The ultimate plant based chickpea burgers. Buffalo sauce, filled with veggies, and paired with amazing toppings, this burger will erase all others from memory!
Two things must be obvious to you all by now, 1. I LOVE hot sauce and 2. I LOVE veggie burgers...this is the 6th one I've published here and I still have a few more I'm working on behind the scenes. Before we stopped eating meat I wasn't much of a beef burger fan, in fact when we went out, I'd often order the veggie burger in place of the meat patty.
So when we started our plant based diet, creating a veggie burger was one of my top priorities. I honestly haven't found a store bought version that I like. I've eaten a few out that are pretty good, but my favorite ones are the ones I create at home. This burger is probably up there close to number one!
I love the simplicity of it, coupled with the taste from the buffalo sauce I used. It isn't all that spicy, so my kids and husband love it just as much, but of course I add more hot sauce on top!
The key with chickpea burgers is to make sure you have enough liquid. Chickpeas are a pretty dry bean, especially because I use them chopped and not pureed. When I first wanted to create a buffalo burger, because again I'm obsessed with hot sauce, I knew chickpeas were the perfect complement.
I then wrote a list of all the veggie based ingredients I have seen that go with buffalo sauce: carrots, celery, cauliflower...done! I use all three. The best is that cauliflower brings a lot of moisture into things, so it's a key component in preventing these from being dry and cardboard like. I decided to keep the veggies raw in the burger mixture and allow the cooking process to bring out their natural moisture and flavors. It worked great!
How To Make These Chickpea Burgers Even Better?...
Of course, these chickpea burgers is served best with my incredible Baked Cornmeal and Pepita Crusted Onion Rings, both on the side and ON the burger! But wait, if you are part of the cool crowd and adore hot sauce as much as I do, top it with my Pistachio Buffalo Cream. You won't regret it.
It's like a little hot sauce party in your mouth! I honestly could not get enough. I doubled the batch and froze half of these burgers for instant access whenever my cravings took over. I have no control, I'm 8 months pregnant and when baby wants, baby gets. You need to try these! Super easy to make and filled with protein and veggies so I love knowing that if that's all my boys eat, they are set.
As always, I love comments on the blog if you try them, so make sure to let me know! You can also tag me on Instagram at veggiesdontbite #veggiesdontbite so I don’t miss it! Hope you enjoy!
Buffalo Chickpea Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (mix 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed plus 6 tablespoons water)
- 3 cans chickpeas , 15 ounces each
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup oats , gluten free if needed
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¾ cup buffalo cayenne pepper type hot sauce , like Franks brand
Suggested toppings:
Instructions
- Mix the 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to make the flax eggs.
- Chop chickpeas, carrots, celery and cauliflower in a food processor until chunky but not pasty. It’s best to chop separately. Put into a large bowl.
- Slice/chop green onions and add to the bowl.
- Next add the oats, almond flour, flax eggs and buffalo sauce and mix well.
- Mix well with your hands to get everything mashed together well into a firm, but slightly, wet dough.
- Once you get the taste you like, allow mixture to set a while so oats soak in some liquid (you can also do this after you shape into burgers). This really helps with consistency so that they are not mushy, but have a firmer bite.
- Shape into 4 inch patties, then cook on the stove top over medium heat in a medium sized pan for 4-5 minutes on each side (depending on stove).
- Make sure to keep pan covered to help the burger cook throughout and achieve the best texture possible. This helps prevent a mushy burger. Check every few minutes to prevent burning, should be slightly browned when ready.
- Allow the burgers to cool a bit to further help set them into a non mushy consistency, then serve on buns or lettuce wraps and with toppings of choice.
- Pair with Baked Cornmeal and Pepita Crusted Onion Rings for an even more delicious dinner!
Notes
- It works best to chop everything in a food processor separately in order to achieve the perfect texture for each.
- You can also reduce the buffalo sauce for less of a kick, but if you do you will need to add a little water to replace the liquid.
- To make this nut free, use another flour such as oat flour to replace the almond meal. Do not just add more oats as this mixture needs a little bit of a smooth flour to set correctly.
- The burger patties should be about 4 inches in diameter.
- This recipe makes a lot so you can freeze leftovers for a future meal.
- Nutrition info is for the patties only.
- Chop veggies and beans beforehand so all you need to do the day you make it is put it all together.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Hannah
Hi Sophia! These look absolutely delicious! I love a good ole fashioned burger but want to try to limit my red meat so I'm excited to find a veggie burger recipe that looks so tasty-- anything with hot sauce is good in my book! I was wondering if you could use 2 eggs instead of the flax seed "eggs" you mentioned in your recipe? Also is there a gluten free burger bun that you recommend?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Hannah!! Thank you so much and I am honored that you want to give these a try! Yes, I'm guessing the regular eggs will work. The flax and water combo acts as a binder which eggs do as well. Only thing is that I am not sure if you need 1 or 2 eggs. I would start with one and see if they stick together well. As for gluten free buns I have yet to find any I truly love, I usually stick to sprouted wheat buns (Ezekiel is the most healthy sprouted but Alvarado Street Bakery is really good). The only gluten free bread company I have found so far that is pretty decent is BFree. I haven't seen it around too much but if you find it it's worth a try!
Victoria
Wow - finally a burger that is perfect! And delicious taste! 🙂 I have tried so many different burgers and also experimented myself, usually they get too mushy or fall apart. I did add a little psyllium husk (I dont know if you call it that in english) and since we dont have Franks sauce here I googled for a recipe and ended up with sambal oelek with a little water, garlic and vinegar. Didnt have celery but fennel worked out fine. I´m so glad I found your site. Next will be the onion rings and the sauce, I´ll have to scroll through all your recipes.
Thx!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Victoria! I so appreciate the kind words. Have you seen my cookbook I just released? It has loads of amazing burgers!! Check it out here: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/cookbooks/
Victoria
Thx! I´ll have a look at your book, the shipping might be a bit tricky though since I live in Sweden.
veggiesdontbite
Check it out because they definitely ship out of the US!
Penelope
Σοφία μου γειά σου και πάλι 🙂 rainy weekend so perfect time to have a look on your great and so inspiring food blog you have! ok, this looks ridiculously delicious and since I LOVE veggie burger this will be on my list to do it very soon!!! i saw also the other 2 recipes you have for burgers, all of them look absolutely fantastic! i make my own vegan burger with shiitake mushroom or with eggplants but i will definitely try yours as well! i have a question to make. Here in Greece the only burger bread you can find is in supermarket and most of them they have conservatives which i don't like. On the other hand in fournos the burger bread are not actually for burgers. So i was wondering if you have any recipe for nice burger breads? i tried some on internet but i wasn't so satisfied with the result! once again thanks for your time!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Penelope! Thanks so much! I can imagine there probably isn't many options for burger buns over there. I don't have any recipes on my blog unfortunately. But you really can use any bread you want, you can try using your favorite break recipe and maybe forming into rolls instead? Also, did you know my new cookbook coming out this fall is a burger and burrito cookbook? It has almost 30 burger recipes!
Penelope
Hi Sofia! I tried with several bread recipes but they are not coming out so fluffy as Burger buns are suppose to be 🙁 ... That's fantastic news regarding the book! Συγχαρητήρια! burgers and burritos mmmm, I absolutely love them!!! I will definitely buy it!!!
veggiesdontbite
Ah, got it! Well if there's a recipe you find feel free to pass it on and I can tell you if I know the blogger! Thank you so much for the best wishes! I will post when the pre order link is ready!
Kelly
Made these burgers along with the pistachio buffalo cream. Very yummy! And with the leftovers, we made lettuce wraps. Thanx for sharing 😉
veggiesdontbite
Yay!!! So happy you liked them! Lettuce wraps is an excellent idea. Totally doing that next time!
Ellie
i love chickpea anything! I can't wait to try these. I was wondering if there is a sub for the almond meal. I'm allergic!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Ellie! The almond meal is there to help hold the burgers together and give a nice crisp when cooking. You could sub a flour if you like or even some breadcrumbs. Let me know what you try and how it turned out!
Mel
Wow! They look amazing. Love the idea of those crispy onion rings and the buffalo sauce. I'll definitely be trying it sometime soon!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much!! The onion rings are so good! And I use the buffalo cream all the time for many things. It's so addicting! Let me know if you try them!
Vanessa L.
these look delish- bet they would be good crumbled on a salad..
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Vanessa! These are our favorite burgers right now. I always have them in our freezer. I eat them in wraps, on salad, in a sandwich...so many ways! Thanks so much for being here and please let me know if you give them a try!
Casey
These look amazing! And considering I have all these ingredients lying around, I am going to have to whip these up!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Casey! Let me know if you have any questions and how they turn out! I have a bunch on my freezer ready to be eaten. These are our go to burgers right now! Thanks so much for being here!
Maggie
Hi Sophia! I'm really looking forward to making these and was wondering how the fresh patties would hold up on a barbecue grill. Would it be better to use frozen ones? I have the same question about your portobello black rice burger recipe. Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Maggie! Thanks so much for getting in touch. I think it depends on how wide your grill is. If there is a lot of space in-between then it may not hold up as well. If it's pretty solid it should be okay. It may do better if it was a little frozen. They firm up as they cool so when warm they may not hold up as well. Same with the portobello rice ones. I have tried my regular veggie and bean burgers on the grill and those did well, but I haven't tried these yet. If it were me, I'd put them on the grill partially frozen. Let me know how it works if you try!! You will love them though. One of my faves!
Jillian
Now that I'm home from school, I'm so ready to be back in the kitchen! I'm excited to try this recipe for summer!
veggiesdontbite
Awesome Jillian! Can't wait for you to try it. Let me know if you have any questions and how it turns out!! Thanks so much for reading the blog!
Erin
can't wait to make these! want to make more things from scratch instead of buying vegan burgers. Think I'll slap some avocado on one of these for dinner!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Erin!! I can't wait for you to try them. Make sure to let me know how you like them! So much better than the store bought. And avocado?? Yes!!! That would be delish!!
Kelly J. R.
These are making my stomach growl and I just finished eating lunch an hour ago!
veggiesdontbite
Lol Kelly! I always crave these too! Super easy to make which is even better.
Krista F
Wow, these look amazing! I can't wait to make these. I like to keep vegan burgers in my rotation. So much better than the overpriced ones at the grocery. And I love spicy. Mmm-hmm.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Krista! We always have one of my burgers stocked in the freezer. I'm not a fan of the store bought ones and yes, so overpriced! If you love spice and buffalo sauce you will love these! Let me know how you like them when you give them a try!! Thanks for following!
Alex
It looks DELICIOUS! I put it on my "to-do recipes list" for the weekend. Thank you for the great idea!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Alex! I can't wait to see how you like it! Let me know when you give it a try!
Stacey F
These look really good and I am always looking for a new veggie burger recipe 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Stacey! It's a favorite of ours for sure! They freeze well so we always have some in our freezer. Let me know if you try them! I love reading comments from you guys!