What do chickpeas replace in baking?

Chickpeas make a great replacement for eggs, meat, or even flour in many traditional Western dishes. It's no secret I'm a bit chickpea-crazy (have you seen the name of my blog?). I have developed many recipes using chickpeas as a plant-based protein source, from fresh chickpea grain bowls to cozy chickpea noodle soup.

What is chickpea patties made of?

Combine chickpeas, breadcrumbs, white onion, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl. Mix well, and fold mixture into patties, about 2-3 inches wide. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

What is a vegan binder for baking?

Flaxseed (aka linseed) Combine a tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, stir to combine, and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Ground flaxseed emulates eggs' binding qualities in breads, cakes, muffins, cookies, burgers, and vegan meatballs.

Are garbanzo beans and chickpeas the same thing?

The honest answer— there's no difference between chickpeas and garbanzo beans . They're just two (of many) different names for the same type of pulse. (Pulses are basically seeds of legume plants.) The word chickpea doesn't come from chickens at all—it's an evolution of the plant's Latin name, cicer arietinum.

What is a binder for chickpea burgers?

Common veggie burger binders include eggs, flax egg, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, oats, miso paste, or even water .

Why are my chickpea patties falling apart?

If the pan and oil are not hot , the burgers will slowly warm up, create more liquid and fall apart. Don't' crowd the burgers in a pan or they will steam and get mushy. Cook them in batches if your pan isn't large enough.

Why do vegans eat chickpeas?

Chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein , making them an excellent food for people who don't eat meat or animal products. A 1-cup (164-gram) serving provides about 14.5 grams of protein, which is comparable to the protein content of similar foods like black beans and lentils ( 1 ).

Why use chickpeas in baking?

It's also known as garbanzo flour, gram flour and besan and is used frequently in Middle Eastern & Indian cooking and baking. It's denser than regular flour, naturally gluten free and packed with protein .

Can you replace flour with chickpeas?

You can usually substitute half the amount of plain flour in a recipe for chickpea flour . But, be warned, it can suck up a lot of moisture, so it may not be right for every recipe – especially if you're making a cake or bread.

How do you substitute chickpeas for eggs in baking?

The Formula. Three tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about one whole egg , while two tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about one egg white. Keep in mind that a can of chickpeas yields about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of this liquid, so about eight to 12 tablespoons.

What does cooking chickpeas in baking soda do?

The chickpeas are sautéed with baking soda for a few minutes, before dumping in the water to simmer the chickpeas. The baking soda makes the water more alkaline, which softens the chickpeas more quickly by weakening their pectic bonds .

Vegan Chickpea Cakes with Mashed Avocado Recipe (2024)

Chickpeas
Vegan Mains
Frying
Avocado

Crunchy, falafel-esque patties with rich and creamy avocado.

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated May 01, 2023

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Why It Works

Roughly pureed chickpeas act as a binder for the patties, while leaving some of the beans whole provides great internal texture.
Coating the patties in breadcrumbs helps to keep the patties from falling apart in the pan.

These falafel-esque fritters started off as exactly that—an experimental recipe for falafel. My problem? I longed to have a recipe that could give me the satisfying crunch and nutty/herbal flavor of falafel without having to pull out the deep fryer.

The base for the fritters is made with canned chickpeas that I carefully dry and combine with bulgur wheat in the food processor. I found that if I add all the chickpeas at once, it's hard to get good textural contrast in the final dish. Better is to pulse half of them until roughly pureed to form a binder, then pulse the remaining half just until roughly chopped to give you nice big bits to bite into.

For flavor, I use a ton of herbs—parsley, cilantro, and mint—by the handful, blending them right into the mix along with a dash of coriander.

At first I thought that the solution to my deep-frying conundrum might be as simple as forming them into patties and shallow frying them. This didn't work too well—the patties disintegrated in the oil, leaving me with a sludgy browned mess to clean. It even happens in the deep fryer if you don't dry your canned chickpeas well enough.

Vegan Chickpea Cakes with Mashed Avocado Recipe (3)

The solution was simple: just bread the suckers to give them a firm coating that will keep them from falling apart. As I found in myFried Eggplant Sandwichrecipe, a simple mix of flour and water works just fine to get breadcrumbs to adhere.

Vegan Chickpea Cakes with Mashed Avocado Recipe (4)

After that, it was a simple matter of making them into a meal. A bit of mashed avocado adds brightness, richness, and creamy texture to the mix, while a nice mixed green salad rounds it all out.

February 2013

This recipe was cross-tested in 2022 to ensure best results.

Recipe Details