These Crispy Chickpea Sliders are the vegan alternative to crispy chicken sliders, made with all natural ingredients and a special sauce made from aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas.
This post was sponsored by S&W Beans as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I’m partnering with S & W Beans today to bring you these Crispy Chickpea Sliders with Aquafaba Special Sauce. Remember when we teamed up last year to make these Clams with Sofrito, Kale and Smoky Chickpeas? We’re at it again, but this time I’m sharing a healthier, plant-based recipe and touching on an issue that is so important to me: food waste.

I promise we’ll cover these yummy chickpea sliders soon, and check out S & W Beans for coupons and more recipe ideas!

Ok, so here’s the reason I share so many vegan and vegetarian recipes on the blog: as a chef who has cooked in countless homes and event locations, I see firsthand the absurd amount of food and packaging waste that occurs in households…which has understandably led to lots of anxiety/concern over the negative environmental impact.

A few years ago, after taking a serious look at my personal food habits, it felt right to dial my animal product consumption WAY down in an effort to minimize my carbon footprint. My husband has been totally on board too, and together we have reduced our consumption to a minimum- right now we’re at about one serving of wild caught fish per week, organic pasture raised eggs and once in awhile a small amount of cheese or organic butter. We now view animal products as more of a sporadic allowance, rather than an every day necessity. For the most part we keep it plant-based for the planet, baby!

 OTHER WAYS WE REDUCE OUR FOOD & PACKAGING WASTE:

• Planning our meals in advance dramatically reduces the amount of food we throw out- we do this on Sundays and it has been a game changer. We barely throw out any food now and save quite a bit of money on groceries too!
• We take reusable shopping bags AND reusable mesh produce bags with us to grocery shop, and strive to buy produce that does not come in unnecessary packaging.
• We try to refuse one-time use utensils or plastic lids/straws for cups when ordering food to-go, and bring reusable cups, straws and silverware out with us as often as we can remember.
• When we do consume animal products, we are committed to sourcing from companies who use organic and environmentally sustainable farming/production methods. Yes it takes some extra time to research, but I believe it’s our responsibility to know how our food is being produced.
• We like to try recipes that encourage sustainability, such as these Crispy Chickpea Sliders, which use not only the beans in the can but also the liquid that comes in the can. This bean liquid is known as aquafaba and can be used as an egg replacer in all kinds of vegan recipes!

I have to say it feels really good that our food choices align with our values, prioritizing not only nourishment and flavor but also the well-being of the planet. We’re certainly not perfect 100% of the time and we don’t adhere to any strict labels, but we’re constantly striving to make improvements in this area of our lives.

Because when 51% or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture*, something needs to change, and it all starts within.

I truly believe that if everyone cut back on their consumption of animal products, committed to buying responsibly sourced ingredients and made reducing their personal food and packaging waste a priority, the planet would be much better off. Even replacing just one meal a week (or even better, a day!) with a plant-based one can make a huge impact! So by sharing plant-based recipes like these Crispy Chickpea Sliders, I hope that I’m doing my part to spread the message and empower people to take individual action.

SO….let’s talk sliders! The patties mimic chicken nuggets, but are made with S & W Beans’ organic garbanzo beans (beans are one of our favorite sources of plant-based protein btw), oats and spices, then coated in crispy, golden toasted panko. The “special sauce” for these sliders utilizes the bean liquid from the can (aquafaba) to make an vegan-friendly eggless mayonnaise. It’s like magic how it comes together! I really want to experiment with more aquafaba recipes in the future and I love that the water that comes in the can is being repurposed to create something delicious.

What are some of your favorite ways to reduce food waste?? I’d love to know your tips because we’re all in this together!

4.5 from 2 votes

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Vegan Crispy Chickpea Sliders with Aquafaba Special Sauce

These vegan Crispy Chickpea Sliders are the vegan alternative to crispy chicken sliders, made with all natural ingredients and a special sauce made from aquafaba.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegan

Keyword chickpea burger patty, cnickpea burger recipe, vegan chickpea burger recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 4 sliders

Calories 400 kcal

Author Denisse

Ingredients

FOR THE CRISPY CHICKPEA NUGGETS:

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup roats
• 1 15- ounce can garbanzo beans do not drain
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

FOR THE AQUAFABA SPECIAL SAUCE:

• 1/4 cup aquafaba
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• ¾ cup sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
• Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE SLIDERS:

• Pretzel buns or slider buns
• Sliced tomatoes
• Butter lettuce torn into small pieces

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the panko on a rimmed baking sheet, spray with cooking spray and bake until toasted and golden-brown, about 5-7 minutes. Season mixture with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the oats in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse into a fine flour. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Drain the chickpeas into a mesh sieve set over a bowl to catch the liquid. Place the chickpeas into the food processor and add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder and paprika. Pulse until mixture is crumbly. Whisk 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid in a small mixing bowl until foamy. Add liquid and oat flour to food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball.

4. Divide the chickpea mixture into equal portions and shape each one into a small patty about the same size as a slider bun. Spray both sides of each patty in cooking spray and coat in the toasted panko.

5. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 20 minutes.

6. Measure out 1/4 cup of the bean liquid (aquafaba) in a large glass measuring cup. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice and dry mustard. Using an immersion blender, mix until combined. With the blender running, very slowly drizzle in the oil in a thin stream. Miix until thickened and the consistency of mayonnaise.

7. Measure out about 1/2 cup of aquafaba mayonnaise into a bowl. Add ketchup, hot sauce, relish and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
8. Assemble slider patties on buns and top with special sauce, lettuce and tomato.

Recipe Notes

These burgers would also be delicious topped with my Green Goddess Aioli! 

*according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute.

MORE VEGGIE BURGER INSPO:

Jackfruit Sliders with Chipotle Cherry BBQ Sauce

Quinoa Sliders with Green Goddess Aioli

Beet & Chickpea Burgers with Harissa Spread

Black Bean Shiitake Burgers with Hatch Chile Mayonnaise