baked chickpea burgers with spicy coleslaw

There is a special place in my heart for baked chickpea burgers with spicy coleslaw and for good reason. These satisfying burgers come together in minutes and the spicy coleslaw with sriracha dressing is the perfect all-in-one burger condiment.

Let’s make baked chickpea burgers!

This is a super simple burger recipe and it’s one that you can even change up from time to time if you want to vary the taste. And it all starts with a few minutes of prep and your blender or food processor. If you don’t have either, grab your potato masher and let’s make our burgers.

Super-simple, that’s the way we like it

I’ve done a few experiments along the way in perfecting my basic chickpea burgers and I come up with a few ideas that I always stick to. The first is using rolled oats as the binder. If you just add your oats with everything else, they will break down and create a density that keeps your burgers holding together no matter how many times you flip them.

Rolled oats and gluten

We are not strictly gluten free, but whenever I tout a recipe as gluten free, I like to do a bit of digging first. One of the advantages I’ve always considered about oats is that they are gluten free. Are they? The short answer is ‘yes’, but only if you engage in a bit of label reading. Oats on their own are gluten free; however, depending on where they are grown and how they are processed, they can get contaminated. My guess is that many of you how are gluten intolerant already know this, but for folks like me who don’t always pay attention, it’s important to know before you serve your ‘gluten free’ chickpea burgers to a friend, that you are being true to your word.

How oats get gluten contamination

Oats can be contaminated through the growing process if they share the same soil as wheat or other glutenous grains. This can occur through crop rotation, so they don’t need to be growing side-by-side. Processing oats with other grains can also be problematic.

How to tell if oats are gluten free

This is the easy part. If you want to be sure your oats are free from gluten, look for the certified gluten free label. It’s that simple. Don’t let an organic label confuse you, that doesn’t necessarily mean gluten free, so just be mindful. The is particularly important if you or your diners are gluten intolerant.

Finishing off before baking

Although you are going to toss everything in the food processor, I find that you get a better mix if you mince the garlic, dice the onion and chop the parsley before blend everything. If you want to ensure that the spices and nutritional yeast blend evenly, you can start by adding them to the oats and blending for about 15 seconds and then dropping in the rest of the ingredients.

I like to finish these burgers by rolling them in breadcrumbs with some Italian seasoning. This gives the burgers some extra crisp to them. Use gluten-free bread if that’s your theme. You can also roll the burgers in corn meal and seasoning. You’ll want to watch carefully as you bake the burgers that the coating doesn’t become too brown. If it does, just cover them loosely in foil and that will do the trick. This is also my recommendation if you reheat in the oven.

Baking times and temperatures

Because these are rather dense burgers, they won’t fall apart. What can happen is that they get hard. To avoid this, you want to keep an eye on your oven temperature. Ovens are notoriously finicky. The temperatures can be wildly off and the size of the oven also impacts how quickly things cook. I have best results for baked chickpea burgers if I stick around 425 degrees and flip them after 15 minutes. After that, check them in 5-10 minutes as you don’t want them hard and overdone. To do this, gently press down on the middle of the burger, you want it to be firm, but not hard.

Now for the spicy coleslaw!

Why I’m hooked on this sriracha dressing

This whole plant-based oil free quest I pursue has led me do doing a lot of different salad dressings. After being oil free for several years now, I definitely don’t miss the taste. In fact, I can immediately tell when oil’s been added, and I don’t like the mouth feel at all.

That said, I still love a thick, rich dressing and that it one reason why tahini frequently shows up. Learning how to make oil free tahini has completely changed my outlook on this ingredient. For example, I find a quick lemon-tahini dressing is wonderful for drizzling over a zucchini-green bean salad or adding to BBQ chickpea wraps. It’s a wonderful versatile ingredient and is a great natural thickener.

4-ingredient sriracha dressing

It you want the ultimate in spicy coleslaws, then sriracha is your answer. This is my current favorite dressing because I can make just a little to make even a simple salad special. You need only tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of garlic powder and of course, sriracha. Make this as spicy as you like and make extra – it keeps (although probably not for long if you love it like I do).

I think slaw is such a wonderful addition to burgers and vegan lentil sloppy joes. You just toss it together in minutes and you seriously don’t need another thing. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of cabbage, but slaw? It makes me forget I’m eating cabbage at all. I like to mix up different cabbages (green and purple), but you’ll have the same flavor it you use what is convenient. Shredded carrot is also a great addition as it adds a bit of sweetness.

If you really hate cabbage, you can also improvise and just shredded carrots with finely chopped lettuce and some diced red onion. Believe me, once you dig into the sriracha dressing, it won’t matter if it’s spicy coleslaw or your own creation. You’ll just be thinking how wonderful it is on your baked chickpea burger.

Final thoughts

I’m not sure what is more satisfying than baked chickpea burgers with spicy coleslaw. The taste is definitely satisfying and so is the knowledge that I can satisfy my burger craving while sticking to my plant-based principles. I also great to know I have a delicious gluten-free recipe, so I don’t need to stress if I need to meet that dietary requirement.

Satisfaction doesn’t mean sit around contentedly and stop evolving or looking a new opportunities or experiences. There is always something new and potentially better around the corner, but at the same time, we should consider how we are satisfied right now. We can draw satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment from even the smallest of things. Doing that, keeps us moving forward. Peace.

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