Topdown view of Curry Maple Chickpea Cakes, topped with mango chutney, with dish of Tamarind Mayo on the side.
January 16, 2024

Curry Maple Chickpea Fritters (Vegan)

January 16, 2024

Curry Maple Chickpea Fritters (Vegan)

Topdown view of Curry Maple Chickpea Cakes, topped with mango chutney, with dish of Tamarind Mayo on the side.

Make a meal out of a can of chickpeas! With just 6 pantry staples, you can get these fast and filling Curry Maple Chickpea Fritters on the table in under 10 minutes. Super versatile, by using different toppings they can swing savoury for a quick lunch or dinner, or sweet for breakfast or brunch.

Topdown view of Curry Maple Chickpea Cakes, topped with mango chutney, with dish of Tamarind Mayo on the side.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Curry Maple Chickpea Cakes: Cooked chickpeas, aquafaba (liquid from the chickpea can), flour, maple syrup, curry powder. Not shown: salt, oil.
  • Cooked chickpeas: I used canned chickpeas, as they are a time-saver. Either salted or unsalted should be fine, however taste the batter before adding additional salt. 
  • Aquafaba: This is the liquid from cooking chickpeas - either the liquid from the can, or from cooking them. This is the egg replacer in the recipe. Read more about aquafaba.
  • Flour: I've tested this with white flour, whole wheat flour, and chickpea flour. The chickpea flour is a good option if you are gluten-free, but since it does not have gluten, the fritters won't hold together quite as well
  • Maple Syrup: Any type of maple syrup will do. I haven't tested with other liquid sweeteners, but you could try honey (not vegan) or agave. See Sugar, Sugar, Honey, Honey: A Guide to Sweeteners for Plant-Based Diets for more.
  • Curry powder: Use your favourite blend or brand.
  • Salt: As needed.
  • Cooking oil: Use a neutral-flavoured cooking oil. 

Making Curry Maple Chickpea Fritters

This recipe is very simple. Grab a mixing bowl and toss in a can of chickpeas, some of the liquid from the can (see Recipe Card for exact measurements), your choice of flour (white, whole white, or chickpea), maple syrup, curry power and salt. 

Mash the whole thing up with a potato masher or hand blender. You want about two-thirds of the chickpeas mashed, and the remaining to be relatively whole.

That’s it. The batter is made. Now, you’ll panfry these fritters for about 2 minutes a side.

If you’re looking for a savoury accompaniment, try the Tamarind Mango version of my Simple Vegan Mayo.

If you want to eat these for breakfast or brunch and are looking for a sweet topping, go with maple syrup and your choice of vegan brown butter or dairy brown butter.

Top-down shot of Curry Maple Chickpea cakes drizzled in syrup


Tips: Where do I get my protein?  

If you're new to plant-based eating, you may be wondering "Where do I get my protein?" This is one of the most commonly-asked questions when it comes to people trying plant-based recipes. Long story short, there's a diverse array of plant-based protein sources. Beans and other legumes, such as the chickpeas in this recipe, are an excellent source of protein -- about 19 grams per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of uncooked beans.

For detailed nutritional information for this recipe, see the Recipe Card

Recipe Card

Curry Maple Chickpea Fritters (Vegan)

Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Total Time 6 minutes
Ready in minutes, these vegan curry maple chickpea fritters work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Go savoury and pair with tamarind mayo, or go sweet with maple syrup. Either way you'll put them into heavy rotation. 
Servings 2 entree-sized
Calories 446 kcal
Author Sylvia Eastman

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup aquafaba {See recipe note}
  • 1/2 cup flour {chickpea, whole wheat, white}
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • salt, to taste
  • neutral cooking oil

Instructions

  • Make the batter: Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or hand blender until the chickpeas are about two-thirds mashed. It will be a soft batter.
  • Cook: Heat a heavy pan over medium high heat and melt a little vegetable oil in the pan.
    Scoop about 1/4 cup to a 1/3rd cup of the batter into the hot pan. Cook for about 2 minutes and see if you can easily flip it over. If so, flip to the other side and cook for about the same amount of time.
  • Serve: 
    Go savoury with mango chutney, Vegan Mayo or
    Tamarind mango mayo.(see Recipe Notes).
    Go sweet with maple syrup and your choice of vegan butter, regular butter, or even brown butter!

Notes

Serving Size

This makes about 6 chickpea cakes if you use 1/3rd cup of batter for each. 

Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

This really works for any meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 
Go savoury with mango chutney, simple egg-free mayo, or see that same recipe for an easy variation: tamarind mango mayo.  
Go sweet with maple syrup and your choice of vegan butter, regular butter, or even brown butter!

About Aquafaba

See Aquafaba: An Easy Vegan Egg Replacer

Storage and Re-Heating

This is best fresh but you can store in the fridge and re-heat for about 10-15 minutes at 200F. 
I have also stored the batter in the fridge for a few hours. This works better with white flour. It did not work well with chickpea flour, the batter became too runny. 

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 602mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 74IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 7mg

Courses, Cuisines, and Keywords

Course
Breakfast
|
dinner
|
lunch
Cuisine
American
|
North American
Keywords
chickpea cakes
|
chickpea fritters
|
curry maple chickpea cakes
|
curry maple chickpea fritters

Comments

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Recipe Rating




    1. Thanks, Sami! I’d love to hear what you think of it if you make it! I’m working on some different sauces to top it too – a chutney and a mayo. And you could easily vary the flavour of the cakes themselves with different herbs and spices. Fun to experiment on a day when I’m not hangry!

  1. Hmmm, I don’t have sun/safflower oil in my (vast) pantry. Do you thinkg grapeseed oil would work? Or avocado? Or maybe I should just try one of them and let you know!

    1. I am not sure! I think I would try grapeseed first maybe, since I find I can taste the avocado in avocado oil. Definitely do not use olive oil though as it will get bitter in the blender. Let me know how it goes!

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Hello!


We're creating a course: Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating

Yes, seriously. Trying a plant-based diet can be overwhelming and we'd like to help. 

This course is for you if: 

  • you're curious about plant-based eating, but don't know where to start 
  • you have family or friends who eat plant-based and you'd like to be able to cook for them
  • you've dabbled with plant-based cooking, but would like to expand your repertoire 

Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating will: 

  • answer your pressing questions
  • cultivate your confidence 
  • arm you with recipes

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