Who doesn’t love a good burger? 🍔🤤 Burgers are such a classic feel-good food. They're fun to chomp on, you can add as many toppings as you want, and they're the perfect meal to bond over.
While eating a burger can feel like a divine experience, traditional burgers can be high in sodium and saturated fat. But don’t fret just yet, because I’m going to give you another option that is calorie-friendly yet still packs a flavor punch... the veggie burger!
What’s In A Veggie Burger
Veggie burgers mainly consist of vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
While it’s definitely quick and easy to buy packaged veggie burgers from your grocery store, you can never be truly sure about what’s in your meatless patty. Toby Amidor from The Food Network conducted a veggie burger taste test and found as many as 390mg of sodium per patty. That is 17% of the RDA (recommended daily amount).
Top Tip: When buying veggie burgers, look for brands that keep it simple and have a short ingredient list. The less the preservatives the better.
I like knowing exactly what’s going into my burger, and that’s why I came up with this veggie burger recipe that my daughter, Anya, and I love to make together.
Why You Should Make Your Own Veggie Burgers
Low-calorie. If you are trying to lose some weight but still want to keep your palate excited, a veggie burger makes an ideal addition to your meal plan. Some store-bought brands claim to be low-fat but actually contain more fat than regular beef burgers. By choosing to make your own veggie patties, you choose the ingredients and decide just how many calories it should have.
No Preservatives. There’s a reason why McDonald’s chose to get rid of artificial additives and preservatives in its seven classic burgers. Preservatives in foods benefit the food manufacturer by extending the shelf life of products, but numerous studies have shown that there could be big health-related drawbacks for the consumer (that’s you and me). You can make a large batch of veggie burgers and freeze the extra for next time. No preservatives needed!
Customize It To Suit Your Diet. Don’t you love how you customize your veggie burger to fit your dietary needs? For example, if you need more fiber in your meals, you can include oat bran and ground flaxseed in your veggie burger recipe (which is exactly what I did).
The Best Homemade Veggie Burger Recipe
In case you didn’t know, National Veggie Burger Day is on Friday (June 5). Amy’s Kitchen founded this day to encourage everyone to eat a veggie burger and celebrate the positive impact these plant-based patties have on our health and the planet.
Fun Fact: PETA once offered the town of Hamburg in New York $15,000 to change its name to Veggieburg.
Thanks to my good friends at the Basil Bandwagon Natural Market (who have a curbside pickup option), Anya and I were able to make our veggie burgers from scratch and they were ready to eat in under an hour.
Most veggie burger recipes call for a lot of beans but I wanted to improve the texture of my patties and enhance their flavor profile. That’s why I opted to add fried mushrooms and onions to the black beans, which give the mixture a great savory flavor. Carrots add a bit of color to the burger and are a great way to include more nutrients into the meal.
Many people use eggs to bind all the ingredients together. However, because I wanted a vegan-friendly option, I chose to go with oat flour and a little bit of water. You want the mixture to be wet enough so it holds together when you make patties.
You can blitz the mixture in a food processor in order to break down the ingredients but I prefer to use a potato masher because I feel it improves the overall texture of the patty and adds some “meatiness” to it.
Shape the patties with your hands and pop them into the oven or fry them in a pan. And there you have it! Veggie burgers that are easy to make, healthy, hearty, and not mushy. Pair it with a salad, sweet potato wedges, or oven-baked fries.
Print
Homemade Veggie Burgers
- Yield: 4 Burgers 1x
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup cooked kidney beans
- ½ cup carrots, diced and boiled
- 2 Tablespoons oat bran
- ⅓ cup gluten free oat flour
- ⅓ cup ground flax seed meal
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon water
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Black pepper
- Optional: Smoked paprika to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and a pinch of the sea salt to soften the onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add the mushroom. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, until nice and tender.
- In a large bowl, combine the kidney beans, carrots, oat bran, oat flour, flax seed meal, parsley, water, and seasonings. Partly mash the ingredients together.
- Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Form the mixture into four burger patties. Place them on your baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn the burgers and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve with on hamburger buns or lettuce leaves, topped with your favorite condiments.
If You Liked This Veggie Burger Recipe Then You Should Try…
- This arugula beet salad with fennel that would be great with your burger.
- These sweet potato wedges recipe from The Minimalist Baker.
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