Looking for a vegan burger that will satisfy EVERYONE? Barbecue chickpea burgers are where it's at! These hearty patties are infused and topped with tangy barbecue sauce and served up on buns with creamy slaw.
Are you guys ready for fall? ME TOO!!!
I know that's a ridiculous thing to say. I'm the only person on the planet that's pining away for crackling fires and pumpkin spice lattes this time of year. Summer just isn't my thing, and last week was particularly nasty where I live. Oh, and it's technically not even summer yet.
But I am an optimist, and when life gives me lemons in the form of 90 degree heat and no air conditioning, I make lemonade. Or I make veggie burgers.
Even though I love veggie burgers every day of the year, there's definitely a reason that summer is burger season. Grilling might be part of it, but I tend to find veggie burgers are better off cooked on the stovetop. Still though, they take just a few minutes to cook, and it's not like one burner and a skillet will have your whole house sizzling away.
Also, they're easy. Some of my favorite veggie burger recipes are those that require little more than throwing a few ingredients into a food processor, like my falafel burgers or my kidney bean burgers. And on those really hot summer days it can be pretty tough for me to work up the motivation to do much in the way of meal prep.
One of my favorite things to do with veggie burgers is whip up a big batch of the burger mix, break it up into burger-sized portions without shaping it into patties, and then freeze them for later. Then, when it's really hot I've got an easy meal with most of the prep work already done. Thaw, shape and cook. And bonus, I have to open up the freezer, which I always enjoy doing on sticky summer evenings.
These chickpea burgers are really easy, and they're really good too! You'll be mixing up a super simple chickpea burger base in the food processor out of oats, chickpeas, garlic and onions. (<-- Tip: this is a great basic chickpea burger formula that you can season up in all kinds of ways.)
Then you'll whip up a quick barbecue sauce and put half of it into the burgers themselves, and save half for topping, so they're doubly barbecue-y.
I topped my burgers with my homemade vegan coleslaw. Totally dairy-free, but 100% creamy and delicious.
Tips for Making Amazing Barbecue Chickpea Burgers
- Some chickpeas are softer than others, so you may need to make some adjustments. If your burger mix comes out too soft, add more oats. If it's too dry, add a splash of water.
- To keep these burgers gluten-free, use gluten-free oats, tamari (in place of soy sauce), and burger buns.
- For a super easy, super lazy version, use bottled barbecue sauce. You'll need about ¾ cup.
More Vegan Burger Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Barbecue Chickpea Burgers
Ingredients
For the Barbecue Sauce
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Barbecue Chickpea Burgers
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Oil, for grilling
For Serving
- 4 to 6 burger buns
- Sliced tomato
- Sliced Pickles
- Vegan coleslaw
Instructions
- Make the barbecue sauce by stirring all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- To make the burgers, first place the oats into a food processor bowl and process to a fine powder. Add the chickpeas, onion, garlic, and half of the barbecue sauce. Pulse until everything is chopped and well mixed, being careful not to overdo it.
- Shape the mixture into 4 to 6 patties.
- Lightly oil the bottom of a medium skillet. When the oil is hot, place a few patties into the skillet, leaving some room between them. Cook the patties for about 4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and cook any remaining patties, adding some oil to the skillet if needed.
- Stuff the patties into buns and top with remaining sauce, slaw, tomato and pickle slices. Serve.
Notes
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These were amazing!! My 12 year old, meat lover, absolutely loved these! I used 2/3 cup regular crumbs instead of oats and used a pastry masher instead of food processor (in order to retain more texture). I caramelized the onions as well. The bbq sauce is probably the best one we have made thus far. I used date syrup instead of molasses. Also, we used pineapple slices, raw spinach and red onions as a topping! It was a hit! Thank you!!
I was pleasantly surprised how tasty these are. My husband is begrudgingly eating vegetarian and even he liked them. I found it really sticky trying to form the patties. Will put it in the fridge next time....didn't even think of that.
I'm glad you and your husband enjoyed them! Thank Lynn!
Very good wife really enjoyed.
Glad she liked them!
Just made these tonight and they are so darn delicious! I went vegan about 10 months ago and I was really missing the real thing. I used to make bbq turkey burgers that were amazing and this is the perfect substitute!!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you Sarah!
You have great burger recipes.. I prep everything well ahead of dinner time. I chill the burger mixture while I clean up the kitchen; this makes the mixture easier to shape the patties. I pat out the burgers each on top of a 6” x6” piece of wax paper. I stack and refrigerate until ready for use.
Thank you so much! That's a great idea! I have a few recipes where I actually call for chilling the mixture because it makes it so much easier to shape the patties. :)
have you tried to grill these? would it work?
I have tried grilling. They are a bit delicate for that. Maybe they might firm up if you bake them for ~20 minutes at 400.
Let me know how it turns out if you try this! Enjoy!
I loved these!
Could I skip the molasses? Trying to avoid sugars
You could but it won't taste as much like barbecue. Might still be tasty though. :)
Could you freeze these?
I'm sure you could. What I usually do though is freeze the burger mix before shaping and cooking them. Then thaw, shape and cook them right before you're ready to serve. :)
oh my god I could not agree more! I do NOT like summer. i'm so ready for it to be over already!! when i read "are you guys ready for fall?" i was like wow she is speaking to my soul :)
Haha! So glad someone is with me on that!! Most people think I'm nuts.
Can I use Steel Cut oats instead since they are processed so finely?
Possibly, but I think you'd still need to grind them in the food processor. If you're trying to adapt the recipe to avoid using the food processor I'd sub oat flour. :)
How much oat flour do you suggest if I'm subbing for the full cup of oats?
A scant cup should work! Usually when I blend up the oats it gives me almost a cup. :)
Hey, I'm having trouble pinning from your website - don't know if anyone else if having issues or if it's just me! I've tried using the Pinterest browser button (nothing happens) and then going through the "upload from website" on Pinterest itself, and it tells me "this site doesn't allow you to save pins." I'm using Firefox, FYI!
I'm so sorry about that! I'm not sure why it's happening, but it started about a week ago. I'm working with Pinterest support to try and fix the problem, hopefully soon. In the meantime you should be able to use the hover-over buttons on my images. It will pop up in the upper left hand corner of any image you hover your mouse over.