Chickpea-Chili Veggie Burger

15  ounces		chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2  tablespoons		chopped roasted red pepper
1/4  cup		medium onion, chopped
2		cloves garlics
3/4  teaspoon		chili powder
1/2  teaspoon		sea salt
2  tablespoons		olive oil, divided
1  pinch		of cayenne pepper (optional)
2  slices		stale whole grain bread, crumbled
4  tablespoons		vegetable broth or water
3/4  cup		old-fashioned rolled oats

Tip: Click on the ingredient links to learn the nutritional information for all the Chickpea-Chili Veggie Burger ingredients. The serving size for any ingredient in Chickpea-Chili Veggie Burger may be adjusted using the nutrition facts serving size calculator. Use it to help cut calories, carbs and more from your recipes.

Variation: try Chipotle Chili Powder or Garam Masala

Place the chickpeas, red pepper, onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, and 1 Tbsp olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. (I also threw in a teaspoon of my homemade vegan bouillon just to give it an extra herby kick, but it’s not required.) By the way, if you don’t have roasted red peppers on hand, or if you don’t want to open a jar for just 2 Tbsp, feel free to use raw red pepper.

Process, adding enough veggie broth or water to get the mixture smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the crumbled bread. (If you don’t have stale bread, just toast two fresh slices before crumbling.)

Process until fairly smooth, adding more broth or water if needed. Dough should be sticky but malleable. Transfer to a large bowl and add enough oats so that you can pick up the dough in your hands without it sticking (I actually ended up using just over 3/4 cup). Refrigerate the mixture for one hour.

Remove the dough from the fridge and form into six (big!) patties. Heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add three patties and cook, turning once, until each side is golden (probably 5-6 minutes total). Transfer cooked burgers to a plate, heat the other 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, and cook the three remaining patties.

Serve on toasted buns (or lettuce leaves) with any accoutrements you wish. Topped with salsa or guacamole, this could become una hamburguesa mexicana. If you try garam masala suggestion, I’d have it with Indian spice hummus.