Name: Easy Pizza Burgers
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 Tbsp olive oil or avocado (divided); 2 medium shallots, minced ((~4 Tbsp or 40 g as recipe is written)); 3 cloves garlic, minced ((~1 ½ Tbsp or 9 g as recipe is written)); 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (drained (reserve liquid) and rinsed); 0.25 cup vegan parmesan cheese (, plus more for serving); 2 tsp Italian seasoning ((or 1 tsp each dried basil and oregano)); 0.25 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped; 1 cup vegan-friendly bread crumbs (, plus more for cooking (gluten-free for GF eaters)); 3 Tbsp marinara sauce ((or pizza sauce*), plus more for topping); 0.25 tsp sea salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 1 cup marinara or pizza sauce; 4 null ciabatta buns, toasted ((GF as needed // or serve as lettuce wraps)); null null vegan parmesan cheese; null null fresh parsley; null null red onion

Instructions

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1

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, sauté shallots (2 medium) and garlic (3 cloves) in olive oil (1 tbsp) over medium heat until soft and translucent — about 3-4 minutes — stirring frequently.
2

To a medium mixing bowl, add cooked [shallots] and [garlic]. Add rinsed and drained can chickpeas (1 15-ounce) (reserve their liquid for later use) and use a fork or pastry cutter to mash/mix. The mixture should be dough-like with only a few whole beans remaining.
3

Add remaining ingredients, starting with olive oil (2 tbsp). Stir to combine. A moldable “dough” should form. Add more [olive oil] or some of the reserved canned liquid if too dry, or more [vegan-friendly bread crumbs] or [vegan parmesan cheese] if too wet. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more [sea salt] to taste, [Italian seasoning] for herbal flavor, or minced [garlic] for zing.
4

Heat the same skillet used earlier over medium heat.
5

In the meantime, divide mixture into [4] even 1-inch thick patties. Gently coat the burgers with additional [vegan-friendly bread crumbs] and [vegan parmesan cheese] on both sides for more flavor and texture (optional). Handle gently as they can be fragile.
6

TO FREEZE: At this point, you can package the uncooked burger patties in a well-sealed container and store in the freezer up to 1 month (often longer). Just be sure to thaw slightly before cooking as instructed in following steps.
7

Add enough [oil] to form a thin layer on the bottom of hot skillet (~1 Tbsp / 30 ml), then add coated burgers. Brown for about 5 minutes on each side, reducing heat if burgers get too brown.
8

Serve burgers as is, or pop them on a baking sheet and bake in a 375-degree F oven for an additional 10-20 minutes to dry/crisp them up.
9

In the meantime, (optionally) warm up marinara sauce (1 cup), toast buns (4 ciabatta), and prep [fresh parsley] and [red onion].
10

To serve, lay down [parsley] (or other greens of choice) on bottom half of [bun] and top with burger, [red onion], [marinara sauce], and additional [vegan parmesan cheese].
11

Leftover burgers will keep stored separate from toppings in refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer up to 1 month, though they’re best when fresh. Reheat in a 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes or until warmed through.