Chickpea Fritters
These crispy Chickpea Fritters are quick and easy to make, and have a puffy, light texture. You can eat them as is with yogurt, or stuff them into a pita for a faux falafel sandwich!
There’s no need to get out the fryer for this recipe, as these fritters are pan fried in a skillet with olive oil. It’s still crispy goodness, but much healthier than the usual treat.
These chickpea fritters have a really interesting texture, and remind me of a biscuit made with chickpea flour.
As in, my husband was splitting them just like a biscuit and sticking some yogurt sauce in the middle!
They’re crispy and golden on the edges, but have a fluffy interior.
We also add an assortment of spices to the chickpea flour, like cumin, coriander, and yellow curry, to give it a really delicious flavor.
I like to eat these fritters on their own, but these are also great if you stick them in a pita with some lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki sauce.
How to Make Chickpea Fritters:
Add chickpea flour to a bowl, and add salt, baking soda, cumin, coriander, yellow curry powder, garlic powder, and onion powder:
Stir that together to combine, then add lemon juice and water to hydrate it.
It will look like a thick cookie dough:
Use a cookie scoop to portion out little mounds, and put them directly in a skillet with some olive oil (here’s the size I like to make the little mounds):
Fry them for 2 minutes on each side, and watch as they puff up!
FYI, you’ll get prettier browning on the second side with these chickpea patties. I’m sure you can get a more even, robust crunch if you deep fry them, but I love pan frying in just a little bit of olive oil. It really adds a lovely flavor to the chickpeas.
Drain the fritters on a paper towel and either eat them by themselves or dip in a little bit of yogurt sauce.
I also recommend these Zucchini Fritters which are pan-fried in olive oil. They’re wonderful with yogurt sauce too. Enjoy!

Chickpea Fritter Puffs
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp yellow curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup hot water
- about 1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Whisk to combine the chickpea flour, salt, baking soda, cumin, coriander, curry powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Add the lemon juice and water, and stir to combine (it will be a thick, lumpy mixture). Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to give the chickpea flour a chance to hydrate and get even thicker.
- Heat up a nonstick skillet over medium high heat, and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out small mounds of the chickpea mixture into the hot oil, then coat a spatula with oil and lightly press the tops to smush the mounds down into patties.
- Let the patties cook for about 2 minutes on each side until they’re golden brown, and you’ll see them puff up considerably.
- Drain them briefly on paper towels after frying and enjoy them while they’re hot!
- You can serve them with a sprinkle of good quality salt or some tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated with photos, writing, and more tips in August 2018. Originally published April 2013. This post contains an amazon affiliate link.
93 Comments on “Chickpea Fritters”
I’m fascinated by these — they seem wholly unique! Definitely nothing I’ve seen before, and I can’t recall sampling a chickpea at any point recently. I need to get up with the times! 🙂
Thank you Meg! I’m a little addicted to chickpeas…sometimes I will open up a can, rinse, and eat!
Those look dangerous. Dangerously delicious, that is. Hm….. how long until I can open my windows and do fried food again? 😉
Haha, I agree Deanna! FYI I don’t find this to be one of those smelly fried food dishes, though I admit I like the fragrance of olive oil so maybe I just don’t notice. Looking forward to warm weather too!
So intrigued by this recipe!
Hi Kalyn, these falafel puffs are wonderful! If you ever get some chickpea flour I highly recommend them.
Hi Joanne!
I have been watching Chef Dennis’ video from last night that featured you and I want to let you know how much I LEARNED from you (and I have credibility to say that as a college professor) of which I constantly crave new knowledge! I just love your blog now that I’ve found it, and have certainly begun my subscription to your tasty recipes!!! YAY! I’d love to have you pop on over to my newly designed blog (just launched on Sunday in fact) and would be honored if you too would subscribe to my blog too. I hope that is OK to ask! I’m not really sure if it’s appropriate, but I’d love to have you as one of my subscribers!
Thanks,
Roz
I’m sorry Joanne, let me correct myself . . . my blog isn’t new, it was re-designed. Thanks for your support and delicious recipes that truly make me just want to give up my day job and live in the kitchen preparing them!
Roz
Oooo these sound so delicious! I can guarantee I would be addicted to them as well!
Thanks Caroline! They are delightful!
These sound wonderful and knowing my friends I need a lot of them. You always come up with such great dishes…
Thanks Norma! I appreciate it =)
Whoa! OK, love chickpeas, love all these flavors. I have used chickpea flour before but never for anything that looks this scrumptious. I notice there’s no fat (butter, oil) in the actual dough. Is that right? Definitely making these ASAP!!
That’s correct, Anita. No fat in the dough, and it’s amazing how fluffy and not dry they taste in the inside!
Where do I purchase the chickpea flour? CanI make this myself if I can find dried chickpeas?
Hi Gail, the one I used is sold by Bob’s Red Mill. They make all sorts of specialty flours and ingredients, and most stores seem to carry them these days. If you can’t find it in store, the Amazon price seems decent http://amzn.to/10wspeh
I don’t think you can make it yourself, as it’s a super fine stone ground flour. I wish we could!
It can also be called Garbanzo Flour but I think also some have it as Garam Flour.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Gail, I’ve done a Google search and yes, chickpea flour can be made at home. Here’s one of the may links I’ve found, http://blog.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/how-to-make-chickpea-flour-at-home/
would these be good with gravy on them?
I haven’t tried it, but if it sounds good to you, I’m sure it will be!
Mmmm…these look so good!! Don’t you just love Bob’s Red Mill? 😉 I’ll definitely have to make these as soon as I get my hands on some chickpea flour! They look like a great spin-off on falafel.
Bob’s Red Mill is awesome! They are nice people too. I love falafel so I knew I would love these too. Chickpeas rock!
Okay, I’m just tagging this on to my previous comment because I don’t want to clutter up the comment section. I made these this morning, and they (sadly) ended up nothing like what your picture looks like. They puffed up a little bit in the pan but really just stayed dense and were pretty bitter. I don’t know why. I followed the recipe, but the only thing that I changed was that I used urad flour (made from lentils) instead of chickpea flour, because that’s what I had on hand. Do you think that would change the entire recipe so drastically? It’s really sad, because I so wanted some puffy chickpea biscut-things. 🙁
Hi Myrtle, it is essential that you use chickpea flour =) The recipe is solid, it’s on the side of the Bob’s Red Mill bags so I know it’s been tested many times, and I have also made it many times. Let me know when you get to try them, they’re great!
Yum! These are called “channa tikki” in Hindi. Perfect bite size morsels that’s usually serve as a snack in India 🙂
Kiran, I’m so thrilled to discover there is another “real” name for these!!! Thanks so much.
These look tasty! I think I could eat 1,000 right along with you. We could race.
Thanks Tommy! I think a chickpea fritter puff eating race sounds good. I’m going to win! =)
Ha, challenge accepted! 🙂
How cute are these?! Look delicious too! perfect for a party.
Thanks Mallory! That’s a smart idea about making it party food.
These are SUPERB!!! Love ’em!
Thanks for sharing this great recipe and idea!
Hugs,
Maria
Thank you Maria! They’re wonderful little bites.
How many puffs does this make? 🙂 Looks delicious!
Hi Beth, it depends on sizing but if you use the OXO small cookie scoop I linked to above, it makes about 10-12 puffs. If you’re serving more than two people as a light snack, it’d be best to double or triple the recipe. Enjoy!