HELLO March!
Damn, you look good. Just lose the snow, mmm kay?
March > February.
I am always the most excited for March out of the entire year. Well, except for April. And May. And then June. Yes I like those months much more than March. OK, scratch that.
I’m just happy to be done with February! February is my least favourite month of the year because of the Winter blahs. On March 1st, there is hope. The days are getting longer. Even though it was –9C when I got up this morning, I know that warmer weather is on its way sometime between now and July 1st. Approximately.
Today, I bumped the regularly scheduled post (Soup!) for this important announcement:
These Falafel Burgers are amazing. Addicting even…And I only had 1 bowl to clean up when it was all said and done.
I had my eye on Julie’s recipe ever since I posted about it in my Recipe Link Love the other day. Ok, that is a bit of a lie…I completely stalked her post several times a day.
Yup, still there. Whew.
I knew that these Falafel burgers would soon be in my belly. It was really only a matter of time.
Well, technically, 3 days, but you shouldn’t wait that long….run, skip, fly into that kitchen of yours and whip up these incredibly easy burgers and enjoy the leftovers all week long for a protein-packed pick-me-up. They would go lovely with breakfast, a snack, or lunch on the fly. If you make 12 large patties, each burger has about 9-10 grams of protein (rough calculation only).
And because I can never let any recipe be, I played around with the recipe and prayed for a successful outcome. The result was a delicious falafel patty with a seedy crunch and crispy exterior. At the end of it all, I had just one processor bowl to clean up. And by clean up, I mean that I blasted a second of water on it and tossed it into the dishwasher.
Score.
I almost shed tears of joy, my friends, tears of joy.
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Falafel burgers
Adapted from Savvy Eats.
Yield: 12 large burgers.
Ingredients:
- 3.5-4 cups cooked chickpeas (two 15oz cans), rinsed + drained
- 2 small carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
- 1 small onion, peeled & roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- Juice from 1/2 lemon (~2 tbsp)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper & Paprika, to taste
- 3/4 cup stone ground kamut flour (or flour of choice- whole wheat, white, etc)
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds (for crunch!)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick mat. In a food processor, process the garlic, carrot, and onion. Now add in the drained chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, cumin, and salt. Process until fully combined.
2. Add in the 1 cup of flour and process again. You may have to stop the processor and use a big spoon to stir. Finally, stir in the sunflower seeds. Season to taste with pepper and paprika.
3. Spoon about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter into baking sheet, leaving about 3-4 inches between each scoop. Wet hands and flatten until patty is about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat for all patties. Sprinkle with Paprika.
4. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. Now, very gently flip the burgers and bake for another 5-10 minutes. If you do not use a baking mat like I do, your burgers will likely cook a few minutes faster so watch carefully. Burgers will be golden brown when ready and slightly firm. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes so they can firm up and cool completely before storing. My burgers got soft after placing them in Tupperware. I’m not sure if this is because they were not cooled properly or not.
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The changes I made to the original recipe:
- I cut the olive oil in half from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup
- I increased the flour from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (my batter was very wet, so I had to thicken it up more)
- I added 1 cup of raw sunflower seeds for a crunchy texture
- I garnished the patties with Paprika before baking
Line up the troops…
Absent from the photoshoot: raw sunflower seeds, which were an after thought. :) I also did not use the ground flax like I thought I would.
Start by processing the carrots, onion, and garlic in a food processor. Next add in the drained chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, and salt + seasonings. Process until almost smooth. Finally process the flour into the mixture and stir in 1 cup of sunflower seeds. (The seeds are key for the crunch!)
The ‘batter’ is like a jacked up tahini-rich hummus…with a crunch.
Scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto baking sheet and flatten with wet hands. You want the burgers to be quite thin so they will cook throughout.
More surface area = quicker cooking time.
Bake for 20 minutes and gently flip over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, watching carefully. If you do not use a baking mat like I do, your burgers will likely cook a few minutes faster.
The burgers will be golden brown on one side, but not to worry. This gives them that crispy exterior!
Cool for about 15 minutes and enjoy. I didn’t have any issues with crumbling and they held together well. Sadly, the burgers got soft when I placed them in Tupperware and into the fridge. I’m not sure if this was because I didn’t allow them to cool enough or what…
Serve them on a burger patty, in a sandwich, crumbled on a salad, or with a warm pita with your favourite toppings and sauce.
Or, might I sheepishly add…straight from the baking sheet…
I turned into a Falafel Burger Pac Woman after I tried one. ..
Yum! Thanks Julie. :)
If you are feeling crazy you could always do the Falafel Double Down Version too…by smothering a couple spoonfuls of hummus in between two patties. That is always a favourite of mine with chickpea burgers.
And I think I just heard a bird chirp. March, you are off to a good start!
March is my favorite month! ;-)
I need to try different types of burgers. These look like another great recipe for my food processor!
Those look delicious. I am also SO ready for the spring months. Warmer weather can’t come soon enough!
The one time I tried to make falafel from a box, I accidentally flattened them into burger patties, and have to say they were pretty good…imagine how amazing they could be if they were intended to be made that way!
This sounds like hummus in a burger form! Sounds good to me! :D
These look incredible! You can bet they found their way in to my bookmarks :)
What brand is your food processor? Have you had any problems with it? I cannot believe I have gone this long without one!
have a 12 cup Kitchenaid and it works decent…although I am often frustrated with how much I have to stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Wow, these sound delicious *and* easy. That’s my kind of meal!
They look awesome, Angela!
I am actually pre-drafting a post about things I usually buy at the store vs make at home, and although i make most everything from scratch, I admit to still buying pre-made veggie/bean/seed burgers.
I need to get over that, huh. And try a falafel burger!
YUM! And Falafel Burger Pac Woman = omg I LOVE PacMan!! I spent 1000s of hours of my childhood playing it. Not even exaggerating :)
mmm mmmm mmmm is about all I can say here!! Nice work to both you + Julie! :)
I’m excited for march too! Bring on the sunshine!
Those burgers almost look like cookies. Delicious :)
That’s actually the first (and only so far…) recipe I’ve tried from the link love. I’ve made two batches since Saturday and eaten them all way faster than I’d like to admit. Yummy yummy yummy! Even uncooked they taste good! They freeze and defrost well too. I’m excited to try some sunflower seeds in them – what a good idea! :)
I had my first falafel at Christmastime – I had no idea what I was missing!!! These burgers look so good – I can’t wait to try them.
I just made these and you are right. Totally awesome!!! I halved the recipe and got 8 burgers. I am going to freeze some unless I eat them before they can get in the freezer! Great recipe from Julie!!!
I hate february! Looks like winter is never going to end. March is the beginning of warmer spring weather :).
Those burgers look delicious!
I agree, February is my least favorite month and I am so happy that it is March!!
Those DO look amazing! I love falafel anything!
I can’t wait for warmer weather – March is such a tease!
OMG those look amazing! And how’s this for perfect timing… I just bought a huge bag of chickpeas and accidentally made way too many..
http://alifewithouticecream.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-do-you-chick-pea.html
I think you’ve solved my “what to do with so many chick peas” problem :P
I have a major thing for falafel–these sound stellar.
PS: I made your avocado-tahini dressing and chickpea salad last week. Loved it!!
these look DELICIOUS!!! What a great recipe. Thanks for posting, I’m adding these to my arsenal STAT! :)
YUM! Falafel is so good! These burgers look amazing. Now i’m thinking of all the toppings I could put on those!
I am definitely trying these within the next few weeks…A lot of your recipes find their way onto my blog Angela! It’s pretty much a GUARANTEE that I can leave your blog with a few recipe inspirations. As always, thank you!
One-bowl dishes are the most amazing thing in the world. Ever. Thank you!
Will definitely be trying those ASAP. But for now, I have sweet potato and black bean enchiladas in the fridge that I made tonight after I subbed in 2nd grade all day, cleaned the house (actually put crap away!!) and opened up the windows in 28F degree weather because the sun was out and it’s March dangit. I want FRESH AIR! Oh, and I might have slipped a glass of wine in. =)
thanks so much for sharing, i LOVE that it’s not fried! might just have to steal this one. :)
Looks really good! But between the tahini, oil, and sunflower seeds, there is a lot of fat in this recipe, correct? How would you suggest decreasing the amount of fat?
I already cut the oil in half so I wouldnt cut it any more…but you could cut the tahini or sunflower seeds in half probably with decent results. or leave out the sunflower seeds all together (i loved them though!)
You say falafel burgers. I say falafel cookies. My chickpea/falafel addiction is consuming me.
These look amazing! There is nothing better then a recipe I already have all the ingredients for!
I have a falafel recipe I use all the time and they are great BUT I look forward to making these. Not only do they look and sound amazing but I like the idea of sun flower seeds!
The pac woman image made me chuckle.
Somehow, your recipe listings always deliver on what I am craving. :)
Ahaha, I laughed when I read ‘on March 1 there is hope’. I’ve been saying this to people all week, but for completely opposite reasons: We’ve just had the equal hottest summer on record in Western Australia and it’s forecast to remain in the high 30’s (C) until next weekend. But because it’s now Autumn, as far as I’m concerned, the end is in sight!
Enjoy your slightly warmer temperatures – I’d be sick of snow too if I was in Canada, so I guess we’re never happy :P
I think I am going to have to make these TODAY! Thanks Angela & Savvy Eats!
Wooow! a perfect idea how to get my proteins tomorrow! :) I am addicted to tahini… Thanks Angela! I love you blog! :)
I die. Falafel is basically my favorite thing in the world. Can you say in my belly, asap?!
Oh, those look really good! I made a recipe that was sort of similar to this one and my husband and I ate them for three weeks straight! I bet we’d like this one, too.
Yum, these burgers looks delicious!! Although I am not a vegetarian or vegan, I do not eat regular burgers (probably haven’t had one in nearly 15 years!), so I am always looking for a great veggie burger recipe. This one sounds perfect!
The “Falafel Double Down” is a hilarious idea. These look delicious!
Just wanted to say that I’ve voted every single day for you in the “Best of Health Blog Awards”. Good luck!
I will have to try those… SOON! You should really move further south, it was nearly 75 here in Texas. It’s been t-shirt weather for a while now… Then again, I hate the snow so I’m probably biased.
I am sooo over winter and would love just love for the snow to be gone aswell. I think we may be not that far from one another. It’s always just a tease though… one last snow story always seems to appear out of nowhere!!
I’ve never tried falafel burgers before! They look great, must try soon:)
Yuummm, I love anything that can easily be transformed into burger form. Give me a spoonful of tabouleh, and I’ll be set!
i hear you on february blahness. march is finally here! northern winters drag on forever. now we just need somemore sunlight.
& i also need to eat these falafel burgers!
do you grow any of your own veggies?
Those look downright sensational–and easy! Gotta love that they’re all natural and packed with protein. Thanks!
Eventhough spring is near i’m still waiting for some snow!
These protein packed pattys sound amazing and look like a great snack too!
These look so delicious, I bet freezing them and grilling them in the summer would be a great option!
Those look delicious! I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Just curious why you close comments on prior recipes/blogs? If I have a question about an old recipe should I post it on your most recent blog? I’ve been trying out a lot of your recipes and find myself wanting to comment on how awesome they are but can’t.
Thanks, Leslie
Hey Leslie,
I close the comments after 30 days because it is otherwise difficult for myself to keep up with comments on older posts.
How many burgers does this approx make?
11-12 burgers (its included in the recipe description for your convenience) :)
Oh sorry, I must have missed it. Thanks!! I am making these tonight, they look delish!!
These look delicious. I am crazy about falafel, I would love these.
Haha, I love your Falafel Monsta! :)
xoxo
Kathleen
LOVE the last pic!! Cracks me up! I think I might halve the recipe and give it a try!