When I first started trying to cut down on meat, my biggest struggle was feeling full. A salad often leaves you looking for a snack an hour later. That’s why I started experimenting with combining dense, starchy vegetables with legumes. This recipe collection centers on a chickpea and potato burger that doesn’t pretend to be beef—it’s honestly just a really good vegetable patty.
The texture here is softer than a frozen store-bought burger because we aren’t using industrial binders, just boiled potatoes and oats. I’ve also included the recipes for the tomato-quinoa soup and garlic green beans that I usually serve alongside these to make it a complete sit-down dinner. It’s a lot of chopping, but the result is a table full of color and flavor.
Ingredients
For the Chickpea & Veggie Burgers
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (rinsed if canned)
- 3 medium potatoes, boiled and diced
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp bell pepper (any color), diced
- 4 mushrooms, sliced
- ¾ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¾ cup fine breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- Salt and black pepper
For the Tomato & Quinoa Soup
- 1 lb tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
- 4 medium potatoes, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- ½ cup mixed fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, basil)
- 4 cups hot water (approx. 1 liter) – Note: added more water than original recipe to account for quinoa absorption.
For the Garlic Green Beans
- 2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
Making the Burgers
- Prep the Base: Finely chop or pulse the zucchini, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and bell pepper. You want small bits, not a puree. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Combine: Add the boiled potatoes and chickpeas to the bowl. Mash everything together. I prefer a potato masher for this; using a food processor can turn the potatoes gummy.
- Bind: Mix in the oats, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to knead it into a cohesive dough. If it feels too sticky, let it sit for 10 minutes so the oats absorb the moisture.
- Fry: Shape into patties. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Making the Soup
- Sauté: Heat the olive oil in a pot. Cook the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
- Simmer: Add the potatoes and rinsed quinoa. Stir in the carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Crumble in the bouillon cube and add the water and diced tomatoes.
- Cook: Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. The vegetables should be tender and the quinoa spirals should have popped out.
- Blend (Optional): The original recipe calls for blending until smooth. I suggest pulsing it only a few times so you keep some texture, or blending half and mixing it back in.
Making the Green Beans
- Sizzle: Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and cook just until it turns pale gold—don’t burn it.
- Toss: Throw in the green beans, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. You want them tender but with a little snap left.
Why You’ll Love These Recipes
- Pantry Friendly: The burgers use oats and potatoes as binders, meaning you don’t need eggs or specialty vegan replacements.
- Texture Variety: The meal provides the crunch of the beans, the creaminess of the soup, and the savory chew of the burger.
- High Protein: Between the chickpeas, quinoa, and oats, this meal is surprisingly dense in plant-based protein.
Chef’s Tips for Perfection
- Drying Chickpeas: If using canned chickpeas for the burgers, dry them thoroughly with a paper towel before mashing. Excess moisture is the enemy of a crispy veggie burger.
- Quinoa Warning: For the soup, rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear. This removes the bitter coating (saponin) that can make your soup taste soapy.
- Garlic Watch: For the beans, 6 cloves of garlic is a lot (which I love), but if your garlic is particularly potent, you might want to scale back to 3 or 4 cloves.
Storage and Reheating
The cooked burger patties freeze excellently. Separate them with parchment paper in a container and they will last for a month. Reheat in a toaster oven to keep the edges crisp. The soup will thicken significantly in the fridge as the quinoa continues to absorb liquid—just add a splash of water when reheating on the stove.
Nutritional Notes
This entire spread is fiber-heavy. The soup is low-calorie but filling, while the burgers provide the bulk of the energy (~280 calories per patty depending on size).
Protein‑Packed Plant Meals for Weight Loss
