I’ve been a veggie burger fan for many years. If I spot veggie burgers in the grocery store on sale, they’ll hit my cart.
They’ll still hit my cart even if they’re not on sale and I’m craving them.
But – veggie burgers are hitting my shopping cart less and less over the past couple of years.
Reason? Price!
I can make veggie burgers at home and control what ingredients go into them, often making them much cheaper than I can buy at the grocery store. I can make a batch of veggie burgers and freeze them.
And these days, I just don’t want to go to the grocery store much anyway!
I love these easy chickpea cakes. Very inexpensive too! I make them at least once a week. The recipe makes four, so I eat two at the time I make them, and eat the remaining two for dinner the next day. Though i could freeze the leftover patties and have them another time.
Canned chickpeas or cook them yourself?
Cans of beans are pretty cheap at the grocery store, under a buck.
Dry beans are also inexpensive and yield a lot more than the canned after they’re cooked.
I use an Instant Pot and from dry beans to cooked it takes about an hour, once you account for the Instant Pot pressurizing and depressurizing.
Click here to learn how to cook chickpeas in your Instant Pot.
How to make easy chickpea cakes
If you cooked your own chickpeas, you need one and a half cups for the recipe.
If you’re using canned chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, a 15 ounce can.
Put the chickpeas into a bowl and mash them with a fork. I also leave some chickpeas intact or partly intact.
Add a third a cup of bread crumbs and a third a cup of quick oats. Or any combination of the two, whatever you have on hand.
Everyone knows by now that I keep my oats in the freezer. I also keep bread crumbs in the freezer to extend their shelf life.
I just found a new brand of bread crumbs at the dollar store. Dollarama for my Canadian readers who want to check it out. These bread crumbs cost $2 and is a larger size than what I get at the grocery stores. It has better seasoning too. Open the can and there’s a really good whiff of spices and garlic!
You can add one egg if you like. I’ve made this recipe with an egg substitute – flax egg (one tablespoon flax + 2 tablespoons water) – and without, and I don’t see a huge difference either way. Unless I went a little overboard with the breadcrumbs and the mix is too dry.
Add seasonings of your choice. Salt and pepper? Lemon pepper? Lately I’ve been using a Greek seasoning in the chickpea cakes and also a couple pinches of Harissa. Season with what you like!
Next, add a good squirt or two of lemon juice, about a tablespoon.
Squirt about the same amount of mustard into the chickpea mixture.
Add about a quarter cup of mayonnaise. I use the squirt bottle, so I eyeball what looks like a quarter cup. This could be the reason why I don’t need to add the egg to the mixture. Enough mayonnaise will hold everything together.
Add half a cup of shredded cheese. Just use whatever cheese you have on hand. I’ve used Mozzarella, light cheese, and Tex-Mex. When I buy shredded cheese, I toss the bag in the freezer so it lasts longer. I have to give the bag a few good whacks on the counter when I take it out of the freezer to separate the shredded cheese.
Mix all the ingredients and shape into four balls. Then flatten them into patties about an inch thick.
Heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon or so of oil. I’ve used both vegetable oil and olive oil. I find the vegetable oil works best, but use whatever oil you have on hand.
Cook on medium heat about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
You can put the chickpea cakes into a hamburger bun or as is on a plate with salad. I add a little mustard or hot sauce to the patties, but they can also be eaten plain.
They can be easily reheated in the microwave.
These chickpea cakes are so easy to make. You can experiment with different seasonings and cheeses. Change it up for different taste sensations.
You can’t beat how easy it is to assemble these chickpea cakes, and they cook up in less than 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
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