Perfect to top a salad, serve as an appetizer or put on a sandwich, these Garbanzo Bean Fritters are a gluten-free and high protein addition to any meal.
I created this garbanzo bean fritters recipe after craving latkes in March. Could I technically still have made latkes even though it wasn’t December? Of course. But did a bout of my allergy for making the same dish twice flare-up? Apparently.
Thus, these fritter bad boys were born.

These fritters have the savory and light crunch of a latke with lemon and cumin to contribute some hummus-like flavor notes. The garbanzo beans add some satisfying but not overwhelming heft to the fritters to make them light enough for an appetizer but also filling enough to serve on a salad
The best part: with the versatility and classic flavors of these fritters, they’re perfect all year round. You might even want to add them to your rotation in December… but I promise I’ll forgive you if don’t. 😉
Garbanzo Bean Fritter Cooking Notes:
- If serving on a salad, and add a few teaspoons of milk to the sour cream sauce to thin out the dipping sauce and make a dressing. Ranch dressing should also work just fine here.
- If serving for a dinner party, keep the paper towel-lined baking sheet with cooked fritters on them in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. Move the fritters to a serving platter as soon as you are ready.
- It may be annoying, but make sure to chill these guys before cooking. This will help the batter to stick together better when cooking. You can chill anywhere from 20 minutes-12 hours. Which leads me to…
- If you have a dinner party in the evening, you can whip these up in the morning or before prepping the rest of the house and food. Then just cook right before serving.
Recipes Similar to Garbanzo Bean Fritters:
- Sweet Potato Hash Brown Burgers
- Black Lentil Salad
- Split Pea Hummus
- Moroccan Chickpea Salad with Carrots
- Ricotta Grits and Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Drizzle
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Garbanzo Bean Fritters
A warm and crunchy gluten free fritter. Chill from 20 minutes up to 12 hours, depending on how long you need.
Ingredients
- 2 14 oz. (or 414 mL) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ lemon zested, divided
- ½ lemon juiced Plus 1 ½ teaspoons juice, divided
- ¾ Teaspoon (or 4.25 g) Salt
- 1 Teaspoon. (or 2 g) Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon. (or 4.67 g) Baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons (or 18 g) gluten free flour, or all purpose flour if not gluten free
- 3.5-5.5 Tablespoons light olive oil or canola oil, divided
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- ½ Cup (or 96 g) sour cream
- 2 Teaspoons dairy milk
- 4 radishes, cut into match stick pieces, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mash the garbanzo beans with a potato masher or fork, until most of the beans are broken up but it’s not a puree yet.
- Add half the lemon zest, juice, salt, spices, flour, 1 ½ Tablespoon light olive oil or canola oil, sesame seeds, and egg and mix thoroughly until it’s all blended together. Cover bowl and move to fridge to chill for 20 minutes and up to 12 hours.
- When ready to cook: preheat oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Heat 2 T of oil heavy bottomed skillet (I like cast iron) over medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot enough that water sputters when flicked on it, add fritters to pan by heaping tablespoons full. Cook 2 minutes on each side and then move fritters to a baking tray and move to oven to keep warm.
- Add more oil to the pan if needed and repeat to cook the rest of fritters, adding more oil to the pan in between batches and placing cooked fritters on the tray in the oven.
- Mix sour cream with lemon zest, milk, and radishes (if using) in a small bowl. Remove fritters from the oven right before serving with the sour cream sauce.
Notes
- Store any uneaten fritters in a covered container with paper towels between the layers of fritters. Reheat in a toaster oven or oven on low heat for a minute or two (or longer if frozen) until starting to sizzle.
- These keep in the fridge covered for 2-3 days or in an airtight container in the freezer for 1 month.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1 fritter with 1 tablespoon creamAmount Per Serving Calories 190Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 1.5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 32mgSodium 28mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 5g
This nutrition breakdown is just an estimate of the nutritional value of this recipe and cannot be taken as facts. The owners of Mae's Menu are not nutritionists or dieticians and therefore cannot be held accountable for this nutrition estimate. Please contact your nutritionist or medical professional for a nutritional breakdown of this food. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.
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