This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
This fluffy, vegan omelet is fluffy and full of veggies but no tofu. Learn how to make the perfect egg-free chickpea flour omelet! This post was originally published on sept 2 , 2014
Table of Contents
Vegan omelets are tricky. Some have the right texture, some have the right flavor, some have a bit of both but not exactly. Chickpea flour makes a good substitute for an omelet, it being high in protein and yellow :). There’s 10 gm protein and 5 grams fiber in each chickpea omelet! They however can have a dense texture once they cool. You want to serve these right off the skillet for the best fluffier texture.
This format of vegan omelet recipe comes courtesy of my husband, Vivek. If you want to get to know Vivek, we did a recipe video together on YouTube with my chickpea loaf.
When Vivek cooks weekend brunch, he goes for Indian breakfast dishes like chilla,(which is unleavened chickpea flour pancakes) or poha .
One weekend, he decided to up his game and experiment with my chickpea flour omelet recipe. He wanted buttery onion-tomato uttapam (South Indian pancakes made gotu style from his fave breakfast place), so he improvised to make the chickpea flour pancake with onion and tomato slices.
I often make it his way. Other times I chop up veggies and add to the batter along with some vegan cheese.
I add some baking soda and non dairy yogurt for fluffiness and moisture, some flax seed meal for binding, Kala namak(Indian sulphur salt) for the eggy flavor.
This vegan omelet is super versatile! Make it your own by adding nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor or leaning more into that Indian chilla flavor with some carom seedsor Cumin seeds.
For an even fluffier chickpea flour omelet, blend the batter in a blender. That will add more air to the batter. The texture is best when hot off the skillet. Chickpea flour, lentil flour pancakes set up and get denser as they sit. So serve freshly made. You can make the batter and refrigerate for upto 3 days so you can make the omelet when needed!
No matter how you prepare it, this egg-free omelette is absolutely delicious with a light, fluffy texture.
Why You’ll Love this Vegan Omelet
- light and fluffy texture, very similar to eggs
- incredible flavor from garlic powder, black salt, cumin, and veggies
- versatile! Play with mix-ins and even adjust the texture to suit your tastes.
- naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.
More Vegan Egg breakfast
Chickpea Flour Vegan Omelet
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or chia seed meal
- 1 tablespoon potato starch, or tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kala namak, Indian sukphur salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Wet Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon non dairy plain yogurt, unsweetened or lightly sweetened
- 1 1/4 cup water or stock
- veggies, like sliced tomato, red onion, mushrooms, jalapeño slices or pickled jalapeño slices, and chopped cilantro, chopped spinach
- mix-ins, like vegan cheese and green onions, optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients. Add the non-dairy yogurt and pour 1/2 cup of the water to the dry mixture, while mixing in. Once the water is mostly combined, Pour more water, keep mixing, stopping after every 1/4 cup to combine well, keep adding more water to make a thick pourable batter. Mix well so there are no lumps. (If you dump the entire water into the flour mixture, it will get lumpy and be really hard to get a smooth batter). You can also blend the ingredients in a blender. Let this batter sit for 2 minutes. If you want, you can add vegan cheese, green onions, and other mix-ins to the batter at this point.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet at medium heat. When the skillet is hot, brush oil to grease. Pour 1/3 cup or more batter using a ladle and spread on the pan, (spread using your ladle or by moving the pan) then place the vegetable slices on the batter. Make thinner and smaller pancakes to get a hang of these to start with. Alternately, you can mix things like vegan cheese and chopped veggies into the batter
- Cover the pan and cook for 2 mins then uncover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, depending on your pan and the thickness of the vegan omelet. The first one usually takes longer as the pan heats up.
- Once the center is set, flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve. For extra eggy flavor, sprinkle a pinch of Kala namak on the omelet. The Kala namak flavor fades in cooking, so use it in the end to add a stronger egg flavor.Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha, chutneys, roasted potatoes, hash browns or other breakfast fixin's.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- chickpea flour – This is the base for your vegan omelet. Learn about the difference between besan and chickpea flour, if you’re not sure which is which.
- potato starch- or cornstarch. Adds a bit of binding
- flax meal – Or use chia seeds. This is the binder that helps the omelette stay together.
- salt and spices – Kala namak gives this vegan omelet an eggy flavor. You also season it with turmeric (for color), garlic powder, black pepper, and table salt.
- baking soda – Helps it rise and get fluffy.
- non-dairy yogurt – The yogurt gives this an amazing, eggy texture with no eggs!
- veggies and mix-ins – Use veggies of choice! I am using tomato, red onion, spinach, and mushrooms to top one of my chickpea omelets and making another one plain but adding vegan cheese and green onions to the batter.
💡Tips
- You want a smooth, pourable batter. Whisk in more water by pouring it slowly so that it can incorporate into the flour instead of making pools of water in the batter
- You need a good nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron pan to make this recipe. Chickpea flour batter loves to stick to the pan! If it does stick, simply pivot from making an omelette to a scramble.
How to Make a Chickpea Flour Omelette
In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.
Add the non-dairy yogurt and pour 1/2 cup of the water to the dry mixture, while mixing in. Once the water is mostly combined, Pour more water, keep mixing, stopping after every 1/4 cup to combine well, keep adding more water to make a thick pourable batter. (If you dump the entire water into the flour mixture, it will get lumps and be really hard to get a smooth batter). You can also blend the ingredients in a blender. Let this batter sit for 2 minutes. If you want, you can add vegan cheese, green onions, and other mix-ins to the batter at this point.
Let the batter sit for a few minutes.
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet at medium heat. When the skillet is hot, brush oil to grease. Pour 1/3 cup or more batter using a ladle and spread on the pan, (spread using your ladle or by moving the pan) then place the vegetable slices on the batter. Make thinner and smaller pancakes to get a hang of these to start with. Alternately, you can mix things like vegan cheese and chopped veggies into the batter
Cover the pan and cook for 2 mins then uncover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, depending on your pan and the thickness of the vegan omelet. The first one usually takes longer as the pan heats up.
Once the center is set, flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve. For extra eggy flavor, sprinkle a pinch of Kala namak on the omelet. The Kala namak flavor fades in cooking, so use it in the end to add a stronger egg flavor. Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha, chutneys, roasted potatoes, hash browns or other breakfast fixin’s.
What to Serve with Chickpea Omelettes
Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha, chutney, roasted breakfast potatoes, hash browns or other breakfast fixin’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
This chickpea omelet is naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free (depending on the non dairy yogurt used). It’s also egg-free, corn-free, and coconut-free.
You can use besan(gran flour), you’ll need a bit less water to make the batter. Learn about the difference between besan and chickpea flour here
Made last night and omitted dairy yoghurt instead of vegan as I had no vegan yoghurt. Followed recipe to the word. Ate this and found the consistency rather dry and solid.
Made this again and omitted low fat yoghurt and a little more water then it suggested in the recipe.
Forgot the baking soda? Does this really matter?
Baking soda is definitely important to fluff up the mixture, else it will be a thick dense batter which can cook to a solid pancake. The airyness in the batter makes it less solid and less dry feeling while eating. I think you mean you added the dairy yogurt. that also might have changed the consistency.
Try the recipe with baking soda , bake slightly thinner pancake so it cooks faster without drying out.
Quick, easy and delicious – my kind of thing 🙂 thank you!
Hi, i m on a calorie count diet. My chickpea flour- Ladu Besan that i bought at the indian market has a nutrition chart with 182 calories for 1/4 cup. I see your nutrition chart shows 173 cal per portion of 3 portions. Are you using a lower calorie chickpea flour? If yes, what is it?
Ladu besan is flour of a different chickpea – brown chickpeas. For chickpea flour used in recipes like this, I use the white (regular) chickpea flour. Besan is a flour of brown chickpeas. depending on the type it can be ground much finer than the regular chickpea flour. This will change the amount of flour that gets measured in a cup. Hence the variation in nutrition values.
Very helpful! Thank you
Will it still taste fine to omit kala namak?
Yeah, should be fine. It will not get the eggy flavor that is due to kala namak.
I loved this recipe! Used besan, thinking it was the same (had to use a bit more to thicken) and used almond milk because I didn’t have yoghurt. Made one giant omelette and had to stop myself from eating the whole thing 🙂
lovely recipe! trying it for lunch today! can I use whole chia seeds or flaxseeds instead of chia meal or flax meal?
u can use whole chia seeds
This was so easy, and they turned out beautifully! I sautéed the veggies before adding them on top of the batter (onions, peppers, broccoli, spinach, tomato and avocado), cooked, folded, and flipped. Excellent, low calorie and high protein! My husband is taking one to reheat for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!!
This is a favorite breakfast in the house. I often use silken tofu or cashew cream as a sub. Works out beautifully.
Tried these last night. They are delicious. I’m bubbling with ideas of new variations to try. My husband wants to add them to our regular rotation of recipes–that’s a resounding endorsement! Thanks for posting this delightful recipe. 🙂
YAY!! thats awesome!! We keep making variations based on some of our old favorites from a breakfast place we used to go to a decade ago. California omelet, denver omelet and so on 🙂
I made this today, but scrambled, not as an omelet. I made it in the microwave,stirring the mixture at one-minute intervals, and it worked beautifully. Very tasty. I whipped it up in a matter of minutes – literally. By the way, I find the notes at the end of your recipes very helpful, especially the ones about substitutions. I wouldn’t have made this recipe if you hadn’t added the note about the vegan yogurt substitution and the possibility of scrambling at the end. Thank you for sharing your love of cooking, and for being so practical about it.
Thanks!