Veggie Burgers Recipe

This can be a Veggie Burger recipe created by a carnivore, for carnivores. It isn’t a vegetarian burger pretending to be a meat burger, filled with obscure substances. That is only a flavour packed, juicy veggie patties that’s satisfyingly meaty with nice texture!

A vegetarian burger won’t ever style like a beef burger. So overlook attempting to pretend meat. Simply make a tasty, meat free burger!

My concept of an ideal Veggie Burger is one which has much less beans* and extra veggies, a golden crust on the skin, moist on the within however not soggy ( <– infamous drawback with veggie burgers), with a pleasant meaty texture.

It solely accommodates “regular” substances and most significantly, it needs to be extremely tasty. I’m not keen to compromise on deliciousness simply because that is meat free. It needs to be simply as tasty in its personal proper!!!

The BEST veggie burger will get a savoury flavour increase from mushrooms and parmesan. It has a meaty texture and a golden crust!

* Most Veggie Burgers are fairly excessive in beans, presumably as a result of it’s the simple resolution. However beans are inclined to have a dense mushy texture, fairly than a meaty texture, and so they make the flavour of the veggie pattie excessively “beany” which isn’t what I needed.

Bake the beans and greens to dry them out barely. This serves three functions:

• eradicating extra water to remove the soggy patty challenge

• bettering the burger texture

• intensifying flavour.

For the greens, I take advantage of mushrooms and carrots.

• Mushrooms add nice savoury flavour and add to the “meatiness” of the patty;

• Carrots – I take advantage of carrots as a result of it’s a low water content material veg plus I like that it provides little bits of color to the burger.

As for the beans, I take advantage of cannellini beans primarily for color functions. Different beans will work simply effective – I’ve made this with crimson kidney beans, black beans, butter beans and chickpeas.

While you pull them out of the oven, they are going to look completely unappetising. Wrinkled and dry. And that’s precisely what you need!!!

↑↑↑ At all times amazes me how a lot mushrooms shrink. 🙂

Veggie burgers are more healthy than beef burgers as a result of they’re loaded with extra diet and have far much less fats.

I believe you’ve already received the gist that texture is essential with Veggie Burgers. Biting into an excellent towering burger solely to seek out the patty is so gentle it oozes out the edges and has the feel of child meals is really one of many saddest meals experiences you’ll ever have.

So right here’s my (different) rule for a killer Veggie Burger – a 4 Stage Blitz. It’s key to regulate texture.

Blitz 1: 

The cashews. Belief me, you want them. They add gentle bits of texture into the Veggie Burger Combination. Can’t individually determine it in the long run consequence, however while you chew into it, you’ll discover in the event that they’re absent. Blitz these first till they’re chunky breadcrumbs.

Blitz 2:

Add the wrinkly dried out beans, carrots and mushrooms. Blitz once more till they’re crumbs. Don’t blitz into powder in any other case you lose texture – and bear in mind, there’s nonetheless 2 blitzes to go!

Blitz 3:

Add the Flavourings. Parmesan, garlic, paprika, mayo (little bit of fats + flavour), salt and pepper, plus egg to bind and a few breadcrumbs to scale back a number of the moisture content material of the Veggie Burger combination. Blitz once more till it’s all properly mixed and it has a texture like meat mince (floor beef).

There’s room to maneuver on the quantity of blitzing on this step, so long as you possibly can nonetheless see “bits” within the combination. Within the burger picture on the prime of the publish, I blitzed the combination greater than pictured within the step picture under so the facet of the burger seems to be smoother.

Blitz 4:

Add brown rice and shallots / inexperienced onions, then blitz in a short time simply to disperse. Don’t over blitz – if the rice will get mushed up, it turns gummy and gluey.

The brown rice provides extra texture and oomph to the Veggie Burger. I attempted it with and with out, and it actually makes a distinction to make the Veggie Burger extra “meaty”.

The shallots add freshness – you could possibly sub this with chives or parsley, however don’t sub with onion or leek (they’re too watery).

The combination ought to be moist sufficient so it holds collectively while you make patties, but it surely shouldn’t get caught in your arms. If the combination is simply too moist, add a contact of additional breadcrumbs and blitz rapidly to disperse.

I do know, I do know, you need gigantic, tremendous thick Veggie Burgers. I’ve been there, and found the onerous approach you can’t be grasping in terms of Veggie Burgers.

Something thicker than 2cm / 0.8″, and also you’ll began experiencing soggy insides.

Any thinner than 1.3 cm, and it begins turning into extra like crisp fritters.

So use this combination to make between 4 to six patties which are about 10cm / 4″ rounds and no thicker than 1.8 cm / 0/7″ thick. Wise dimension (6 patties), Normal (5 patties) or Mega (4 patties).

With beef burgers, it’s all about cooking onerous and quick, and guaranteeing the within isn’t overcooked. With Veggie burgers, it’s the other – guaranteeing the warmth is low sufficient so it cooks all over with out burning the skin.

Additionally – no skimping on oil! You want it, to make sure you get a pleasant golden crust on the burgers. Veggie Burgers have little or no fats in comparison with beef burgers. So that you want it!

And right here it’s! Hopefully you possibly can see from the picture that the within seems to be agency however nonetheless moist, with loads of texture. It’s in no way crunchy in any respect, all these “bits” you see give the patty meatiness so you are feeling such as you’re biting into one thing substantial fairly that one thing gentle and wimpy.

Similar to a meaty beef burger! 😂

There’s no denying it. Veggie Burgers take extra effort than making beef burgers.

Is it value it?

YES. No query about it.

It’s really actually onerous to purchase veggie burger, not less than right here in my space. Those on the grocery store are simply offensive. And each time I’ve taken the plunge and chosen a veggie over a meat burger once I’m consuming out, I’ve all the time been disenchanted.

And it was one such disappointing expertise that kicked me into motion to make a killer selfmade Veggie Burger.

It’s every thing a burger ought to be – it’s satisfying, it’s juicy, it’s “meaty” and most significantly of all, it’s so darn tasty!

Veggie Burgers Recipe

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes 35 minutes

Nutrition facts: 358 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 250g/8oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 400g / 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained (Note 1)
• 1 large carrot , grated
• 1/2 cup (70g) cashews, raw unsalted (Note 2)
• 1/2 cup (55g) panko breadcrumbs (Note 3)
• 1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1/2 tsp each paprika, salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup (150g) cooked brown rice (Note 4)
• 3/4 cup green onions , sliced
• 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil (or other)
• Soft buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, sauces, avocado, beetroot
• French fries
• Baked potato wedges

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan/convection).
2. Pile mushrooms on a baking tray. Drizzle over oil, toss, then spread on the tray.
3. Spread beans on another tray, sprinkle carrots all over.
4. Put beans on top shelf and mushrooms on the shelf underneath. 
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until surface of beans is dried out and splitting and they look thoroughly unappetising, and the carrots around the edge of the tray are a bit golden. (Note 5) Remove tray with beans from oven.
6. Move mushrooms to top shelf, bake for further 10 minutes until dried out and wrinkly. Remove from oven, cool.
7. Place cashews in food processor. Blitz until they are breadcrumb size, don’t blitz to powder.
8. Add beans, mushrooms and carrot. Blitz on high for 10 seconds or until chopped to large crumb size (see video and photos).
9. Add breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, garlic, paprika, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Blitz for 15 – 30 seconds until it comes together like meat burger mixture but you can still see bits in it. (Note 6)
10. Add rice and shallots, blitz for 2 seconds until just dispersed (over blitzed rice = gluey).
11. Mixture should hold together well to form patties, but not stick to hands. If too wet, add breadcrumbs. If too crumbly, blitz more.
12. Shape into 4 – 6 patties, between 1.5 – 1.8cm / 0.6 – 0.7″ thick and 10cm / 4″ wide (Note 7). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
13. Cook burgers cold, straight from the fridge. 
14. Heat 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil skillet on the stove over medium to medium-high heat. 
15. Add 3 – 4 patties and cook until deep golden and crispy, 4 minutes. Carefully flip then cook the other side for 4 minutes until golden, then transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain.
16. Cook cold, straight from fridge. Brush BBQ and Veggie patties with oil. Heat BBQ to medium high. Cook 4 minutes each side until a nice dark crust forms.
17. Toast buns, spread top bun with relish or sauce of choice. Top with your choice of burger fillings and the Veggie Burger, then more sauce if desired.

Notes

1. Other beans work great with this recipe. I’ve tried red kidney beans, black beans, butter beans and chickpeas. The bean you choose will affect the colour and you may need to adjust the bake time – look for the same wrinkly dry, splitting skin. The chickpeas give it a slight Falafel-type flavour.
2. Roasted unsalted cashews are also ok. Other nut subs – the best is macadamia nuts, similar in texture to cashews. Almonds and walnuts are also great. For people with nut allergies, sunflower seeds is the best option I can think on.
3. Normal breadcrumbs will also work here. For a Gluten Free option, use crushed rice crackers.
4. Any other cooked rice can also be used, or other rice-like grains like quinoa, bulgur and buckwheat.
5. Don’t let the carrots and beans get too golden because this will dry them out too much and you’ll get crunchy bits in the burgers. Just a tiny tinge of golden is ok, but the main thing is to look for is dried splitting skin on the beans. See photos and video.
6. Chunkiness of mixture: There’s flex here – you can make it smoother (see first photo in post where the side of the burger has less visible chunks in it) or leave it chunky (video and remaining photos in post). In fact, most of the photos in the post are from different batches and you can see some are far chunkier than others. They are all great, and work fine so don’t stress here.
Just blitz enough so the mixture holds together easily when you form the patties, but don’t blitz so it becomes a uniform single colour.
7. Don’t make the burgers much thicker than 1.8cm / 0.7″ thick otherwise the inside ends up too soft. You need the right ration of golden crust to meat insides!
8. Cheese option: Top the patties with cheese as soon as you flip, then cover loosely with a sheet of foil or lid until the cheese melts. Swiss cheese is especially delish (pictured in post)
9. Burger Sauces: Use your favourite, whether it be ketchup, mustard, relish, BBQ sauce or chutney. 
For a quick homemade one, the pink sauce pictured in the video is my Pink Burger Sauce, made as follows: Mix sour cream or yoghurt or mayo with finely chopped dill pickles and a dash of sriracha or other hot sauce, plus salt and pepper to taste.
10. STORAGE: Refrigerate raw up to 24 hours, cook cold straight from fridge. For freezing or storing longer in the fridge, cook the patties, cool then refrigerate or freeze. To reheat, thaw fully (in fridge or out on counter, don’t microwave) then reheat in the pan or bake at 180C/350F for 10 minutes until crisp (don’t microwave, it steams = soggy).
Reason: I found that storing raw burgers for longer than 24 hours made them a bit more moist than ideal on the inside, presumably because of the salt making the veggies sweat. This problem was most extreme with the frozen raw burgers.  48 hours in the fridge was marginally not as good as freshly made to 24 hours in the fridge (but I was being very fussy!). However, storing and reheating cooked burgers was absolutely fine, no loss of quality (both fridge and freezer).
11. I learned the technique of baking the veggies and beans from this Ultimate Veggie Burger from New York Times and have since seen it used by other cooking authorities including Serious Eats and Cooks Illustrated.
12. Nutrition per serving, veggie burger patty only because I cannot be held responsible for how much you cram into your burger!