Chickpea Flour Vegan Omelet (soy-free, gluten-free)

Vegan omelets are tricky. Some have the right texture, some have the right flavor, some have a bit of both but not exactly. Chickpea flour makes a good substitute for an omelet, it being high in protein and yellow :). There’s 10 gm protein and 5 grams fiber in each chickpea omelet! They however can have a dense texture once they cool. You want to serve these right off the skillet for the best fluffier texture.

This format of vegan omelet recipe comes courtesy of my husband, Vivek. If you want to get to know Vivek, we did a recipe video together on YouTube with my chickpea loaf.

When Vivek cooks weekend brunch, he goes for Indian breakfast dishes like chilla,(which is unleavened chickpea flour pancakes) or poha.

One weekend, he decided to up his game and experiment with my chickpea flour omelet recipe. He wanted buttery onion-tomato uttapam (South Indian pancakes made gotu style from his fave breakfast place), so he improvised to make the chickpea flour pancake with onion and tomato slices.
I often make it his way. Other times I chop up veggies and add to the batter along with some vegan cheese.

I add some baking soda and non dairy yogurt for fluffiness and moisture, some flax seed meal for binding, Kala namak(Indian sulphur salt) for the eggy flavor.
This vegan omelet is super versatile! Make it your own by adding nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor or leaning more into that Indian chilla flavor with some carom seedsor Cumin seeds.

For an even fluffier chickpea flour omelet, blend the batter in a blender. That will add more air to the batter. The texture is best when hot off the skillet. Chickpea flour, lentil flour pancakes set up and get denser as they sit. So serve freshly made. You can make the batter and refrigerate for upto 3 days so you can make the omelet when needed!

No matter how you prepare it, this egg-free omelette is absolutely delicious with a light, fluffy texture.

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Omelet

• light and fluffy texture, very similar to eggs
• incredible flavor from garlic powder, black salt, cumin, and veggies
• versatile! Play with mix-ins and even adjust the texture to suit your tastes.
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.

More Vegan Egg breakfast

• Mung Bean Omelet
• Tofu scramble
• lentil frittata
• Tofu egg salad

Ingredients

• chickpea flour – This is the base for your vegan omelet. Learn about the difference between besan and chickpea flour, if you’re not sure which is which.
• potato starch- or cornstarch. Adds a bit of binding
• flax meal – Or use chia seeds. This is the binder that helps the omelette stay together.
• salt and spices – Kala namak gives this vegan omelet an eggy flavor. You also season it with turmeric (for color), garlic powder, black pepper, and table salt.
• baking soda – Helps it rise and get fluffy.
• non-dairy yogurt – The yogurt gives this an amazing, eggy texture with no eggs!
• veggies and mix-ins – Use veggies of choice! I am using tomato, red onion, spinach, and mushrooms to top one of my chickpea omelets and making another one plain but adding vegan cheese and green onions to the batter.

💡Tips

• You want a smooth, pourable batter. Whisk in more water by pouring it slowly so that it can incorporate into the flour instead of making pools of water in the batter
• You need a good nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron pan to make this recipe. Chickpea flour batter loves to stick to the pan! If it does stick, simply pivot from making an omelette to a scramble.

How to Make a Chickpea Flour Omelette

In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.

Add the non-dairy yogurt and pour 1/2 cup of the water to the dry mixture, while mixing in. Once the water is mostly combined, Pour more water, keep mixing, stopping after every 1/4 cup to combine well, keep adding more water to make a thick pourable batter. (If you dump the entire water into the flour mixture, it will get lumps and be really hard to get a smooth batter). You can also blend the ingredients in a blender. Let this batter sit for 2 minutes. If you want, you can add vegan cheese, green onions, and other mix-ins to the batter at this point.

Let the batter sit for a few minutes.

Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet at medium heat. When the skillet is hot, brush oil to grease. Pour 1/3 cup or more batter using a ladle and spread on the pan, (spread using your ladle or by moving the pan) then place the vegetable slices on the batter. Make thinner and smaller pancakes to get a hang of these to start with. Alternately, you can mix things like vegan cheese and chopped veggies into the batter

Cover the pan and cook for 2 mins then uncover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, depending on your pan and the thickness of the vegan omelet. The first one usually takes longer as the pan heats up.

Once the center is set, flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve. For extra eggy flavor, sprinkle a pinch of Kala namak on the omelet. The Kala namak flavor fades in cooking, so use it in the end to add a stronger egg flavor. Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha, chutneys, roasted potatoes, hash browns or other breakfast fixin’s.

What to Serve with Chickpea Omelettes

Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha, chutney, roasted breakfast potatoes, hash browns or other breakfast fixin’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is this recipe allergy friendly?

This chickpea omelet is naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free (depending on the non dairy yogurt used). It’s also egg-free, corn-free, and coconut-free.

Can I use besan?

You can use besan(gran flour), you’ll need a bit less water to make the batter. Learn about the difference between besan and chickpea flour here