Sometimes there’s a recipe that you just have to try, and sometimes you end up changing it so much you come up with a totally new and improved recipe. That’s what happened when I whipped up these Carrot & Chickpea Veggie Burgers.

I started with a recipe for Spicy Carrot Fritters from a vegetarian cookbook. I knew I wasn’t going to fry them, and I also knew I didn’t have all the ingredients (no cilantro or coriander here). I wanted to boost the carrots a bit and use the same seasonings as when I do roasted chickpeas. (If you haven’t tried those let me know because you must!)

The end result was so much tastier than I had hoped and I’m obsessed with it!

I bet you want the recipe…

Carrot & Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 can Chickpeas, rinsed
• 3 large carrots peeled and roughly grated (Grimmway Farms are my favorite!)
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 cup spinach
• 1.5 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs ground flax meal

Instructions

• Add a grated carrot, chickoeas, and spices to your food processor and pulse until fully incorporated but still a bit coarse (if you have a tiny food processor like I have, this takes some time and a few batches to incorporate it all)
• Add the egg and flax meal and mix in the food processor to your desired consistency. (I went for a smoother texture than the fritter recipe called for.)
• Divide into four patties
• Place 1 tsp of your favorite oil in a pan on medium-high heat, and cook a few minutes on each side until heated through with nice golden sides

Even in the bad lighting from the night I first made these, you can see the awesome color they get!

Serve as you prefer. It would be great alone, but I placed mine on multi-grain sandwich thin with avocado.

If it hadn’t been so late I may have whipped up some Avocado Lime Sauce. That would be delicious!

I may start making my own veggie burgers from now on because they’re fresh, amazing, and the store-bought are so expensive!

Do you make your own? What is your favorite veggie burger recipe?