These BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burgers are the first veggie burgers I’ve ever eaten and I can’t believe they’ve been missing from my life for so long. They are so good that even my chickpea-despising and veggie-hating Official Treat Taster went for a second bite. Okay, so the burger was covered in so much sauce and cheese that he probably couldn’t taste the veggies or chickpeas, but that is beyond the point. The point is: these burgers are fantastic and you need to make them for lunch right now.

The original recipe calls for a food processor, but if you don’t have one (like me) don’t worry – you can still make these burgers. Instead of putting all the ingredients into a food processor, place them all into a large bowl and use a hand-held blender to mix everything together. This is what I did and it worked brilliantly. If you don’t have a hand-held blender, you could always try mashing the chickpeas with a potato masher and mix everything together with a spoon.

These burgers freeze really well. In fact, I have several mini-burgers wrapped in plastic and stored in my freezer for when I’m in desperate need of a snack, but want something healthier than whatever dessert I have in my fridge. I just grab a burger, blast it in the microwave for 4 minutes and devour my almost-instant, nutritious and tasty snack.

BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

½ finely chopped onion

½ cup finely chopped broccoli

½ cup grated carrot

450g chickpeas

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese + more for topping

3 tablespoons BBQ sauce + more for topping

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup whole-wheat flour

Pinch salt & pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Recipe

1. Heat a small frying pan over a medium head and fry the onions in a little oil until softened. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.

2. Combine all the remaining ingredients in the bowl of your food processor and mix until completely combined. Remove from the bowl and form into 6 burgers.

3. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add a little oil and cook the burgers until they are golden brown and crispy on the outsides – about 3-4 minutes. Be very careful when flipping the burgers over – they fall apart so easily.