesame seeds)
- Olive, grape seed or coconut oil for cooking
FOR SERVING optional
- Whole-grain or gluten-free buns
- Fresh parsley or basil
- Diced red onion
- Garlic Dill Sauce
- Vegan Pesto
Instructions
- Rinse (uncooked) chickpeas in a fine mesh strainer and add to a large pot. Cover with 2 inches water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 1 minute. Then cover, remove from heat, and let set for 1 hour. Then drain and lightly rinse and dry thoroughly (method from the Kitchn).
- In the meantime, add parsley or basil, onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes to a food processor. Mix until well processed.
- Once the chickpeas are slightly cooled, add half to the food processor, along with cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper and tahini. Mix to combine thoroughly, scraping down sides as needed. Then add the rest of the chickpeas and blend until you have a dough that’s close to a paste in consistency. This may take up to 4-5 minutes to fully incorporate all of the spices and herbs. Add more tahini or a bit of water if the mixture is looking too crumbly or dry.
- Sample a small bit and adjust spices/salt/herbs as needed. Then cover and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes – 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld and the texture to become more firm.
- Remove from refrigerator and divide into 4-6 even patties (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) and gently form into patties using your hands. If the burgers aren’t holding together the mixture may need to be blended more thoroughly, or blended with a bit more tahini.
- To cook, heat a large metal or cast iron skillet over medium/ medium-high heat (or cook on the grill!). Once hot, add enough oil to create a thin layer on the bottom of the pan and wait 1-2 minutes for the oil to heat up. Then place only as many burgers as will fit comfortably in the pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Once the bottom side is evenly browned, flip gently, as they can be fragile. Continue until all burgers are cooked. Adjust heat as needed if they’re browning too quickly, or aren’t cooking quickly enough.
- These burgers are delicious on their own with garlic dill sauce or pesto and desired toppings. They’re also great with a bun, but it isn’t necessary! Alternatively, serve over greens, in pita, or enjoy as is!
- To freeze, lay uncooked burgers on a plate or baking sheet and freeze. Once firm, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze up to one month. Let thaw before cooking on the stovetop or grill.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without buns or toppings.
Nutrition (1 of 6 servings)
Stéphanie Bergeron says
Hi! I wonder one thing about this recipe: the kitchn technique for quick soak of the peas are only for soaking and not for cooking. Those peas in this recipe, are just lightly cooked in the pan after the soaking phase and beeing mixed. Is it going to be enough for digestion ??
Hi Stéphanie, for easier digestion, you can cook them after soaking! The burgers will just be more tender.
Loraleigh says
Hi, I don’t have a food processor & wanted to let you know that I successfully made these with my non-electric rip cord style food chopper. They were great! I was worried about getting the chickpeas chopped enough for a burger but I just worked in small batches dividing up the seasonings so I had a bit in each batch and it was fine. I actually don’t think it took any extra time than if I had an electric food processor, just more elbow grease! I cooked these on our outdoor gas grill at high heat for about 2-3 min on each side & I didn’t have a problem with them coming apart. The chilling in the refrigerator is critical for them staying together. The flavours are great. My college age son asked for frozen patties so he could just pull one out and throw it in wrap for a grab & go meal! Great recipe!
Amazing! Thank you for sharing your experience, Loraleigh! xo
Gayle Mallinger says
This easy to make recipe was phenomenal! Absolutely delicious!!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Gayle. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Michelle says
Love your creativity in this recipe! I’ve never tried meatless burgers before. Might there be a way to crumble this to resemble ground beef? Would the texture be similar? Thinking of trying Mexican seasonings to see if it might work in my stuffed Anaheim peppers recipe, a favorite here and made with taco seasonings. Would the taco twist work with this base? Either way, cooking with chickpeas is outside of the box for me and I’m looking forward to trying your delicious sounding recipe!
Thanks Michelle! That sounds delicious! You could definitely crumble it and cook in a skillet.
Mary S. says
So… falafel with sundried tomatoes and basil, but minus fresh cilantro. Interesting and looks pretty. I soak my dried chickpeas on the counter for 24 hours (change the water a few times), drain, refrigerate until I’ve the time to make them, never more than a few days away. And even once that’s done, I often put all the ingredients in my food processor and finish the task, then refrigerate again until time to cook. So I do it in 3 steps, easier on my feet and my tight schedule. I don’t deep fry my falafel or shallow fry in a pan… I flatten the balls slightly into plump discs and bake them in the oven on cookie sheets with parchment paper, with a little avocado oil spread on each side with a pastry brush. Never sticks, flips easily! Much better than standing over deep hot oil or a frypan, and no smell of fried food lingering for days. Less oil in the final product, too. Your burgers would of course be bigger to fit a bun (or I could still just pile my small discs into a bun!). I might even add a little smoked paprika and chipotle powder, to help with the barbecued flavor and add heat. Imaginative recipe. I’ve been vegetarian since 1972, but sometimes I still feel outnumbered. I’m gonna send this to myself!
Steve smith says
Brilliant; love the recipe 🙏
Thanks, Steve!
Barb says
I was pleasantly surprised how good these were! I did a couple of alterations after reading the reviews. It seemed the biggest issue was with how dry they were. I took one reviewers idea of adding carrots to the mix as well as veggie broth until I hit the desired consistency then I added a few tablespoons of chick pea flour so they would hold together. I used the cayenne pepper instead of salt and pepper and I brushed the patties with olive oil and roasted them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on each side. I also processed it to a paste consistency. They were fantastic! I wish I could post a picture of them here. They stayed together perfectly even while eating them!
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Barb. So glad you enjoyed the burgers!
Mary S. says
Just my opinion: I think you can solve the dryness if, instead of boiling a few minutes and soaking in the same water just an hour, rather than testing a few to actually see if they’re hydrated all the way through… you soak the chickpeas overnight at room temp on the countertop the oldfashioned way, as they do for falafel. Chickpeas are notorious among beans and pulses for taking a wide range of times to soak and cook, they can be unpredictable depending on their age, storage, hardness of your water, adding a pinch of baking soda or not, your altitude (can change the boiling point of water), and sometimes the chickpeas are even just plain being contrary… LOL! So maybe yours came in last in the race! The idea in this recipe (I’m guessing) was to speed up the process so no one’s discouraged and can do every step in one evening with no advance planning. Soaking at room temp the way I traditionally do, takes overnight, even 24 hours, whatever fits my schedule. But my falafel aren’t dry, and I ignore them in between each step. You can even soak, drain and refrigerate for another day, then process all the ingredients, refrigerate the prepared mix again up to a few days, and then do the final third step and make your burgers when you’re ready. Just my own traditional method. These are burgers, not falafel, but chickpeas are still gonna be chickpeas.
Tony says
Just made them – I thought they were pretty yummy and very much like falafels :)
Great! Thank you for sharing, Tony!
Andrea E says
As others have noted, these will not hold together without some help. I added a chia seed ‘egg’, a glug of olive oil and a little more water. I used jarred sun-dried tomatoes. If one is using dried ones, I definitely recommend rehydrating first–for purposes of texture and flavor. I wanted a more Italian flavor, not falafel, so I upped the Italian flavors and omitted the cumin.
I used the original recipe and got 8 very hefty patties, so that was cool
All that said, they fried up crispy and turned out nice and tasty.
Pete says
Very delicious! Will add a bit of mashed sweet potato next time.
Thanks for the kind review, Pete! Glad you enjoyed. xo
Kata says
Hello,
Do you think these burgers can be grilled?
Hi Kata, we think they will be too tender. But perhaps if using canned chickpeas they will stick together enough to be grilled. They might end up more mushy in the center though. Let us know if you try it!
Rebecca Shea says
I’m so looking forward to making this. My sister used this recipe and it turned out well! It’s always great learning new vegan recipes.
xoxo!
Kelly McCarthy says
Flavors in these are great! Taste just like falafel! We did a mix of parsley and basil. Definitely needed about a cup of water to get right consistency. This is second time I’ve made them. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoy them, Kelly! Thanks so much for sharing!
Adriana says
How many ounces of canned chickpeas can I use instead of the dried? Thanks you!!
Roughly 3 cups cooked chickpeas, which is I think 2 15-ounce cans? But we’re not sure as we haven’t tested it that way. Let us know if you do!
Meredith says
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great. I did have to add quite a bit of water when mixing but it was easy enough to eyeball.
I ended up making a lemon/dill/mayo mixture for the topping instead of the dill hummus as suggested. I love that hummus sauce on other recipes but these burgers needed something creamy to balance the flavors.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Meredith! We’re so glad you enjoy them!
gabi says
Hi. I made this recipe and I didn’t expect it, but it’s amazing !!!! I used olive oil instead of tahini and it works. the only thing is that it has less alloy.
Whoop! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Gabi. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Lorretta says
These burgers sound delicious! Can they be oven baked instead of fried and if so will the texture be different?
Hi Lorretta, they won’t have the same crispy texture on the outside and may not hold together as well. But if you try it, maybe 375 F (190 C) and for 20 minutes? Check for doneness at that point. Let us know how it goes!
Alexa Marsh says
These chickpea burgers look absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making these!
Brittany says
This recipe turned out great and the burger held up beautifully. I was trying to use up some carrots that were going bad so I added those to the miX and they turned out to be a great, nutritious addition. These were very flavorful and just right. Would make them again. Thanks for this!
Love that addition! Thanks so much for sharing, Brittany! xo
Melissa says
I am in love with the flavor of these burgers! The pre-cook texture was a little mushy, so I wish I had added more tahini. Also, I grilled mine, so that probably had a little something to do with them breaking in half. But, seriously this will be my favorite burger from now on!! Thank you for sharing your recipes! :-)
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Melissa! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Chloe says
This recipe turned out great! My whole family loved them. I made a few changes: 1) I sauteed the onions and the garlic before adding them to the food processor, 2) I added a bit of leftover steamed kale for some extra veggies and since my mixture was pretty dry and difficult to blend, 3) Instead of cooking them in a pan, I baked them at 350 for 20 minutes on each side. We ate them on buns with lettuce, avocado, and some leftover romesco sauce. I definitely recommend these!
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed them, Chloe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Anke says
I’ve liked every recipe I’ve tried here so I’m disappointed to say this burger was disgusting and ended up in the trash after 1 bite. The flavor and texture when cooked are horrible and on top of that the burgers don’t hold together. The pesto and sauce don’t work here either although I’d use them for other recipes
Hi Anke, we’re so sorry to hear that was your experience! We wonder if something went wrong as they should be quite tasty and hold together? Is it possible you used sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil or ones that weren’t rehydrated? We’ll also take another look at the recipe and see if improvements can be made.
Jessi Summers says
This was really tasty! My eight cup food processor struggled to blend everything, leading to some unblitzed chickpeas, leading to some of the burgers not holding together. A half batch should be enough for next time anyway. I used the mix that didn’t hold together as a filling for chard wraps.
Marlene says
Hi! I love your avocado brownie recipe on your blog. Hoping to try these out. I’d like to add more veggies ( mushrooms, kale, carrots, etc). What’s the best way to do this?
Hi Marlene, we haven’t tried that, but perhaps you could sauté them first and add to the mixture. And maybe reduce the chickpeas slightly? You could use this recipe for inspiration: https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-lentil-nut-meatloaf/
Rachael says
I made these and they were very tasty, but mine were very wet when I formed the burgers, which I think may be because I used canned chickpeas or sun-dried tomatoes in oil, although drained. Any ideas which would have been the more significant factor? TIA.
Hi Rachael, we think both could be contributing!
Megan says
Howdy! I was looking for the Pizza Burger recipe on your site (from your cookbook) but don’t see it, this looks like the closest thing. My question is, can the pizza burgers be frozen? The cookbook only says refrigerate for 3-4 days. I’m hoping freezing is also an option. Spending lots of time trying more of your recipes during quarantine, thanks :)
Oh totally! They can be frozen up to 1 month or more. Then just take out of the freezer, thaw, and bake / cooka as instructed! Such good burgers!
Megan says
Ok, the pizza burgers are so delish! Our new favorite, and very deserving of the cover of your cookbook! (BTW, is there a reason it’s not on your blog?) Thank you for sharing your expertise with us, it’s much appreciated.
Great question! I think we’ll add them to the blog now!
Megan says
Hello! I am a huge fan and have made so many of your recipes over the last few years. I had this one saved and am looking to make it this evening, but do not have any tahini and don’t want to go get any because, well, #socialdistancing. Any suggestion for swapping it out? Thanks!
Hi Megan, we wonder if maybe cashew butter and/or olive oil would work? Let us know how it went!
Julia says
This sounds delicious! But presumably it’s OK to used tinned chickpeas for speed? Or will they make a difference to the texture/moistness of the recipe?
Hi Julia, we haven’t tried it that way, but it should work! Scan the comments to see other reader’s experiences trying it.
Heather Turner says
I made this and it didn’t turn out how yours did. For the cheese I used Violife vegan cheddar shreds that I found online, which actually added a nice touch.
Thanks for sharing, Heather! Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers! xo
V says
Questions, if you don’t mind: 1. Did you used dried or oil-packed sundried tomatoes. 2. About how many cups of cooked chickpeas did you use? Thank you!
We used the sun-dried tomatoes from Trader Joe’s that come in a pouch. They are not packed in oil, but aren’t as hard as some of the dried ones that you can purchase. 1 1/2 cups uncooked yields ~4 1/2 cups cooked.
Sara says
Hello
I love chickpea burger but I do recommend you
Soak the chickpeas for a few hours before you cook them
This accually is valid for beans and lentils also
Makes them easier to digest!!!
Just a note
Great recipes ?
Patrick cotham says
Do you promote vegan food products on your blogs
Hi Patrick, we don’t accept free products or do sponsored content on Minimalist Baker.
Megan says
These were so tasty!! Just like you recommended I just added tahini until they were the perfect texture to form into patties. Also I totally forgot to process the herbs and onion first then add the chickpeas half at a time – I just threw it all into the food processor at once and they were still perfect!
Great! Thanks for sharing, Megan.
Kora says
I love this recipe! But I was wondering if you had any other suggestions besides chickpeas? I’m not a huge fan but they seem like they’re in most vegan recipes :(
And it’s pretty cut and dry for the most part, and I want to try this recipe first. Maybe black beans do you think? Or would that ruin the flavor with the spices?
Hi Kora – this recipe would be easiest to attempt with another similar bean, such as white beans. Let us know how it goes!
Prateek Chauhan says
When you’re on a diet and something like this pops up…… god, have mercy!
And being a vegan, it’s all the more enticing. Damn, it looks so delicious. But I’m gonna have to pass (bookmarked it though :p), because I’m focussing on eliminating bread, sugar completely out of my diet and only having veggies and fruits mostly in the raw form. Hope I can survive on that without giving in to this temptation.
Abby says
This is the first veggie burger recipe I’ve tried that actually holds together! I used canned chickpeas (made sure to pay dry before processing) and dry-packed sun dried tomatoes and added a bit of water for easier blending! For the folks who said theirs didn’t hold together, definitely make sure your tomatoes weren’t packed in oil. I also used dried basil since I didn’t have fresh. Made the perfect paste. Will definitely be making these again!! I will say they are a little salty so maybe next time I’ll use 3/4-1 tsp of salt instead. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yay! We’re so glad they turned out well for you, Abby! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Sarah Silvester says
These burgers are delicious! Granted they don’t taste like burgers and don’t feel like burgers. They are quite mushy when cooked, but I served mine on some ciabatta buns, with lots of greens and the flavor was fabulous!
Annette says
These burgers were absolutely delicious. I made 6 burgers using this recipe and put one on a salad. The burger had so much flavor and was very filling. I may make 7 burgers next time because it was so filling.