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. :)
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
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!”
These are unbelievable.
Observations from experience:
1. The “flax egg” thing is extra work; it’s fine to add flax and cold water directly to the batter
2. Other legumes work as well
3. I *love* the nuts! This is what has been missing from veggie burgers all my life!
This is going to become standard fare for me :)
I made these for dinner last night. I did grind up my nuts and sunflower seeds a bit more than you just because I wanted a bit smoother texture. The only thing I did differently though, other than that, was add a 1/2 tsp of hickory smoke flavoring. We baked/grilled ours as you suggested. They were wonderful! These must be, hands down, my favorite homemade veggie burgers so far. These will be a definite on the rotation from now on.
They didn’t fall apart on the grill. There was a nice crispy outer shell, but the inside was also firm, no gooey mess. I even made mine a little thicker than a quarter pounder from mcd’s, and normally that would mean it was a big mess inside, but no, these stayed firm.
We give these two thumbs up! Thanks for recipe.
Update from my previous post. These are absolutely wonderful as leftovers. I had another one for lunch today. Thanks again!
Just made these from the cookbook and loved them! We also made gluten-free “potato buns” to go with them, basically just roasted some sliced potatoes that were the shape of hamburger buns, it worked great! localkitchener.ca/2014/05/potato-as-hamburger-bun/
I am so excited about trying the veggie burger! Quick question, I am oil free and was wondering if eliminating the 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil will make a difference in the taste and ability for the burger to hold together during cooking.
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I’ve made it a couple times before and am making it again for my family’s Memorial Day picnic tomorrow! Can’t wait to share these vegetarian burgers with them :))
Just made these exactly as written for Memorial Day BBQ – so good :) I will never eat those frozen veggie burgers again knowing I can make them from home. I love having control of the ingredients too – who knows what goes into those store bought veggie burgers!
Doea anyone know how many calories these burgers are? These are the best veggie burgers ever!!!
I have tried many veggie burger recipes before and have never been satisfied before!!they would either fall apart or be mushy inside!! I had basically the same criteria for a veggie burger!! This is it!! No need to look further!! These are awesome!! They have all my favorite ingredients! I love the crunch! These hold together well and taste great!! I want to make a bunch and freeze them! So far they get eaten up so fast!! Love this recipe!! Thanks!!!
tried to make a similar recipe from the book, but it doesn’t mention mixing the flax seed w/ water, and the burgers aren’t staying together well. Is that a mistake/oversight in the book?
Hi Briel,
Sorry about the confusion in the directions! My publisher actually made a small misprint in the recipe which has already been fixed in the reprints. The original recipe was supposed to use 3 tbsp ground flax mixed with 1/3 cup of water (to create the flax mixture). I tested the recipe as printed in the book (using just 1 tbsp ground flax and no water) and the recipe still turned out for me, but feel free to use either method. Hope this helps and thank you for supporting my book! xo
I was collecting veggie burger recipes with the mission of finding or making “THE ONE” to bulk produce for the freezer when lo and behold I came across your criteria in this recipe. I had to write to thank you. They are spectacular!!! The texture is exactly what I was lookng for. And no soggy middles. Amazing!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!
Do you cook them for fifteen minutes like you do to BBQ when you are going to freeze them? I finally made a double batch and have some to freeze!!!!! So excited!!!
I made these today from your cookbook – interesting that the book does not have almonds in it. Was there a reason for that? They were quick, easy and tasty!
Just ate with salsa and vegan cheese on a big bed of spinach – yummy!
I made these tonight and they were fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly. My husband and two kids ate them with gusto. Thank you for posting this recipe!!
Hi
I seem to have some kind of allergy to oats or my body just doesn’t like them.
Has anyone tried any other type of flour? Would unbleached white flour or something like spelt work?
Thanks.
Just made a batch. Can’t wait to try them out tonight. Im a bit worried, cause I tossed everything together before reading that I should cook the onion / garlic mixture firts. Right now it tastes super strong. I nearly forgot the oat flour as well…. one of those days where I probably shouldn’t be cooking. I think they will be delicious, despite my mistakes ;)
Just finished eating dinner. My two year old and three year old both enjoyed these burgers, as did I. We are changing up our diets and attempting to eat a more plant based diet. I loved the sunflower seeds. I chopped them up a bit with some cashews, as I didn’t have almonds. Also, I didn’t have black beans, so used white kidney beans. As yummy as these were, I really think frying the onions before hand would make them taste that much more delicious. Will have to try it as written next time.
Thank you SO much for this recipe!! They’re awesome!!
Oh my God, these look so good! I’m dying to try them! I was wondering…I have some whole grain oat flour – do you happen to know if I would use a whole cup of the oat flour or does a whole cup of oats make a little less than a cup of flour? Thanks for all the great recipes!
Sorry if this question has been asked before, but are there times when you use flax eggs vs. chia eggs? Or are they interchangeable? I eat chia seeds all the time, so I always have them on hand and usually use them as my egg substitute in recipes. Just curious if there are advantages to one over the other. Thanks so much for your recipes! Everything I’ve made so far has been amazing!!
Hey Becca,
Good question! It’s really just trial and error. I sometimes find that chia eggs can result in baked goods that are a bit too moist or mushy, but it really depends on the recipe. That being said, I haven’t tried chia eggs in the veggie burger recipe yet (shame on me! haha), but now I think I’m going to have to try it soon!