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These chickpea fritters are a great appetizer or can served as part of a weeknight meal. Made with just a few simple ingredients, they are quick to prep and cook and are ready to serve in less than 20 minutes. They can be made ahead of time and are great for meal prep! Easily made gluten free.
I know I’m biased, but I love this vegetarian mashed chickpea fritter recipe! I love serving them with a tahini sauce for a healthy snack or appetizer, but also serve them as part of a main alongside my Air Fried Sweet Potato Fries and a simple veggie side.
How to make chickpea fritters
In a bowl, combine the fritter ingredients and use a fork to mash everything together. It will take a little elbow grease, and you can do it faster using a mini food processor, but it definitely works fine with a fork.
Divide the mixture into six uniform thin patties. Keeping them thin will ensure that the chickpea fritters cook well on the inside without burning on the outside.
Fry the patties in a large pan for two to three minutes on each side until golden brown and firm. And then you’re ready to add these to salads, dip them in a sauce or just enjoy them on their own!
Tips for making chickpea fritters
- Make them gluten-free. You can use any other gluten free flour you’d like. Chickpea flour works really well, as does almond flour to make these fritters.
- Let the oil get hot before you fry the fritters. This will allow them to get wonderfully browned and golden and crispy on the outside. Look for a shimmer on the oil, but make sure it’s not smoking.
- Drain and rinse your canned chickpeas. The liquid that they are stored in can be quite salty, so be sure to rinse them in a sieve or colander to remove excess sodium. You’ll need to add a couple tablespoons of water to help them bind, but it’s best to use fresh water for that.
- Double the recipe easily. You can easily double all the ingredients to make 12 instead of 6 patties. If you do so, I highly recommend using a food processor because mashing double the ingredients with a fork will be much more tedious.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! Because these chickpea fritters contain cheese, they are not vegan, but you can easily swap the cheese for a vegan variety or a little nutritional yeast.
You can mix the ingredients for these patties ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for 3 or 4 days before forming the patties. You can also make make the patties and separate them with parchment and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. Cooked patties will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can freeze the cooked or uncooked patties for up to 3 months. Freeze them on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer bag or container. Thaw the patties in the fridge overnight before reheating in the oven if already cooked, or carry on with the recipe instructions if uncooked.
I love how easy and quick it is to make a batch of these fritters with just a can of chickpeas, flour, cheese and herbs! The kids love them and they are perfect when you need dinner in a hurry! Make a double batch for easy meal prep!
More fritters and patties
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Chickpea Fritters recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
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Chickpea Fritters
Video
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas rinsed, drained
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- tahini sauce for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, all purpose flour, parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add two tablespoons of water and use a fork or masher to combine the ingredients until they are well blended.
- Divide the mixture into 6 equal parts and form into thin patties.
- In a large pan, heat the oil until it's shimmering. Then add the chickpea fritters and cook until browned and fully cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side.
- Place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil, then serve with tahini sauce or any other sauce of choice.
Notes
- To freeze them prior to cooking, lay them on a flat baking dish in the freezer for at least 4 hours. When frozen, place them in an airtight bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and cook per instructions.
- To freeze them after cooking, simply store them in an airtight bag after they’ve cooled. To re-heat, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake in a 350°F oven until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Hi, these sound amazing! Would i be able to make them in my air fryer though?
Thank you! I haven’t tried that yet myself, but I think it could work out well! You could try air frying at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. You’ll want to flip them after about 7 minutes. You might have to adjust the cooking time, so I’d keep an eye on them. Let me know if you try it and how they turn out!
I absolutely LOVE these chickpea fritters! I am a bit confused by the nutrition information. Can you tell me how many patties are in one serving? I am newly diagnosed with diabetes and eat very little meat, so I am trying to navigate my way to find protein substitutes. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
The nutrition information is based on one fritter.
Can you used chickpea flour??
I haven’t tested these with chickpea flour myself, but I think it sounds like a great idea! I think it would make them super crispy. You may just need to adjust how much chickpea flour you use. I’d start with 2 tablespoons and check the consistency of the mixture, and add more 1 tablespoon at a time from there until you are able to form the mixture into patties.
Thanks for your fast reply! I’m making this tomorrow night for supper & will let you know how it turn out. Good evening.
So just finish my supper and it was great! This is definitely on list to make often! So I’m gonna say we make them with 3 Tbsp of Chickpea Flour. My said I would have that weekly…SO ITS A BIG KEEPER!!!
Thanks again for your recipe 😊
Made these tonight, they were very simple to do and tasty, definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them.
I was a chickpea skeptic before I discovered this recipe. These are in my standard rotation for meal prep now! I love how versatile this recipe is. I’ve made them exactly as written, and they’re great. I’ve made versions with caramelized onions and roasted garlic, versions with raw scallions, versions with paprika and cayenne pepper. These are so savory and I genuinely don’t miss meat when I have these for dinner. I serve these with spicy feta dip, also a recipe I got from this site! Thanks so much!
These are amazing! I make these at least once a week because they are tasty, healthy, and quick to make.
I make these with 1/4 cup of chickpea flour (instead of AP flour), omit the parsley, add in one chopped scallion, and used 2 T nutritional yeast + 2 T parmesan cheese (instead of 1/4 cup parmesan cheese). I bake these on parchment paper at 425F for 24 min. (flipping halfway).
Love that! So glad to hear it!