Chickpea fritters are an easy and tasty vegetarian recipe for weeknight dinners and meal prep. And best of all, they are ready in 30 minutes.
We think you’ll love them dipped in marinara sauce or tzatziki sauce. They are also delicious in pita bread with yogurt tahini sauce.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Our chickpea fritters are small patties made with canned or cooked chickpeas, fresh herbs, spices, and other simple ingredients mashed with a potato masher, fork, or food processor.
Like our readers’ favorite zucchini fritters, this recipe is developed for everyday meals, and it’s fast and easy to prepare with minimal effort.
And just like our other Mediterranean-inspired recipes – think of our whole roasted cauliflower, falafel, hummus, and mujadara – chickpea fritters are delicious drizzled or dipped in a sauce (Louise loves them with tzatziki 🧄, I’m team marinara sauce 🍅).
Have them for lunch in a Mediterranean bowl or for dinner next to a creamy tahini salad, fatteh, or fattoush.
We both think you’ll love them as part of a mezze (appetizer) platter with other small dishes from the Eastern Mediterranean region like smoky baba ganoush, herby tabouli, refreshing shirazi salad, and creamy muhammara.
Ingredients
Find complete ingredient list, quantities, and substitutions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Chickpeas: you can use canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas that you previously cooked in water. Here’s our guide on how to cook chickpeas.
- All-purpose flour: substitute chickpea flour to make the recipe gluten-free.
- Grated parmesan: substitute nutritional yeast to make the recipe vegan.
- Cumin and coriander: substitute dried oregano or dried Italian herbs.
Instructions
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. The mixture should stick together into patties. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of water if necessary.
Tip: Alternatively, pulse the ingredients in a food processor for a few seconds. Don’t over-mix, though.
Step 2: Shape the mixture into 12 small chickpea patties.
Tip: They should be smaller than you think. This way, it’s easier to cook them and serve them.
Step 3: pick your cooking method: oven, skillet, air-fryer.
a) Oven-bake: arrange the chickpea patties on the prepared baking sheet and brush them with olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
b) Pan-fry: heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the patties and cook them on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Turn them gently with a spatula halfway through cooking.
c) Air-fry: brush the bottom of your air fryer with oil to prevent the patties from sticking. Arrange the patties on a single layer, brush them with a lick of olive oil, and air fry them at 400°F or 200 °C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 4: arrange on a serving platter and enjoy with fresh parsley on top, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a dip or sauce of your choice.
Serve them with
Chickpea fritters are inspired by Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern flavors, so they go well with anything from those regions.
You can serve them with a dip, or as part of a salad, mediterranean bowl, or hummus sandwich.
We think you’ll love them in a easy homemade pita bread with smoky babaganoush, sliced tomato, cucumber, and easy pickled red onions.
More Chickpea Recipes
Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are a nutritious and versatile ingredient to make delicious and easy meals. For example, try our:
For even more ideas, check out our 35+ chickpea recipes list.
If you tried this Chickpea Fritters recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Chickpea Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup grated parmesan or nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic pressed, minced, or grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl.Coarsely mash with a fork or potato masher. The mixture should stick together into patties. Add more water if necessary.
- Shape mixture into 12 small chickpea patties.
- Pick your favorite cooking method:a) Oven-bake: arrange the chickpea patties on the prepared baking sheet and brush them with olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.b) Pan-fry: heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the patties and cook them on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Turn them gently with a spatula halfway through cooking.c) Air-fry: brush the bottom of your air fryer with oil to prevent the patties from sticking. Arrange the patties on a single layer, brush them with a lick of olive oil, and air fry them at 400°F or 200 °C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Arrange on a serving platter and enjoy with fresh parsley on top, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a dip or sauce of your choice.
Video
Notes
- Chickpeas: you can use canned chickpeas or learn how to cook dried chickpeas at home.
- All-purpose flour: substitute chickpea flour to make the recipe gluten-free.
- Grated parmesan: substitute nutritional yeast to make the recipe vegan.
- Cumin and coriander: substitute dried oregano or Italian herbs.
- Adjust water content: Add water gradually (2 tbsp at first, then more if needed) until the mixture is easy to shape without being too sticky.
- Make them small: Smaller fritters cook more evenly and are easier to serve.
- Watch the salt: Canned chickpeas are salty, so add only about 1/2 tsp of salt for 2 cans, adjusting as needed.
5 out of 5 so far. I have mixed it all up, have great hopes as to the final dish and love its simplicity…i did add an egg instead of water so am hoping this won’t disturb anything…
W
I made this recipe two times and cook them in skillet. it was delicious.
But I had a problem. The patties absorbed all the oil in the pan and became soggy and sticked to pan. And when I wanted to turn them , they fell apart.
And I shaped them again with difficulty.
What should I do?
Hi Zohreh,
The best tip I can give you is to use a non-stick pan. I don’t know if you have used a skillet, but non-stick pans are best for fritters and patties recipes 🙂
If this does not help, try adding more flour to your batter, a little at a time. I hope this helps, let me know!
Kindest, Louise
Recipe is delicious and easy. I however over cooked them and they were so dry. But, I’ll save them for a salad or sandwich. I’ll be more careful next time!!
5
Easy to make recipe
Great recipe – absolutely delicious.
Absolutely fantastic! I halved the recipe and made 8 small fritters. I also didn’t have 1.5 tbsp fresh parsley, so I used 1.5 tsp dried parsley. I am very happy to find an oil-free vegan recipe that’s quick, healthy, cheap, and delicious. I will be making these regularly as part of my weekly meal prep. Thank you!
I made these for lunch the other day in my oven. They were delicious. Easy to follow recipe, and I took your advice and topped with the yogurt/tahini dressing. I only made 1/2 of the recipe because I wasn’t sure if I’d like them. It turns out we love them and will have them again and again. Next batch will be in my air fryer.
It sounds like a delicious lunch, Carol Anne. I’m delighted you enjoyed them, and that you found our serving suggestions useful 🙂
Thanks again for leaving a comment and a review here. All the best,
Louise
Outstanding! I had half a can of chickpeas in the fridge waiting to be deliciously used and this recipe made it for us. I just adapted the quantities accordingly. We loved it and so healthy!!