Series: A Capsule Kitchen: Cheap Chickpea Burgers

 

Bean burgers, of any variety, are such an easy and cheap dinner option, which is especially important in these difficult economic times. As someone who eats a vegan diet, and is on a limited budget, these chickpea burgers are a regular go-to for my household. I’ve written the recipe for how I typically make them, though you can use it as a template, and switch up the veggies, spices, and quantities to your liking.

Cheap Chickpea Burgers

Ingredients (I typically use frozen vegetables, but fresh and canned are also fine. I also always use dried beans, as they are extremely cost effective.)

*½ cup dried chickpeas, cooked (or 1 can. A ½ cup dried chickpeas equals about a can when cooked. See instructions at the end for how to prep and cook them.)

Handful of kale

Handful of corn

Handful of cauliflower

Handful of chopped or sliced carrots

A tablespoon or so of all-purpose flour for each burger

Vegetable oil (to coat the bottom of the pan)

Spices (all optional)

Garlic salt

Nutritional yeast

Onion powder

Pepper

Sesame seeds

Instructions 

1. Put all the vegetables in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until cooked (about 10 minutes). Drain.

2. Put the chickpeas and veggies in a bowl and mash with a fork until the mixture is a bit chunky, with most of the chickpeas smushed. 

3. Add the spices you are using and mix them in thoroughly. Add about a tablespoon of flour to the mixture to start, adding more for each burger as needed. Stir it all together and form the mixture into balls, whatever size you like.


4. Add a bit of oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Place the balls in the pan and flatten and shape them with the back of a spoon into patties. (You can also form them into patties with your hands before putting them into the pan, but I’ve found the “ball and spoon” method works better for me.) 

5. Cook on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes, then flip and cook them for the same amount of time on the other side. You want them to be soft on the inside, but a bit brown and crispy on the outside.

6. Serve either on buns or toast, or as an entree with your favorite sides.

That’s it! This a great recipe for using up leftover beans or veggies, or to make extra burgers to last another night or two. The cornbread we had with our burgers on this particular night is super easy, and only takes 20 minutes to bake, making it ideal for pairing with dinner. You can find the recipe for it here.

There are so many options for these, I can’t possibly list them all, but swapping the spices and condiments can give them an Indian, Italian, or even faux tuna or chicken flavor. Get creative - there is no hard and fast way to make these. Just cook everything, mix it all together in a bowl with some flour and your spices, and shape into patties. Dinner is served.  


*Prepping and cooking dried chickpeas:

1. Put the ½ cup (or whatever amount you are using) in a bowl and fill it with water. Put it in the fridge for 4-6 hours.

2. Remove the beans from the from the fridge and rinse and drain them. Put in a pot and fill it with water and bring it to a boil.

3. Stir and let them simmer with the lid on and tilted to let out steam, for 1½ - 2 hours, stirring them occasionally, and adding water if needed, so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Once cooked, remove them from the heat and either use them immediately, or let them cool to room temperature before storing them in the fridge. 



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