
For the past several months, I’ve been on a quest to make a veggie burger that had everything on our wish list. I’ve probably made over 100 veggie burgers and they all came up short, either by just a tiny bit or by a landslide.
I’m always asked what I do with failed recipes and my answer is usually the same- I eat them! An imperfect veggie burger crumbled over a salad is quite tasty. Same goes for a doughy muffin crumbled over a bowl of Vegan Overnight Oats. Unless something I make is really gross, I eat it.
However, I am picky about three things:
1) The recipes that I post on the blog
2) Homemade Veggie burgers
3) Tying my running shoes before a run (I always stop once to re-tie them, lol)
Now you know. :)

Eric and I put together a ‘must-have’ list of requirements during our mission. Veggie burgers are serious business around here and we have quite a checklist. ;)
Our veggie burger must haves:
- Can’t be mushy in the middle (the problem I have the most)
- Crispy outer shell
- Lots of flavour from fresh herbs & spices
- No tofu (not a fan)
- Crunchy, chewy texture is a must
- No cracking or falling apart (another common problem)
- Must cook well 3 ways: frying pan, oven, and BBQ
- Could make a grown man shed a tear of joy (ok, that was my requirement, heh)
If one of those elements is missing, the recipe is as dead to me as the burgers flippin’ on the McDonald’s grill!

After writing about my most recent Lemon Rosemary burger fail (that drove me to make PB Crunch Blizzards), I received an email from a lovely reader named Jenny who must have known that I was one failed veggie burger short of being buckled into a straitjacket.
Jenny writes, “After reading your post today, which has me day-dreaming about cookie dough blizzards by the way, I wanted to share with you the best veggie burger recipe our family has come across (even my meat-lovin’ husband requests them from time to time!). The recipe is from the Whitewater ski area in Nelson, BC and hasn’t failed us yet. It isn’t vegan but I’m sure you can work your magic to make it so.”
Isn’t Jenny great?

After reading Jenny’s email, I flew into the kitchen so fast my processor spun. I figured there was a 0.0002% chance they would work, so I was quite hopeful.
As luck would have it, magic did happen in my kitchen that fateful evening as Eric patiently awaited the outcome, fearing he’d be served yet another bowl of cereal.
He wasn’t. :)


Our Perfect Veggie Burger

Yield
8 burgers
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Crunchy, chewy, with a crispy outer shell, these delicious veggie burgers have all the right elements we love in a veggie burger. Light on the beans, these burgers aren’t mushy in the middle, but have a nice mixture of veggies, bread crumbs, chopped oats, sunflower seeds, and spices to round them out. This recipe is inspired by Whitewater Cooks.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons ground flax
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) warm water
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion or yellow onion
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 mL) tamari, to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, processed into a coarse meal*
- 1/2 cup spelt bread crumbs (or bread crumbs of choice)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons oat flour (or flour of choice), as needed
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes so it can thicken.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the drained black beans. With a potato masher, mash the beans until 2/3 of the mixture is a bean "paste" while leaving about 1/3 of the beans mostly intact.
- In a medium skillet, add the oil and increase the heat to medium. Stir in the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Transfer the onion mixture into the bowl with the mashed beans.
- Stir in the flax egg, grated carrots, parsley (or cilantro), sunflower seeds, tamari, chili powder, oregano, and cumin until thoroughly combined.
- Now, stir in the coarsely chopped oats, bread crumbs, and oat flour until the mixture comes together. It should be easy to shape the dough into patties. Stir in the salt and pepper, to taste.
- Shape the dough into 8 patties (roughly 1/3 cup of dough per patty). Pack the dough together tightly as this will help it stick together. Place onto the baking sheet.
- Bake patties for 15 minutes, gently flip, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until patties are firm and golden.
- Cool the patties on a cooling rack for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This helps them firm up a bit.
- Serve in a bun or lettuce wrap with your desired toppings. Leftover burgers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, or you can freeze cooled patties for up to 1 month. Simply wrap each patty in tinfoil and then place all of the wrapped burgers into a zip freezer bag.
Tip:
- * To coarsely chop the oats, add 1/2 cup rolled oats into a food processor. Process the oats until a coarse meal forms (the chopped pieces will be a mixture of powder and chopped oats just smaller than rice). Be sure not to process too long or the oats will turn into flour.
- Make it gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free oats, gluten-free Tamari, and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
This veggie burger ‘dough’ is so good to eat straight from the bowl! Another thing I learned during my mission: if the ‘dough’ doesn’t wow you, the burgers won’t either. Don’t be afraid to adjust the seasonings to taste.
For my first trial, I didn’t process the oats into a flour and they didn’t hold together very well when frying. For my second trial, I used oat flour instead of whole oats and they held together very well!
Before baking in the oven:
I love my silpat, but you can also use parchment paper.
After baking for 20 mins. on each side…crispy and golden!

Our preferred method of cooking is on the skillet, fried in a bit of oil. The burgers get this crispy shell similar to a hash brown! We already have plans to fry the ‘dough’ in a skillet for breakfast.

We also tried them on the BBQ, which also worked well. Pre-cook them in the oven for about 15 minutes first to firm them up a bit.

Then I raided the garden…

On the side, kale chips and ketchup.

On the burgers, we had homemade BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes. The second night, we had guacamole and pico de gallo on top- incredible!

I hope you love ‘em too!
I think this comment from Dawn says it all:
“Throw out any of your other veggie burger recipes! Seriously. This. Is. The. One! No weird ingredients. I’m no gourmet foodie, I’m just plain jane and have regular things in my pantry and fridge and I had all of these ingredients. I added about 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno (from a jar of sliced jalapenos). Love the sunflower seeds!! Do not over chop the black beans. I recommend mixing by hand in a bowl. I used my kitchen aid and they were too mush-i-fied. Even with my mess ups, these were very, very good. I immediately ate one from pan fried. The others I baked and will freeze. Then I will give them a try on the barbecue. Truly. I am going to remove other recipes from my Pinterest, and toss the others from my recipe box.
Thank you for making the Perfect Veggie Burger recipe!”

I made these last night for the first time and they were fantastic! I forgot to mush up the beans and that turned out to be good. I added more spice including cayenne, and they were wonderful. Cooked in the oven for 15 minutes, and on the grill at 350 for 4 more minutes on each side.Topped them with guacamole, onions, lettuce – YUM! Thanks for the recipe!
Angela,
Have you had any luck making veggie burgers with tempeh? I’m looking for a good tempeh recipe?
PS: Your quinoa lentil salad with lemon tahini dressing and your apple walnut lentil loaf are two of my favorite things on the planet and regular staples at our house. Thank you!!!
Kelli
Hi Kelli, I’m sorry I don’t have any tempeh recipes (not a big fan of the taste personally) Glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Do you think the recipe will work with carrot pulp leftover from juicing instead of shredded carrot? I’m trying to find recipies for all my juicer pulp!
I’m sorry I am not sure…let me know if you try it out!
Hi Angela,
I have been leading 15 or my colleagues through a 30 day vegan challenge. I recommended your blog to them as a resource for recipes and it was a total hit with them. They came across these burgers and I think they were their favorites. A huge hit with children. I made them tonight and they are a fantastic texture. I can’t believe how well they binded!
Thanks for everything you do.
Thank you, I appreciate it so much! Goodluck with the challenge :)
Eating these now, I used some bell pepper and celery too….omg….I just ate .2. I have NO selfcontrol with these…. Thank you for this awesomness! Also, I never used flax eggs before, it was super easy. What else can you stick thosein I wonder??
Tastes delicious, I love it! The only thing is that mine fell apart quite easily, but I don’t mind because they are so damn good
I made these for dinner last night, and they were amazing! They were better than any veggie burger I have had, chocked full of nutrition, and held together nicely. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!
I just want to let you know I made these for the first time today, and they were absolutely wonderfully.
And by absolutely wonderful I mean that my two room mates, my manager, my co-worker, my grandmother, and my sister all loved them as well.
Mind you out of all the above I’m the only vegetarian.
Great recipe, thank you.
Hey Kain, That’s great! Thanks for letting me know :)
I made this recipe last Saturday but they all went into the freezer so I didn’t have a chance to taste one until yesterday and I thought it was very tasty (ate it on top of half a cup of brown rice flavored with Mexican spices). By the way, they freeze great uncooked (my Mom’s idea–we cooked together and made a double batch and half went home with me). So I just pan fried it (with cooking spray) when I needed one (should have thawed it first but I was hungry). My calculations came to 265 calories per burger but I think the high count was due to the ready-made bread crumbs. Next time I’ll make homemade bread crumbs like you did. I’m working on losing weight so want to get the calorie count closer to 200. Thanks for the recipe. No more Morningstar for me!
Just wanted to share another option for a good burger. I do strive to limit intake of quinoa these days due to the issues now in Peru with indigenous people not having enough. Though, having said that I don’t think there is a better option for burger texture. I also like having a burger look more like the traditional burger for clients who are really looking for this! Check out our recipe/entree link at ameatfreemonth.org when you have time and let us know what you think! We are sharing your link for your Green Pesto recipe with our folks that are going meat free for a month! Each day they get a recipe in their in box that is gluten, sugar & soy free and vegan! I appreciate your enthusiasm!! We’ll hopefully share more of your creations in the future!
Over the last few years, I’ve searched every so often for a great veggie burger recipe that is NOT one which essentially mocks a traditional burger because for me personally, those tend to be spongy, and usually don’t taste very good; for me, a great veggie burger is one which recognizes that a great veggie burger is a unique blend of ingredients with a large variety of textures and tastes which are collectively unique, and delicious, of course. And after experiencing a truly awesome veggie burger from a local restaurant where I live, I’ve since searched for a recipe which could simulate that. Well, this recipe has met that standard…..it’s a well rounded source of veggies, grains, and great tasting protein sources. The texture is perfect and I loved the variety of nutty ingredients like the toasted sunflower seeds and almonds along with the variety of ingredients that provide multiple protein sources so the recipe also manages to provide for a well rounded meal. My personal favorite preparation of this burger was on a honey whole grain bun with sliced avocado on top. Never been a fan of most condiments ie ketchup/mayo/mustard so the avocado-perfectly ripe-provided the slight bit of extra moisture to create veggie burger bliss!!! I prepared mine by processing the whole oats as recommended, processing 3 slices of Ezekial bread, and preparing them in a skillet/stove top with just enough olive oil in the pan to enable the burgers to get nice and crispy/crusty throughout the outer layer. I’ve never been happier with any other veggie burger, and I thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. I’m now proud to share this recipe with all my friends – vegan or not! Thanks for all the additional tips through the preparation process – was most helpful. With this recipe, I don’t feel I’m missing anything having eliminated animal products from my diet recently. Who could – vegan or not! Sincerely, Jennifer
I finally got around to making this and it was a big hit. My non-vegan friends were even going for seconds. Thank You!
I tried these last week and loved them! Tonight, I’m using this batter to make vegan meatballs for my spaghetti.
My oldest son, perhaps the pickiest eater in the world, LOVES your recipes. Thank you!
Good morning! I am new to your website, having gotten on the internet one morning determined to find a homemade alternative to Boca burgers, which have just never done it for me. Since I found this recipe I have made it every Sunday afternoon for lunches to take to work. I LOVE THESE. They fill me up physically and emotionally, and after I warm up one at work, people comment on the lovely smells for hours. I have also become quite addicted to your almond milk and make that every few days. When friends ask me why my almond milk separates, and their store bought doesn’t, I explain it to them, which then prompts a request for the recipe or your website. I have become one of your biggest fans. THANK YOU for all that you do for us out here.
I want to bring these to a work grill out.. should i completely cook them at home, and bring them to warm up on the grill? what would work best?
Hi Leah, I would pre-bake them for about 15 minutes in the oven (350F) let them cool and then pack them once cooled. They will hold together better on the grill this way. enjoy!
I had been making the same old black bean burger recipe for a couple of years now – they are good, but I was looking for something different. Wow, so glad I found this recipe! I just made them, and we are eating them straight out of the pan! SOOOO good! I was worried, because the mixture seemed dry, and I thought they might not hold together, but they did and they are delicious. Thank you for another awesome recipe!!!!!
These are great! Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ve made my second batch- they do great stored in the freezer and are a super quick fix from there. I have a little barbeque sauce on them and they are fab! Thanks for all your recipes. I’ve sent several friends to your website. Keep the recipes coming!!
Hi
I was bowled over by the recipe, feedack and pictures so planning to make these for fri night for friends, Can I prepare the burger on previous day and store in frige to cook on Friday? Also can I chop all for the red cabbage ginger slaw side the prev night and store in fridge?
Cheers
Rekha
These are delicious! I was searching for a veggie burger recipe I could make (sort of on a whim) with the ingredients I have at home, but no Google searches produced any satisfying results. But after I remembered Oh She Glows, I knew exactly where to go. Your recipes are high quality and reliable but also feasible for someone who doesn’t want to buy out of the ordinary ingredients. I also feel confident that they are very healthy, which is imperative in my opinion! I froze 8 and will be looking forward to eating them.
Can you process all the ingredients together in the food processor before combining?