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. :)
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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!”
Angela,
I wanted to say thank you so much for this recipe! It was so yummy! Flavorful yet healthy, I couldn’t ask for more. I’ll be trying the chickpea burger next :)
Angela, I’ve been loving your blog for months now. I’ve tried so many fabulous recipes! My husband who is often skeptical of vegan or other alternative diets says, “everything from that blog rocks!”. Quite a compliment. We love veggie burgers and yours are perfect. I’ve been wondering about making some with farro. Any chance you would try a burger recipe with it? Also, I thought I’d share the world’s BEST knot for running. It never comes undone until you pull it. This is how my mom taught me to tie my shoes as a kid. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsw_ZmeCD6Y
hah love the video!! I will have to try that next time, although I admit I’m an avid bunny ear gal. ;)
Thanks for your kind words about my blog! So glad you and your husband enjoy the recipes.
Wonderful! I was worried they wouldn’t hold together, but the damn sure do! Delicious! I topped mine with tomatoes, guacamole, and chopped baby spinach. Thank you for coming up with and sharing this great recipe!
Best veggie burgers I have ever had. My husband loved them too! YUM! I didn’t have almonds, but did have almond butter so i used that instead and it worked great! I wonder if it helped them stick together even better. Will be taking the rest to a cookout tomorrow night. Thanks!!
Great recipe! Made only a few minor adjustments: I used a few extra tablespoons of olive oil as my mixture was a bit dry, I was also generous with the seasoning and I kept half a cup of the oats unground. The sunflower seeds are essential and I may add more next time. These burgers have the ultimate seal of approval as my children ate and my husband went back for seconds. This is a recipe I will share and make again.
I realize I’m coming to this recipe late but I’m so grateful that I can’t just grab it and run without saying, “thank you so much!”. My son is out of school in a week and will be coming to visit now and then (he lives with dad). I want to have his favorites easily on hand and good veg burgers are a hit with him. He’s a meat eater at his dad’s and he’s been struggling with digestion and gut pain. I’m hoping he’ll spend some ‘spa time’ with me so he’ll re-experience what healthful food tastes like and how great he used to feel when eating whole foods.
I’m beyond excited to see that you too are not a big fan of tofu. SO refreshing!!
I’m a big fan of you’re recipes . . . thanks again!
Hey Darris,
Thank you for your lovely comment! You are so sweet and I’m so glad that you are giving the burgers a try. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I just made it and it was indeed very yummy. The whole family appreciated!
Just made these for my meat eating family, they all LOVED them!!
Instead of cumin I added pepper, instead of carrots I used green onions, zucchini, and celery, and instead of black beans I used adzuki beans. I also used 3 slices of white bread for breadcrumbs, dried basil instead of parsley, and no nuts or seeds.
I can’t believed they still turned out great even after all the changes I made!!!
I’ll have to make them using the ingredients listed next time!
Either way, thanks so much!!!
thx looks great…however after reading the book “Wheat Belly” I decided to cut the patties in half and use them as the bun …and fill the middle with all the ur usual burger goodies. wheat is evil … sad but true
Just had to comment again on how fantastic these are – we just made them for the umpteenth time :) I am going to use some of my extra to fill some mushroom for stuffed mushrooms. mmmm
I made these burgers for dinner tonight. They were easy to make and incredible!
These were great– just made them for dinner! Even my hamburger-loving sister had a second one! I’ll definitely be making ’em again :)
I always have Ezekial bread on hand. Love all the criteria you outline. Will try. Have not found one yet that I could make and love. So here goes
I was joking with a friend that this has filled the “bacon cheeseburger-shaped hole” in my diet since I went vegan. But it’s true! This was so delicious. Thank you for all you do :)
I know I’m two years behind the recipe posting and the other commenters, but I wanted to let you know I made these last night and they’re really good. Actually, I made a variation because I’m not vegan and I didn’t have any flax to make “flax eggs” (not sure what those are). And, I used muesli instead of the oats since I had some around the house. That meant the oats were already ground up and the sweetness from the pieces of dried fruit made the burgers even better. Finally, I added a bit of ketchup and bbq sauce to make them a little less dense. They worked on the grill and sautéed.
OMG!! Finally! I have NEVER found a good veggie burger recipe! So excited for these! Do you mind if I post on my blog (ihatediets.net) and link to you? Yummy!
I shared a link to this recipes on my monthly constant contact. Looks Great!
happy July 4th!
I made these yesterday for Fourth of July and they were delicious! Even meat eaters were choosing the veggie burgers instead. I now have a go to veggie burger so thank you!!!
whohoo! Thats great :)
Oh MY! I tripped on this recipe two weeks ago.
Just one month ago, I was a massive meat eater. A specialized connoisseur of the Frozen-Foods section. I could tell you the most nutritious frozen foods to mix with whatever fat-ladened meat you were buying. o.0
I ate cheese like it was bread. I ate bread like it was cheese. I ate a lot of both. Religiously. I would pass the vegetable section of my local shopping Market like it was a hindrance to get through before I was able to breathe a sigh of relief FINALLY able to shop peacefully within the Deli/Meat section. Not far off was all the Mass produced White Breads.
Then came all the bean/rice/tuna/grains isles that used to ‘get in the way’ of my transport between Meat/Deli and the Frozen Foods section. i ignored those isles as though they were cancer.
Once I got to the Dairy/Frozen food section, I would breathe yet another sigh of relief. There I picked up my [probably] hydrogenated margarines and cheeses, cheapest [mass produced “dirty”] eggs and had full range to pick-and-choose between the entire FULL DOUBLE ISLE of mass produced manufactured frozen foods available.
Do you yet see the problem with whom I “used-to-be?”
I am 42 this year. Sure, my body is not 20 anymore. I am coming to terms with that only now after trying to ignore aging the last 6-8 years. I have recently come to find a spare tire. Who the hell left that around my waist? ….The second I find that person, there will be hell to pay! *shakes fist* I am more tired daily than I was in days passed. Wrinkles fall into the bags under my eyes in almost a natural position.
Trust me, I get it! …I am NOT 20 any more. But I am certainly not 40 something yet! Right?
Okay, maybe [technically] I am … but when your 40 you SHOULD look 30 – if you take care of yourself. So, because of the fact that I actually LOOK 40-something, I have decided it’s time to look at what I consume daily to make this reality be.
Due to my lack of knowledge on the current health benefits of a Vegan [like?] lifestyle, I took up old ideals I learned wayyy back in my late teens (in the 80’s) and had been reborn to the store-bought Veggie-Burger from your local supermarket. Super Healthy Food! Right?
Well, my new “Healthy Food Persona” decided it was a place to start. Only, when I found it at the Supermarket, I realized that it has not changed in the last 20 years. (Aside from the fact they have gotten a whole lot smaller and much more grey in its paltry coloring. What is up with that?) So I thought, in this day and age of super-connectedness, I would traverse the internet for relative answers.
That was when I came across this SITE/Burger. I was intrigued by just the Visual Images of the burger alone. All those Nuts and Oats and just plain YUMMY ingredients (like the freshly grated carrot) all literally screaming at me from the monitor. I thought I had died and gone to Visual “Yummy” Heaven.
Not to be outdone by visuals alone, I took those paltry grey store-bought Veggie Burgers out of my freezer and threw them right into my compost bin as I walk out the door with my New List of Ingredients and off to the Local I went to do some serious shopping. I ended up in isles buying things I never knew could go together. I mean really, prepackaged Veggie-Burgers told me all I thought I needed to know. Right?
WRONG!
Just shopping for the specified ingredients sent ME on the most cathartic journey through my supermarket. Places I previously ignored as if they were Cancer.
I started right at the door. Grabbing my basket, I carried my shopping list (a.k.a. warrior spear and shield) and went for it. I perused the vegetable section for what seemed like FOREVER! I swear *laughs* I literally went from vegetable to vegetable to not only purchase the above recipe ingredients, but to also look up, on my iPhone, the benefits of other vegetables I ignored for so many years.
THAT was when I found kale. OMG YUM! My kale journey I shall leave for another post maybe somewhere, sometime, but if your wondering about KALE: LOOK IT UP! It is a POWERHOUSE of Nutrients! You wont be disappointed. Yet, I digress.
Soon after my vegetable dept. venture – it wasn’t long after I was snaking through all those Isles I used to shake my head at and ask why? … Beans, Flours, Oils, Rices, Grains. I completely SKIPPED the bread Isle all together. Not because i think breads are something to avoid, but because I also had sent to my phone the ingredients to make mine own biscuits and breads. Smart Joseph! The last Isles I skipped completely were the frozen foods/cheese/eggs Isles. I did have to sneak in to try and find a newly learned about Vegan Margarine. Which I quickly found, snatched and left.
Okay. So, Joseph made it through a somewhat single journey that he should have started decades earlier. Big F&$* Deal! … Right?
Well yeah, it IS a big deal.
For the Life of Healthy consumption is NOT EASY.
You may think that the Vegetarian Lifestyle has been around forever. Yes. You are right. But the complexities of trying to maintain that Lifestyle are now so muddied. Lifestyles of the day have led to Humans living more sedentary lifestyles. You would think that as time-consumed our days are, we would be running around like rats. Yet, we are not. We are sitting longer hours a day than we should be. I don’t have to explain how we burn no calories. We eat so much more often than we should because there is no rhyme-or-reason to our natural SUNLIGHT Body Schedules as we are house indoors for hours on end. We eat constantly. Far too much. When is dinner exactly? 5pm? 6pm? Midnight? Sometimes … it is midnight. When do we eat breakfast? 6am? 9am? Midnight? A lot of us eat at Midnight. We have jobs that encompass the 24-hour span that force us to sleep during the sunlight and ONLY work encompassed by darkness
ALL Our foods are now a crap-shoot. GMO? hybrids? 90% of our Supermarkets are saturated with such products. How do you survive in this day and age being healthy? I don’t know that answer.
I know I have ranted enough to last about 600 blog posts. I am sorry. All I really wanted to express is that THIS “Perfect Veggie Burger” recipe has changed my very own lifestyle of Eating and Thinking.
I want to thank all those at “Oh She Glows – glow from the inside out” for bringing this recipe to light. It IS and SHOULD BE the be-all-end-all of Veggie burger recipes.
Spin it the way you want! If you just stick to the basics and garnish as you wish… you just CANNOT GO WRONG!
That is all. ….I Promise! :D
Ps. …oh wait, one more thing, ADD KALE as a topper to this perfect veggie burger! YUM!
-Joseph ♥
Im making a double batch of these tomorrow so we have something to fall on when were hungry. Although hubby and I are not vegetarian or vegan we LOVE to add vegan and vegetarian meals to our arsenal for our road to getting healthy. We love making black bean burritos(Even make our tortillas homemade) and have made quinoa burgers before that we liked. Im picky as well with veggie burgers but I think This recipe would work for us. Cant wait to surprise hubby with some of these tomorrow when he comes home. My oven is broken though so will have to find a solution for our bread(Maybe make tortillas and cut the pattie in two)