Falafel Burgers with Grilled Avocado

Glorious grilling!
stack of 4 falafel burgers
© Can Stock Photo / eskymaks

Summer’s here! Bring on the B-B-Q! Greet summer with your flipper held high and an icy-cold beverage at the ready! These plant-based recipes celebrate the very best of the season and are full of those nostalgic smoky flavours that remind us of lazy summer days, and starry summer evenings. So, dig in, chill out, and dump those shoes at the door: It’s bare feet season!

This batch of chickpea power contains a whopping 25 grams of protein plus 22 grams of dietary fibre that’ll keep your backyard buddies full and satisfied all afternoon long! Using a cast iron skillet directly on your barbeque is a great way to cook delicate plant-based fare like these burgers. Serve on a soft bun with all the fixins or on a bed of organic lettuce for a healthy low-carb twist. Make sure to top with some insanely delicious, creamy, and so so good for you, grilled avocado (below) and our Backyard Barbecue Blistered Tomato Salsa!

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped 

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 can chickpeas

  • 1 egg

  • ⅓ c cooked quinoa 

  • ½ tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp cumin 

  • Chopped fresh parsley to taste

  • 1 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil, divided 

  • 1 tsp sea salt

  • Freshly ground pepper 

Instructions

  1. Sauté onion in two teaspoons of oil until fragrant and golden. Add garlic and continue to cook for one minute. Remove from heat.  

  2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add to a food processor along with the sautéed onions and garlic, quinoa, 1 teaspoon of oil, egg, and spices. Process mixture until a thick burger batter forms. 

  3. Divide the batter into four even portions. Roll each portion into a ball and then gently flatten with your hands to form burgers.

  4. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on your barbeque. Add a little oil to the hot skillet and cook burgers until crispy brown on both sides, approximately five minutes on each side.

Serve with buns, lettuce, and grilled avocado.

Grilled Avocado

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados

  • 2 tsp melted coconut or olive oil 

  • 2 Tbsp lime juice

  • Salt and pepper, to taste 

Instructions

  1. Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Drizzle flesh with lime juice and your oil of choice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  2. Grill flesh-side down for two minutes. 

  3. Scoop out flesh. Slice, chop, or mash, and garnish your burger!