(Super Bowl Recipe Idea Alert!) Chickpea Sliders with Vegan Garlic Aioli

Hi friends!

Hope you had a nice weekend! My weekend was pretty low-key, and the highlights were a Friday evening light hike with my little family, a pedi/lunch date with a girlfriend on Saturday and a trip to the dog beach on Sunday afternoon.

Del Mar Dog Beach

Do you know what my weekend did not include? Football. Well, technically that’s not true, since I did watch a bit of the Pro Bowl when Serena Williams’ match at the Australian Open last night went to commercial, but that’s only kinda sorta a real NFL game.

This is the time of the year when the NFL season ends, and on one hand, it’s nice because I have extra time to do other things on Sundays; but on the other hand, I get a little sad because I love watching football and all of a sudden there’s this empty hole in my sports viewing life. BUT, before this officially happens, next Sunday the Super Bowl is taking place. Besides what will hopefully be an entertaining game, what’s something I always look forward to during the big NFL showdown? Food of course! 

I’ve mentioned it before, but I love mini-sized foods. Appetizers are just my favorite, and sometimes I’ll just make a few of them for dinner. Burger sliders are another mini-sized gem. They’re great for grabbing and munching on while watching a football game, which is why I decided to come up with a vegan slider recipe that’s perfect for Super Bowl Sunday:

It seems I’ve been a little obsessed with chickpeas lately, since in my last post I shared a chickpea vinaigrette, and in this post I’m using my favorite bean for burgers. What can I say, chickpeas are versatile and I love them!

Here’s a little tidbit: This recipe almost didn’t happen because I couldn’t find mini burger buns anywhere. My go-to mini burger bun grocery store, Trader Joe’s, was out of stock when I originally went looking for them there. Throughout the course of a couple of weeks, I found myself in probably three other food stores – none of which carried mini burger buns. But the next time I stopped back into TJ’s for a few things, I was happy to find their sesame mini buns back on the shelves… because regular sized chickpea burgers would not be half as fun, ya know what I mean? 😉  

I made the chickpea burger mixture by throwing a can of garbanzo beans, some spices, olive oil, whole wheat flour, green onion & garlic into my food processor until it formed a thick, smooth ball – which I shaped into 8 mini patties, then rolled in breadcrumbs.

In thinking of what I could add to the burgers that would give it a yummy pop of flavor, aioli came to my head. I recently saw a vegan aioli recipe somewhere that used slivered almonds instead of the traditional egg used in aioli, and so I decided to fool around with that idea and come up with a tasty eggless aioli:

What’s great about these chickpea sliders is that they’re nutritious and filling. So while you still have the option to mindlessly munch on chips the entire time you’re watching the Super Bowl with an endless pit of hunger in your stomach, if you eat a few of these sliders, you’ll be left feeling satisfied with a happy belly…. with maybe a teeny bit of room for something sweet afterwards (I mean, there’s always room for dessert, right?)!

Chickpea Sliders with Vegan Garlic Aioli

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 8 sliders

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

  

For the burgers:

• 1-15 oz can garbanzo beans drained
• 8 mini burger buns
• 3 TBSP whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 medium avocado sliced (optional)
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 stalk of green onion sliced
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 1/2 TSP cumin
• 1/4 TSP chili powder
• 1/4 TSP black pepper

For the aioli:

• 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 TSBP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 TBSP horseradish mustard regular deli mustard will work too
• Juice from 1/2 medium lemon
• 1/4 TSP salt
• 1/8 TSP black pepper
• 5 TBSP water or enough to achieve desired consistency

Instructions

 

• To make the burger patties: Combine the chickpeas, 2 TBSP of the olive oil, garlic clove, green onion, wheat flour, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in food processor. Pulse until a smooth but thick mixture forms.
• Form 8 chickpeas patties. Spread bread crumbs on a plate, then roll each patty in the crumbs.
• Heat the remaining 2 TBSP of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the patties on the skillet, and cook on each side until lightly browned. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.
• Meanwhile, to make the aioli: Wash out the food processor, then place the almonds, garlic, olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper in it. Pulse until smooth. Scrape down the sides, add 1/4 cup of water and pulse again. To achieve a thinner consistency: Add another TBSP of water and pulse again. Repeat until you achieve desired consistency.
• Assemble the burgers by placing each patty on a mini burger bun, topping with a slice or two of avocado, and spreading some aioli on top with a butter knife. Enjoy!

Tell me… Who are you routing for in the Super Bowl? Do you have any favorite sports watching eats/recipes?