Green Chickpea Patties with Tahini

These green chickpea patties with tahini are a quick, protein-packed way to turn a can of chickpeas into a savory, herb-flecked meal in about 25 minutes. Mashed chickpeas get folded together with fresh parsley, wild garlic, onion, and black olives, then pan-fried until golden and crisp on the outside and tender within. They are vegetarian as written (bound with one egg), and easy to make fully vegan by swapping in psyllium husks.

I have to be upfront: I am CRAZY about veggie patties. I sometimes think I should focus on an even more specific niche with my blog, the crazy veggie-patties-lovers niche! This green chickpea patties recipe was inspired by my healthy vegan falafels, which were a huge success, and these are every bit as good. I love olives and they are a perfect ingredient here, and tahini is my newest obsession, so it had to come along for the ride.

What goes into these green chickpea patties

The base is canned chickpeas, which is what keeps this fast. You can absolutely use dried chickpeas, but then you need to soak them overnight and boil them for at least two hours first. The “green” in the name comes from a generous cup each of fresh parsley and wild garlic (ramps), which give the patties their color and a bright, almost garlicky lift. Black olives bring a salty, briny depth, while diced onion and sweet paprika round out the savory notes.

Two ingredients do the quiet structural work: chickpea flour helps the mixture hold together (any flour or breadcrumbs will do), and the egg binds everything. If you want these vegan, use 2 tablespoons of psyllium husks in place of the egg. Nutritional yeast adds a subtle savory, cheesy note, and the tahini stirred right into the mix gives the patties a faint nutty richness from the inside out.

How to get them to hold and crisp up

Blend the cooked chickpeas in a food processor until they reach a paste-like consistency before you add anything else; that paste is what gives the patties body. Once you stir in the rest of the ingredients, judge the texture by feel. If the mixture is too moist to shape, add more chickpea flour a spoonful at a time until the patties are very easy to form and hold their shape without sticking to your hands.

Keep them small, about 1 tablespoon of mixture per patty, so they cook through evenly. Fry in hot oil in a non-stick pan for roughly 2 minutes per side, just until deeply golden, then rest them on a paper-towel-lined plate to wick away excess oil. Letting the oil come fully up to heat before the first patty goes in is the difference between a crisp crust and a greasy one.

Easy swaps and variations

• Make them vegan: replace the egg with 2 tablespoons of psyllium husks, which gel and bind much like egg does.
• No wild garlic? Wild garlic is seasonal, so outside of spring you can lean on extra parsley plus a clove of fresh garlic for that green, garlicky character.
• Flour options: chickpea flour keeps these gluten-free, but any flour or breadcrumbs will bind the mixture just as well.
• Olive swap: black olives give a mellow brininess; green olives or capers work if you prefer a sharper bite.

What to serve with chickpea patties

These are flexible enough to anchor a plate or fill out a mezze spread. I love them alongside a scoop of light, fresh lemony hummus or the smoky mutabal tahini eggplant spread for dipping, with a crisp spinach salad on the side. If you are leaning into a bigger spread, a warm bowl of creamy peas soup turns them into a full, comforting meal.

Storing and making ahead

The chickpea mixture can be made ahead and kept covered in the fridge for a day before frying, which actually helps it firm up and shape more cleanly. Cooked patties keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator; reheat them in a dry pan or the oven to bring back the crisp edges rather than the microwave, which softens them. They also freeze well once cooled, so I like to make a double batch and stash some away. If patties are your thing the way they are mine, the veggie burger guide to perfect veggie patties and my lentil patties with olives and herbs are great next stops.

If you fry up a batch of these green chickpea patties, I would love to know how they turned out. Leave a rating and drop a comment telling me whether you went the egg or psyllium route, and what greens you used in place of wild garlic if it was out of season.

Green Chickpea Patties with Tahini

This green chickpea patties with tahini sauce recipe is not only delicious, but healthy too!

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Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Choose Serving Size 20

Ingredients 

• 800 g canned chickpeas You can use dry too, but if you want to have these chickpea patties ready in 25 minutes, then you should use canned chickpeas. If you’ll use dry chickpeas, you have to soak them overnight and boil them for at least two hours
• 1 egg or 2 tbsp psyllium husks
• 4 Tbsps nutritional yeast
• 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 1 cup wild garlic/ramps chopped
• 1 onion diced
• ⅓ cup black olives sliced
• 5 Tbsps chickpea flour or any other type of flour or breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• oil 3-4 Tbsps for frying

Instructions

• Add boiled chickpeas in the food processor and blend well until they have a paste-like consistency.
• Put them in a large bowl and blend in all the other ingredients, except oil. If the composition is too moist, add more chickpea flour. The patties should be very easy to form.
• Heat some oil in a non-stick frying pan.
• Make the patties – 1 Tbsps per patty.
• Fry them 2 minutes on each side.
• Put the patties on a plate covered with a paper towel, in order to absorb all excess oil.
• Serve!

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