Air fryer chickpea cakes (vegetarian crab cakes)
Old Bay-seasoned chickpea cakes with celery, pepper and lemon, crisped in the air fryer like Maryland crab cakes and served with a tangy pickle yogurt sauce and crunchy slaw.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.00 a serving
- 400 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1½ tsp Old Bay seasoning, divided
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 dill pickle, finely chopped
- 3 cups coleslaw mix
From your pantry
- ½ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
Each serving has about 400 calories, 20 g protein, 52 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $2.00 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No coleslaw mix? Green cabbage or red cabbage works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Mash the chickpeas in a big bowl until mostly broken, leaving some small chunks.
Dolly’s tip: A little texture makes them taste flaky, like the real thing.Mix in the celery, pepper, green onions, 1 teaspoon Old Bay, the mustard, lemon zest, half the lemon juice, the egg, ½ cup panko and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Shape into 8 cakes about ¾ inch thick and press both sides into the rest of the panko.
Dolly’s tip: If they crumble, chill them 10 minutes before coating. Cold cakes hold together.Brush the cakes with 1 tablespoon of the oil and air fry at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway, until and .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 11 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Meanwhile, stir the yogurt with the pickle, of Old Bay and a squeeze of lemon.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
the coleslaw mix with the last tablespoon of oil, the rest of the lemon juice and of salt.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Serve the cakes with the pickle sauce and slaw.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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