These Buffalo chickpea quinoa burgers are easy to make, healthy, and absolutely delicious! Spicy Buffalo sauce packs in flavor and heat to create a scrumptious vegan burger you'll want to make again and again.
Homemade veggie burgers have a reputation for lacking texture. And often they do.
But they don't have to! The key to creating a veggie burger with excellent texture is all in the ingredients you use. If you make a burger out of just beans and seasonings it'll be pure mush.
You need to add textural ingredients! I've experimented with this in the past and came up with a lot of great combinations. Black bean walnut burgers have a great bite, as do sweet potato falafel burgers made with the addition of chickpea flour.
These quinoa burgers turned out great, but I wondered if I could take that amazing texture to the next level...and so I did, with the creation of these chickpea quinoa burgers. Chickpeas are a tad firmer than most beans, so they add a nice crumbly element when blended up.
For flavor we're using spicy Buffalo sauce, which packs in the heat.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Quinoa. Dried quinoa can usually be bought near the rice or in the international foods aisle of most supermarkets. It comes in different colors, and any of them will work here. I used white quinoa to let the vibrant orange from the Buffalo sauce shine through.
- Water. Or use vegetable broth to infuse your quinoa with extra flavor.
- Rolled oats. Optionally use certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- Chickpeas. We're using canned chickpeas to keep things simple, but you could certainly cook yours from scratch if preferred. You'll need about 1 ¾ cups.
- Hot sauce. Preferably use Frank's hot sauce, which has that distinctive flavor we associate with Buffalo sauce. It's also mild enough that we can use a lot of it! Feel free to use a different hot sauce if you prefer.
- Garlic.
- Scallions. You might know these as green onions.
- Salt.
- Cayenne pepper. Just use this if you want extra heat in your burgers.
- Vegetable oil. You can use any high-heat oil you like to grill your burgers.
- Burger buns. Check the ingredients to ensure your buns are vegan. Optionally you can use buns that are gluten-free as well.
- Toppings. It's all up to you here! Try lettuce, tomato, pickle slices, vegan mayo, vegan ranch dressing, or vegan blue cheese dressing.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by cooking your quinoa in broth or water. If you've never cooked quinoa before, check out this tutorial on how to cook quinoa.
Tip: If you have leftover quinoa on hand, use it to make these burgers! You'll need about 1 ¼ cups.
Blend your oats in a food processor, the add the remaining ingredients: cooked quinoa, chickpeas, hot sauce, garlic and scallions. Blend the mixture again, but be careful not to overdo it. Over-blending is another common cause of mushy vegan burgers.
Shape the mixture into patties and grill them for a few minutes on each side.
Stuff your chickpea quinoa patties into buns and pile on your favorite toppings.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover Buffalo chickpea quinoa burger patties will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Prep-Ahead Tips
- The quinoa can be cooked in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The burger mixture can be blended up in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
What To Serve with Chickpea Quinoa Burgers
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📖 Recipe
Buffalo Chickpea Quinoa Burgers
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- ¾ cup vegetable broth or water
- ½ cup rolled oats (or scant ½ cup oat flour)
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup cayenne pepper hot sauce, or to taste (preferably Franks brand)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Salt to taste
- A few dashes of cayenne chili powder to taste (optional - just if you like some extra heat)
- Oil or cooking spray, for grilling
- 4 burger buns
Toppings (optional):
- Vegan mayo
- Additional hot sauce
- Sliced tomato
- Sliced onion
- Lettuce
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa well under cold running water. Place it into a small saucepan with vegetable broth or water, set over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for another five minutes. Remove the lid and allow it to cool a bit while you gather the remaining ingredients.
- Place the oats into a food processor and process to a fine powder. Add the cooked quinoa, chickpeas, hot sauce, garlic, scallions, and cayenne pepper (if using). Pulse until everything is finely chopped and well blended, being careful not to overdo it (don't let it turn to mush). Season the mixture with salt to taste and additional hot sauce if you like.
- Shape the mixture into patties, pressing them very firmly together. If you find the mixture is too crumbly, try adding a splash of water or non-dairy milk.
- Coat a large skillet with cooking spray or oil and place it over medium heat. Cook the patties in batches, being careful not to crowd the skillet too much. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, being careful when flipping to avoid crumbling.
- Stuff the patties into buns and top with your favorite toppings. Serve.
Notes
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This burger is haunting me... that says alot!! Made this a couple weeks back and at first I was less than impressed. Added a bit more hot sauce and a tad salt and tried again and WOWEEEE!!! Froze a few and they were even better the next time around. Keeping this one for sure. Great with sriracha mayo, sliced onion and a big pickle on the side. Bet avocado would be good on there too or sliced tomato. Served to a friend on a bed of rice who wasn't doing bread. Drizzled with sriracha mayo and she loved it!! Thanks, Chef!!
When you say 1/2 cup quinoa, is that a 1/2 measured out as dry or cooked? Thanks, love you recipes!
It's dry - I just updated the recipe to clarify! :)
and 1/2 c dry is 1 1/2 c cooked, yes?
That's about right!
I have just come across this recipe and it is by far my favourite veggie burger to date. They hold together really well and I love the spice running through. Will gladly make these again 👍👌
I’m drooling just reading your recipe, Alissa, thank you! Eager to try it out :-) I’m thinking these will be great to stock up my freezer with! If I freeze uncooked patties, will they still crisp nicely upon frying?
And what can I use in place of the store bought hot sauce? I’m not a fan of hot spice but I’m guessing I’d need to replace the moisture that the sauce would provide?
Great videos you make by the way, they’re so helpful. I’m always in awe of you food bloggers, going the extra mile-and-more! It makes healthy living so much easier. :-)
You can definitely freeze the uncooked patties, and they'll still crisp up nicely! I usually just freeze the mixture without even shaping it into patties - then just thaw, shape, and fry. You could use all kinds of sauces in place of the hot sauce - barbecue or teriyaki might be nice. I'd love to hear how they turn out!
These burgers are amazing! I followed the recipe, then served them with some extra hot sauce and hempseed ranch dressing. I also made a side of sweet potato fries. A perfect dinner, I made them last night and am making a double batch right now ( very next day at 8:30am).
We’ve been vegan for six months and this is by far our favorite burger. Thank you so much for creating such a delicious recipe.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
We LOVE these!! Our favorite veggie burger yet.
Good flavor, texture and you can’t beat the ingredients.
Awesome! I'm so glad you like them!
This recipe is great! We made them this afternoon as a fun hands-on activity with our two toddlers. I used gluten-free oats and skipped the hot sauce this time because I'm nursing and don't want to be up all night with an unhappy two month old. I cooked them up in a pan as the recipe said and was so happy with how they turned out! They stuck together well, even on a sandwich!
This will definitely become a regular in our house... and I look forward to the day when I can enjoy them "buffalo" style. ;)
I'm so glad you like them! I hope you enjoy the spicy Buffalo version too!
These were just the thing to try my fermented habanero sauce.
Thanx so much.
Dave
Oh, that sounds delicious! Glad you liked them!
Does the mix freeze well without cooking the burgers, or do you recommend cooking them first? These were so good!!!
Either works, but I prefer to freeze the mix without cooking the burgers. I'm glad you enjoyed them!!
I made these this evening for supper. I don't have a processor so had to use my hand mixer. It left a nice bit of texture to the chick peas. I also bbq'd them on a Cookina bbq mat and they were so delicious. Much better than when I did make them with a food processor at my in-laws.They were too mushy. This time, perfect!!
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, and great to hear it worked well with a hand mixer! Thanks Lisa!
Incredible!
Thank you!!
When will you have a recipe box I can save all these recipes too?
Love Love Love
I'm glad you're enjoying them!! I had a recipe box a while ago, but the company that set it up went out of business. I'm keeping my eye open for new options!
These were SO good - thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Teri!! I'm glad you enjoyed them!
I made them but felt like the mix was vey soft so i added some quinoa and oats and cook a small pattie ti taste, it is good but little bit hot for me although i mixed hot pepper sauce with plain pepper sauce! But I still like it.
These burgers sound amazing and, I'm going to make them for sure!!! We don't watch or really care for sports...lol...but, we will enjoy these over a good movie. Also, did you ever share this recipe with your message therapist??
Haha! No, I haven't been back for a massage since I wrote this! Enjoy the burgers!
This looks delicious. Will definitely share with a few vegan friends. Thanks!
You are welcome! And thanks for sharing! Enjoy!!
Have you tried mashing these instead of using a food processor?
I haven't, but I think if you mash it really well it should work!
Oh man. I love buffalo anything. XD Maybe I will make these on Game Day.
Yeah in my pre-vegan days I remember having a buffalo meat burger. I couldn't tell you any taste difference from regular beef burgers. I remember being less fat or something. But clearly I rather have this!
I'm all about Buffalo anything too! Usually this time of year I find myself using football as an excuse to go crazy with the Buffalo recipes (So probably more to come.). :)
These burgers look and sound amazing! I am always on the look out for new veggie burger ideas, but this is a HIT! thanks for providing a video on how you make them too! that always helps a ton
Thanks Albert! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Can you bake and make into meatballs?
I think so! Try using the method from this recipe: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/quinoa-meatball-sub-grilled-peppers-onions/
Just want to share with you that Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce is vegan...Yuppie!
http://vegosamigos.com/franks-red-hot-sauce-is-vegan
Glad to hear it! Thanks Laura!!
Making these for a friend who will be delivering any day now so has something quick and easy to grab. Have you frozen these after cooking?
I've frozen very similar burgers after cooking and they're just fine. Just thaw and re-grill long enough to heat them up. You can also freeze the mixture before cooking and then just shape into burgers and grill - they turn out a little crispier on the outside this way. :)
Thanks Michele!
Looks yummy!
Could I use olive or grape seed oil in place of the vegan margarine? Thanks. And thanks for your great recipes! I've got coconut bacon in the oven right now!
Yes you can! I used margarine because Buffalo sauce is traditionally made with butter, but just about any neutral flavored cooking oil should work just fine. Enjoy the coconut bacon!!
hey thanks! I baked them for 15 minutes on each side and they came out great. They were still soft when I took them out but hardened as soon as they cooled. Thanks for the reply.. and the awesome blog for that matter! Keep it up! :)
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your results! And thank you for the lovely compliment...so glad you are enjoying the blog!!!
I made these for the first time today and also tried them in the oven. Such an easy recipe to prepare and very delicious too. and I'm sure baking them in the oven upped the health factor as well.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them! I'll have to try them in the oven soon!
These look delicious. Any suggestions how long/what temperature to do if I wanted to bake them?
Thank you! Try baking them at 350, check in after 10-15 minutes, flip if they look browned on the bottom, then bake for about the same time on the other side. I haven't tried baking them, but the mixture is very similar to my falafel, which bakes at 350 for 35 minutes with a couple of rotations during baking. Please let me know how it works out if you give it a try!