Carrot Zucchini Chickpea Fritters Vegan Recipe. Eggless, nut-free, yeast-free. Can be made gluten-free. Cooked Chickpeas, shredded veggies and turkish spices. Use other spices or blends of choice. Use shredded sweet potato or winter squash for variation. Jump to Recipe
The other day, hubbs read my blog posts and mentioned how short they were. I said yes, I know. I post too frequently to have stories to tell in each one of them. Is there a reason why I make some of the recipes on the blog? More often than not, they come about because I have to use up certain veggies or items. I had chickpeas waiting to be used as I had experimented with aquafaba a day before ( which hadn’t turned out well). I always have leftover baby carrots. No one eats carrots for snack in the house except chewie and even he doesnt get more than 3 per day. And then some days hubbs picks up some of the not as frequently used veggies together. He is allowed to get 2 out of the many that we know will not be used up immediately like broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, bitter gourd, okra, celery. I don’t like some of these, so it needs a bit of planning and experimentation to use them up when I have them. I used up the mushrooms in the Umbrian Tartufo sauce pasta from Miyoko’s book and had to make something for myself. And I still have bitter gourd (Karela) and asparagus left for the weekend. Yes, you are cooking those on the weekend hubbsy.
As for chickpeas, I can use them in various ways in all these chickpea recipes. The problem with being a food blogger is that often I keep making something new. In fact, if there are a few days when I make repeat dishes, by the fourth day hubbs will ask me if I am ok 🙂 . So here goes. More chickpeas!
I am currently digging black pepper. So I made a peppery turkish spice blend, inspired by Turkish Baharat and used it in these patties. The spices work fabulously in the patties. Use whichever spices you have and whichever veggies like potatoes, squash, broccoli etc 🙂
Serve these as snack or breakfast with chutneys, sriracha, ketchup, vegan tzatziki, vegan cucumber raita or ranch. Or make sandwiches, use as burger patties.
More Chickpea Recipes
- Sweet Potato Chickpea Peanut Burgers. Vegan Recipe
- Spicy Chickpea Lentil Burgers
- Vegan Tinga Bowl with Spicy Chickpeas & Spanish Rice
- Buffalo Chickpea Pizza with celery ranch
- Chickpea recipes from the blog now tagged.
Growing up in India, I have seen my share of problems and hopelessness. There are many many struggles every day and we tend to block them out or become indifferent. These are difficult problems with ever more difficult solutions. Indifference is a mechanism to keep the hope and happiness alive. I write more about it here. I remember in my earlier conversations with my parents about vegan-ism and why we are choosing so. In discussions about conditions of animals in India, my parents would point out how humans have it equally worse.
But there are solutions, there is something that can be done. I am fortunate to know some of the people who have done those things and are continuing to. I am fortunate that my parents understood that there will always be those problems, but they could take one of them at a time and try to not contribute to it.
On the eve of India’s Independence day, here are some uplifting stories of simple people doing amazing things for people, communities, women, children, animals. Happy Independence day India.
Steps:
Process the carrots, ginger, garlic. Process chickpeas and add to the bowl.
Make the turkish spice blend. Add to the bowl. Shape the mixture into patties.
Pan fry until golden brown.
Serve with sriracha, ketchup or chutneys or choice.
VIDEO:
Recipe Card
Carrot Zucchini Chickpea Fritters Vegan Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (196 g g) small zucchini shredded
- 1/2 (64 g g) heaping cup chopped carrots
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch (0.5 inch) ginger
- 1 green chili or use cayenne to taste
- 15 oz can chickpeas drained or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) black pepper corns or ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cardamom
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt depends on if the chickpeas were salted
- 1 Tbsp flax seed meal or chia seed meal
- 1/4 cup (30 g) oat flour or other flour (chickpea flour, rice flour, wheat/white flours will work)
- 1 to 2 tbsp breadcrumbs or more flour
- Oil as needed
Instructions
- Grate/shred the zucchini and add to a bowl using a grater or processor. Lightly press the zucchini in a paper towel if there is too much moisture.
- Add carrots, ginger, garlic, chili to a food processor and Process/chop until shredded and add to bowl. Or use grated carrots and minced ginger garlic chili
- Add the chickpeas to the processor and Process chickpeas until coarsely blended, not fully a paste. Add to the bowl. (I use a mini food processor and it works really well for both the steps). Or you can mash the chickpeas with a masher
- Make the Turkish spice blend : Crush the cumin coriander and black pepper using a mortar pestle. Or pulse in a spice grinder to a coarse meal. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in small skillet. When hot, add the crushed spices and cook until fragrant. You can also dry roast them until fragrant and use or add them unroasted.
- Add the spices to the veggie chickpea bowl. Add cinnamon, cardamom, salt, flour, flax and mix well. Add flour and mix in. Add breadcrumbs if needed.
- Form patties and cook with a little oil in a skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
- To bake, Bake at 400 degrees F (205c) for 20 to 25 minutes. Broil to crisp for a minute.
- Serve as snack or breakfast with chutneys, sriracha, ketchup, vegan tzatziki, vegan cucumber raita or ranch.
Video
Notes
Add chopped onion and cilantro.
Nutrition
Shannon
I would appreciate you being more specific in your written recipe. I did a lot of things wrong because I didn’t watch the video and the written recipe didn’t point out a lot of things, i.e how to chop the carrots, patting the zucchini dry, etc. I’m hoping that the recipe turns out anyway because I’ve made a double batch
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you for the suggestion, shannon! Will be more mindful. I appreciate you
Vikki
Hi!
I’d love to make these for my picky toddler. Would you be able to tell me how to incorporate an egg into the recipe to make this vegetarian instead of vegan?
Lizz
Love all your recipes…I’m a vegetarian..they are easy to make..and very nutritional..thanks for sharing
Mugdha
Any sub for flax seed/chia seed meal? Can I leave it out?
Vegan Richa Support
you need some binding so you need to add more flour if you omit flax
Sheena Verma
Recipe is amazing!! I just added onions and green serrano chilis. Healthy recipe, thanks.
Vegan Richa Support
oh! picante
Peg
Can these be baked instead of fried?
Richa
They fry out a bit on baking. Add a flax egg and bake
Jani
These are incredible. The only downside is you can’t stop eating them. 🙂 Thank you for the delicious recipe, Richa, and for the link to those very inspiring stories.
Vegan Richa Support
thank you Jani
Luis Szklarski
Enjoy your site.
RE: chickpea, zucchini, carrot pancakes.
two (2) questions;
will it work to add some shredded onions? and, if instead of using process chickeaps, just use chickpea flour?
Thanks.
Luis
Richa
Chickpea flour being work. Mashed chickpeas are moist and different than dry chickpea flour
Onions will work.
Cate
Yum!
I used 1/2 Tbsp Ginger paste, 1/4 tsp cayenne and 3/4 tsp salt despite my can of chickpeas having been in salt.
Soooo delicious! Thank you
Jennifer
Hello! For fun I shredded apple too. This is a great recipe and can be cooked as is or tinkered with. Thanks so much for your thoughtful posts!
Vegan Richa Support
love to hear it! recipes are just starting points
Lori
Can these be frozen and reheated?
Vegan Richa Support
I don’t see why not
amy
Thank you for ALL the recipes always! Do you have any recommendations for freezing/re-heating?
Vegan Richa Support
freeze up to 3 months, thaw then reheat in a pan with a tiny bit of oil
Stephanie
Love this recipe. I have a lot of leftover carrot pulp from juicing and this is a great way to use it. They also great to make ahead and freeze for a quick lunch or dinner.
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome !! waste not want not
Aga
Love it, highly recomended for lunch or dinner. It id punched with so many well balanced flavours, I served it with green salad and mint sause.
Vegan Richa Support
thank you , or brunch
Agnieszka Mędasik
Yes or brunch. My husbant loved it as well. There is so many other ways we will have it in the close future.
Jane
Yum one of the best zucchini chick pea recipes the food on this website looks so good
Jane
I’m in Australia that’s why its seems to be around 3 in the morning in comments 🙂
Vegan Richa Support
no worries mate!!
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you so much for the great review! 🙂
Joli
I’m rating this again. I have to say this is the best recipe. I made it for some Chinese friends the other day and they can not stop talking about how good these are. Next time, I’m doubling or tripling recipe to freeze some. They are very addicting. The hint of cinnamon is wonderful. And just enough cayenne pepper for a slight kick.
Vegan Richa Support
wow – i love your enthusiasm . tripling!! that’s great, thank you for the double rating!
Joli Garcon
1 recipe only enough for 1 person when they are this good. As in eat some now, some tomorrow, maybe 3rd day. But none for other people. 😂
Vegan Richa Support
hahahahaha no way! breakfast lunch and dinner (AND Snack too)
Kelly
These were excellent! The flavor – oh my! I made them for my kids but I can’t stop eating them.
Vegan Richa Support
Haha! Double win! I’m so glad you enjoyed these! 🙂
Julie
Only have ground cumin and ground coriander how much do i use?
Can you leave out flax/chai?
Please 2nd request. 1st request is deleted on your sight now.
Richa
Use the same amount.you need some binding so you need to add more flour if you omit flax
Julie
Thats what I did. 1st batch out of Skillet. One gone. So good!
Julie
I can not wait to try your recipe. I have been looking for a falafel type recipe using squash and carrot. My garden only has yellow squash can I use instead of zucchini?
Also my cumin and coriander is ground in jar how much would I use if already ground?
No flax seed meal or chai can I leave outfor now or is their a substitute?
Next time I will have someone get me the ingredients i am missing. I do not drive 🙁
Thank you.
Vegan Richa Support
that’s great! yellow squash is perfectly fine, both cumin & coriander use 2.5 tsp each (ground), and for the flax/chia ‘egg’ you can use aquafaba 1.5 tsp, applesauce – or they will actually hold together fine if the zucchini and carrots are properly squeezed, so it should all work out fine with a couple of substitutes / omissions.
Louisa
Another favorite. I love all your recipes!!
Mairead
These fritters look wonderful. I am hopeful my fussy eaters might like them. Thanks for a great recipe.
Kevin
Made these for breakfast this morning. We loved them so much, the spice blend is incredibly delicious.
Nikita Meswani
I’ve made these multiple times and everyone loves them! I always sub the Turkish spices with garam masala. If the zucchini and carrots are properly squeezed, I’ve found that the patties hold their shape very well (I didn’t add flax seed meal).
These are my favorite substitute for when I’m craving a burger! Thank you Richa!
Marissa
How would this work using chickpea powder? I’ve got a lot leftover from a recipe. Probably it would be too dry but maybe I could add something to help it all stick together. Thoughts?
Btw, I’ve been a huge fan of yours for many years and several of your recipes are in my rotation! I’ve recently started food blogging myself and damn it is a lot of work – so thank you and keep it up!
Richa
Try this recipe with carrot and zucchini instead of all broccoli. it uses chickpea flour https://www.veganricha.com/2016/11/chipotle-broccoli-fritters.html
Marissa
Thanks, will do!
Emily
I added a little more oat flour than called for until the consistency of the mixture held more firmly-depending on how much moisture I soaked from the grated zucchini. The spice mixture was just right, but I love how it would also lend itself to variations. Paired with the mint-coriander(cilantro) chutney, it woke up my taste buds! Thank you for the pairing suggestion! I think this one will definitely become a summer staple for me when zucchini is in season.
Richa
awesome!
Karlyn Dawes
Could they cooked in an air fryer??
Richa
should work fine.
Raj
Loved this recipe, thank you! I threw in a small amount of beets as well, worked great.
Allison
Hi, I’m making these and freezing them for future dinners. This may be a dumb question, but how do you reheat these after being in the freezer? and what temperature (if in oven)?
Richa
usually for veggie burgers i just bake them to reheat.
Jamie
Richa, we really liked these patties, but I’m not sure what kind of chutney to pair with them. Can you make a recommendation?
Jamie
Oops, meant to leave a rating! 5 stars for the patties!
Richa
Thanks!!
Richa
you can pair them with my mint cilantro chutney, the tahini garlic dressing or a vegan ranch. I prefer the chutney and the tahini garlic dressing.
alexandra
I made this tonight for dinner using your recipe as is. It was delicious and I look forward to eating the leftovers with a salad for lunch tomorrow. Thank you so much!
Nikita Meswani
Ooh, I like that idea. * files away for future reference *
Thank you!
Megan
made these tonight…with chayote squash instead of zucchini. used cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, fried up in a pan with olive oil and topped with some dijon mustard
Richa
awesome!
Christine
If freezing these would you freeze before they are cooked or after? Thanks
Stefanos S.
I would freeze them before and then cook them from frozen.
Lynda
If freezing should they be cooked 1st or freeze before being cooked ?
Richa
cooked and frozen
Mahurutanga
Made these for my dinner tonight and they are definitely delicious! The spices you suggested are perfect, especially the cardamom. I am freezing half of the batch so I can have easy dinners on work evenings. Thanks again for sharing!
Nicole
I made these yesterday. Having them with rice for breakfasts
Sandra
Me too! I topped it with Kimchi. Delish!
Pam
Just baked these. Followed the recipe using chickpea flour, flax seed meal, and only a little oil spray on the cookie sheet. Mine were delicious, held together and browned nicely but were a little on the dry side. Perhaps I squeezed the zucchini a little too dry. Made a sauce of cashew cream and lemon juice and served with sautéed spinach in masala sauce and a pita bread. All put together, it was fantastic. We will definitely make these again. I will probably add a little more spice next time.
Richa
Baking can dry them up depending on the moisture content. Add a flax egg and bake until just turning golden, not too long
Mary Briere
I love, love, love this recipe so good. Glad i discovered it while look at u tube.
Richa
thanks!
Rani
Looks good I’ll surely try. I like your recipes thanks
Diane Spero
These were so delicious. The spices definitely brought these over the top. Made a quick and easy sauce out of vegan mayo,, Stubbs BBQ sauce and a little Siracha sauce. But your fritters were so good they didn’t any sauce at all. Thanks for the recipe.
Lynn
After looking at this page for the past few days, I finally had time to make these tonight. I used home cooked chickpeas, ground flax, only 1/4 cup chickpea flour, no breadcrumbs, no salt, no oil and I subbed garam marsala for the spices (2 tsp). I made six burger size patties and baked them on parchment for 20 minutes, then flipped and baked for 5 more. They held together just fine and are a beautiful golden brown with a wonderful flavor. I will definitely make them again!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Richa
awesome!
Elyse
These were delicious and came together very quickly! I was out of zucchini so I used yellow squash instead, and they turned out really well!!
Richa
great!