This easy Chickpea Fritters recipe is perfect for a vegetarian main dish or appetizer. Made with leftover mashed potatoes, curry, and lots of fresh herbs, these chickpea patties are easy to make and delicious to eat.
This is a love letter to fritters of all kinds
Friends, is there anything more perfect than fritters? And I do mean fritters of any and every kind.
I mean, already delicious ingredients coated in a layer of crumbs and then fried to perfection? Crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside? No offense, but if that doesn't appeal to you I feel like we need to check your priorities.
Much like our community-fave Air Fryer Arancini, these Chickpea Fritters are great for using up leftovers. In fact, I've been known for making a double batch of Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes just so I've got leftovers on hand for frittering.
Stir in a bit of fragrant curry powder, some protein-packed chickpeas, and a bunch of herbs, then coat those babies in the panko crust of your dreams (or is it just my dreams?!) and you're all set for fritter perfection.
No flour, no food processor, no nonsense. Let's do this thing!
Let's make Chickpea Fritters together!
There are specific instructions for how to make this Chickpea Fritters recipe in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. But let's talk through it step-by-step before you get there.
Step 1: boil & mash
First up, we're going to cube and boil our potatoes. I like to leave the skin on when I make mashed potatoes because a) I am lazy, and b) there are a ton of nutrients concentrated in the skin. If you prefer, you can certainly peel the potatoes first.
Once the potatoes are fork tender you're going to drain them, add the butter, and mash 'em up. I use a potato masher for this job and do it right in the pot.
Add the chickpeas to the same pot, right on top of the potatoes, and give them a little mish mash as well just to break them up a bit.
Step 2: season & shape
Now you're going to add your chopped herbs, spices, and salt, and give everything a good mix. You can taste the mixture at this point, and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Use your hands to shape the Chickpea Fritters. I find that clean, wet hands are best for this task as the mixture doesn't stick.
Step 3: coat & crisp
Dunk each chickpea patty into beaten egg, before coating it in breadcrumbs. Note - you can skip the egg wash if you want vegan chickpea fritters.
Then the chickpea patties are going into a hot frying pan until they're crisp and brown on both sides.
And then, you're done! Hot, crispy, delicious chickpea fritters. You. Are. Welcome.
Tips for the best Chickpea Fritters
This recipe is so tasty and simple to make, it's sure to become a regular in your household too. Here are a few tips to make things come together well.
Keep 'em small
When it comes to fritters, size matters. Smaller chickpea fritters will hold together more easily than big ones, so stick with a couple of tablespoons of filling per patty.
Make an Assembly Line
I like to prep and assembly line for forming and coating my chickpea fritters. Line up the pot of chickpea filling, a bowl with beaten egg, and a bowl of breadcrumbs. Then you can quickly move your patties along from one station to the next.
Tip! When you're dunking into beaten egg and then bread crumbs, it is helpful to have one wet hand and one dry hand, rather than two gooey hands.
Chickpea Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups chickpeas equivalent to one 14 ounce can
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes diced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped chives or green onion
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes optional
- 1 ½ cups bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs beaten
- oil for pan frying
Instructions
- Place diced potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until the potatoes are just barely tender - you should be able to pierce them easily with a fork.1 ½ pounds potatoes
- Drain the potatoes, add the butter, and mash the potatoes. You should have about 2 cups of mashed potatoes.2 Tablespoons butter
- Add chickpeas to the potatoes, and give them a bit of a mash as well so there are some that are mashed into a rough paste, and others that are still intact.1 ¾ cups chickpeas
- Add chives, cilantro, salt, curry powder, and cumin, and stir to combine. Taste the mixture at this point, and adjust the seasonings if necessary.2 Tablespoons fresh chopped chives or green onion, 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, 1 Tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon salt
- Line a baking sheet or large plate with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Using clean hands, form the chickpea mixture into patties, using a couple of tablespoons of the mixture per patty. Set the formed patty on the parchment paper, and repeat until you have used up all of the mixture. *At this point you could refrigerate the patties for up to 24 hours.
- Set up an assembly station. You'll need two bowls - one for the beaten eggs, and the other for the bread crumbs.2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups bread crumbs
- Pre-heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet with enough oil to thinly coat the bottom.oil for pan frying
- Try to keep a dry hand and a wet hand for the breading part. Using your wet hand (or a pair of forks), place a patty into the egg bowl, and turn over to coat. Lift up and allow excess egg to drip off, then transfer into the bowl of breadcrumbs. Using your dry hand, toss breadcrumbs over the patty and turn to coat. Lift it out of the bowl and shake off excess, and then transfer either into the waiting skillet, or onto a fresh sheet of parchment.
- Pan fry the chickpea fritters for a few minutes on each side, until the outsides are golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
Nutrition
Hazel says
These are SO GOOD!! Very, very easy and quick to put together and so delicious. I used half of the mix the first night in their fritter form and kept the other half in the fridge until a few days later. I decided to try and make the rest into samosa filling using rice paper wrappers and then shallow pan frying for someone who is GF, and that too was a huge success. I cant wait to make these again. Another Hey Nutrition Lady winner, as always! Thanks, Katie! 🤗
Kristin says
In the case of an egg allergy, any suggestions on substitutions for the egg wash at the end? I love everything about this recipe and can't wait to try but I'm always trying to work around some food allergies in my family (myself included).
Katie Trant says
You can just skip the egg wash! The mixture is plenty moist and the breadcrumbs will stick to the patties without the egg.
Allison says
Just made these for a potluck - so easy to make (i formed the patties the night before and fried day of) and they were totally a hit! Served them with chutney. Will def be making these again soon
themuffinmyth says
Yum! That sounds like a great potluck idea!
Al says
Do the made patties freeze well?
I want to make these and send them to my kiddo in college. Am planning to freeze them and send by overnight mail.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
Katie Trant says
Yes they do! If you freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray, you can pop them into a freezer bag once frozen solid.
Tom says
I made these tonight and I can't wait to have them again. I did add a few items, a bit of ginger, garlic, and some cumin seeds sautéed for a minute before adding to the potato mixture and a little finely chopped red pepper. Served with a bit of tamarind chutney - yum!
themuffinmyth says
Yum! Those additions sound great. I'll have to try them next time I make these.
Kevin says
Made these beauties to spec and they were absolutely delish!
I thought I'd try a little taste test while I was forming the patties and it was so good that I took several additional tastes... just to be sure, right? As a result I ended up with 9 patties. I should have seen it coming, but this eventually led to a fierce battle with my wife for the last one (which of course I lost).
These will be a new regular on the home menu, but will make sure that from now on I always make an even number of them. Thanks for the recipe!
themuffinmyth says
You know what they say, Kevin, happy wife, happy life. Glad you liked them!
adam says
i made these last night for dinner ... some with yam, some with russet potato ... some breaded, some sans crispy deliciousness. DELICIOUS in all forms! the yams are considerably softer, so require less boiling time and are a bit stickier to work with (i think i'll try dredging them in flour before the egg/crumb crusting next time). i also used panko bread crumbs for an extra crispy crunch. the sweetness of these orange spuds is a perfect pairing to the spices and heat of the chilies!
i think the next time i make these, i may serve them as a base for braised short-ribs (blasphemy i know, but i can't help myself!). they would also be delish served alongside many vegetarian indian dishes. mmmmmmmm
thanks katie!
Tara says
These look delicious Katie....going to try them with beans:)