Chickpea Quinoa Burgers are a delicious, satisfying and healthy riff on falafel. No frying necessary. For those of you who are meat-eaters, this will not replace a beef burger. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. But here’s the thing – it doesn’t have to. It’s wonderful in its own right.

This is an amazingly delicious veggie burger that is easy to prepare and jam-packed with flavor. And while I made it with more or less falafel seasonings, you can endlessly riff on that. The quinoa not only acts as a binder, making an egg unnecessary, but it makes for a complete protein with the chickpeas.

I like to buy organic dried chickpeas in bulk and cook them as needed. Along with grinding many of my own spices, I’ve been cooking up my own beans over the past year or so. The flavors and textures are so within my control and they are just so much more intense. However, do feel free to use canned chickpeas here if you want. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, where legumes are such an essential part of your diet, make sure that the beans you buy are organic.

Okay, thus ends my preaching for the day!

So with all of the veggie burgers out there, why should you make this Chickpea Quinoa Burger? Well let me count the ways: 1) it’s really delicious; 2) it’s easy to make; 3) the mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated for as much as a couple of days before cooking; 4) it’s healthy; 5) it’s inexpensive; 6) there are almost endless riffs on the spices that you could do to tailor it to your tastes and 7) did I say that it’s REALLY delicious?

My husband and I are not vegetarian, but I have never been a huge meat eater. Now while Andrew was, he has learned to love and appreciate a more veg-forward diet. Growing up, we were more limited on fresh vegetable options and only those which were in season. While there is something to be said for eating fruits and veg in season, in this global economy and with modern farming methods, we are able to have an incredibly varied diet all year.

One of the many things I love about this recipe is that no special equipment or techniques are necessary for making successful Chickpea Quinoa Burgers. It is helpful to have a food processor which makes putting the mixture together a snap. But you could mash the chickpeas by hand and finely chop everything else if you didn’t have one. More tedious and time-consuming for sure, but doable.

These burgers can be pan-fried or baked in the oven. Unlike some veggie burgers I have tried, these hold together well when cooking. How you garnish your burgers is entirely up to you and your imagination. If you want to keep things vegan, I would suggest a simple tahini sauce to go on your buns or directly on the burger if you are foregoing the bread. If you are willing to use dairy, I would suggest a yogurt sauce with fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint, some ground cumin, garlic and lemon or lime juice. A sriracha mayo would also be delicious.

Crown the burgers with slices of onion, pickles and lettuce. Sides could be as simple as chips or for more variety, try some oven-roasted sweet potato tossed with a little maple syrup, salt, hot pepper flakes and a little cinnamon, nutmeg, hawaij or baharat. I served mine with oven-roasted kabocha squash tonight. You can keep things really simple and basic or get your crazy on. But whatever you do, makes these burgers soon.

Recipe

Yield: 4 large burgers or 6 medium burgers

Ingredients

1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas (If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them)

1/2 cup of dried quinoa, rinsed and cooked in 1 cup of water

1/2 cup of sundried-tomatoes

1.5 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon black or white sesame seeds

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

Scant 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or cracked black pepper

1.25 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried mint or 1 teaspoon fresh mint

1 teaspoon paprika (sweet, hot or smoked)

1 clove crushed garlic

Juice of one lemon or lime

2 to 3 Tablespoons finely chopped red or yellow onion (if using a food processor, let it do the work!)

2 to 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander) or parsley

Garnishes

Quickly pickled onion or slices of onion

Lettuce of choice

Tahini sauce, Sriracha mayonnaise or Herbed Yogurt

Sliced tomato (I didn’t have any large tomatoes)

Directions

Place the quinoa and water in a small pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until all of the water is just absorbed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until just combined. You do not want a paste.

The mixture can be refrigerated at this point until you are ready to cook the burgers. I like to refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld and for everything to firm up a bit, but these can also be made right away.

When you are ready to cook, use moistened hands (with cold water or a tiny bit of a neutral oil like Canola) to form the patties.

If you are pan-frying the patties, heat a skillet with about 2 Tablespoons of oil. Place the patties in the skillet and cook for 6 to 7 minutes per side. Do not press down on the patties while cooking. Cook until they are evenly brown and crisp on both sides. Depending on the size of your patty, you may need to adjust your time. Since these are vegan, there is no health risk if they are under-cooked. You do want to develop a bit of a crust. Remove from the pan and serve.

If you are making these in the oven, line a baking pan with parchment or foil and lightly grease the pan. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 15 to 20 minutes per side, depending on the size of your patty. You want the burgers to develop a crust on the outside and to turn a darkish brown. Because my oven is really awful, I ended up turning on the broil for a few minutes just to develop a nice crust.