Hello veggie burger!

One of my ongoing quests is to find the perfect veggie burger.

Here’s a hint: It’s definitely not in the freezer section of your local supermarket. Unless, of course, cardboard is your idea of perfect.

In my opinion, the perfect veggie burger should be really filling and have a substantial texture (like meat). It should have lots of flavor and spices and should leave you not missing meat.

Honestly, I try a lot of different veggies burgers and I rarely post them because I find them to be kind of blah.

To date, my best veggie burger attempt, in my opinion, was the beet burgers I made over a year ago.

I still like those burgers, but I think this brown rice burger might surpass it as my favorite for one simple reason: it’s a lot easier to make! You can use leftover rice and have a very delicious burger in no time.

I’m not kidding at all when I say that I would take one of these instead of probably 95% of beef burgers in the world.

Brown Rice Burgers

Yield: 4 burgers.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice, cooked
1/2 sweet onion, sauteed
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 large egg
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup oat flour
Salt and pepper
4 large buns, toasted
1 avocado, sliced

Mango-pineapple Relish:
1 cup pineapple
1 mango, cubed
1-2 Serrano peppers, with seeds

Helpful Equipment:
Food Processor for relish

Directions:

1) For relish, combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. If you don't have a food processor, you can also just dice everything very finely.

2) Cook brown rice according to package and let cool or use leftover rice.

3) Sautee diced onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

4) Mix onion, cilantro, and garam masala with rice. Crack in an egg and combine well. Stir in oat flour. You might need a bit more oat flour. Your rice should be firm and stick together if you press it into a ball.

5) Form 4 large burgers with the rice mixture and season each burger with salt and pepper.

6) Cook the burgers in a heavy pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Cook until browned evenly on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side.

7) Toast buns and serve rice burgers on bun with relish and topped with sliced avocado.

Hello Mango

The other nice thing about this burger is that it’s actually incredibly healthy for a burger. No cheese or mayo or anything. For the sauce, I just pureed a few really flavorful ingredients into a spicy relish that was very delicious.

Great flavors.

Ideally, just cube up these ingredients and add them to a food processor and pulse them until it’s mostly smooth.

I used one Serrano with the seeds and I thought it was pretty spicy, but if you wanted to up the heat level even more, you could use two.

If you don’t have a food processor, don’t fret. Just dice up the ingredients very finely and you’ll have more of a salsa, but it’ll still be really tasty.

Some chunks are okay.

Making the Burgers

The one down side of these burgers is that brown rice does take a while to cook. While you could use white rice for it, I worry that the burgers would end up being a bit bland. Brown rice has a nice nutty flavor that really adds to the burgers.

In an ideal world, you could save a few cups of leftover brown rice for a separate meal and then use it to make these burgers. That would cut your prep time down to just minutes.

Leftover rice would be great.

Once you have your rice, add to it your sauteed onions (just cook them over medium heat in a drizzle of olive oil until they soften). Also add the minced cilantro and stir this all together.

Cook the onions first!

At this point, the burgers have a great texture and some good backbone flavors going on, but I thought they needed a hit of a good spice.

Enter garam masala! This was the perfect spice for these burgers. These days you should be able to find this spice mixture in most supermarkets.

If you’ve never used garam masala before, it’s a pretty popular spice mixture for Indian food. It normally has a pretty large list of ingredients in it, but almost always has some cumin, cardamon, cloves, and various peppers. It’s good stuff.

Spice is nice!

The Binder

Now our burgers should be pretty tasty, but there’s no way you’ll get this rice mixture to stick together as is. So crack in an egg and mix in some oat flour.

You can easily substitute all-purpose flour for oat flour, but the oat flour does add a little bit of extra flavor to the finished burgers.

The binder!

Making and Cooking

Make a test burger to make sure that the mixture sticks together well. If it seems really sticky, add in a bit more flour.

Once it’s a nice firm consistency, make four large burgers out of the mixture.

4 big burgers.

Season these burgers with salt and pepper and then cook them in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). Cook them for about 4-5 minutes per side until they are nicely browned.

I didn’t try it, but I think you could grill these guys. They were pretty sturdy actually and I think as long as you didn’t mess with them much on the grill, they would hold up just fine.

Any pan will work really.

Serving the Burgers

As always, I’m a fan of a toasted bun for my burgers so I definitely recommend that. Then add a good slather of the relish to the bottom bun.

Check out that color!

Love that color!

Stack on a burger and a few slices of avocado and you’re ready to go!

The 'cado is key.

The avocado acts like a creamy element for the burgers. It’s very essential in my opinion.

Betsy and I both gave these guys two thumbs up and fought for the extras for lunch the next day.

She w0n.

Just a great burger.

Now, if you are completely set on sabotaging my veggie burger recipe, you could make a beef burger and slap it between this relish and some avocado and still have a pretty tasty thing.

But try it with rice. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Beets in a burger!

I think this recipe wins the award for me getting the most crap about a dish. Turns out that if you bring a delicious homemade vegetarian burger to a BBQ, people will make fun of you.

I mean it was relentless! People ate them and agreed that they were interesting and tasty, but then they proceeded to mock me for the rest of the night.

Which is fine by me. Next time I’m just going to mix up a batch of these and just eat them in my house by myself. That’s somehow better right?

Anyway, the point is that if you can find a forgiving BBQ or just want a change, these burgers are pretty darn good.

Beet Burgers

Yield: 10-12 burgers

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup cooked brown rice (1/2 Cup dry)
1 onion, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced with seeds removed
3 large red beets, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar (I left this out because I didn't have any, but I think it would work well)
3 Tablespoons parsley, minced
1 Teaspoon coriander
2 Teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 Cup - 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Normal burger stuff like buns, cheese (provolone or Gruyere work nicely), toppings.

Directions:

1) Get a pot of water boiling and add 1/2 Cup of brown rice along with a pinch of salt. Boil until rice is slightly overcooked but not mushy, about 35-40 minutes. Strain the rice when done.

2) Peel and dice the beets into 1/4 inch cubes. Seed the poblano pepper and dice small along with the onion. Mince the garlic.

3) In a large pot, add a Tablespoon of oil and put it over medium high heat. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

4) Add the beets to the onion mixture, cover, and cook until the beets are soft over medium heat. They should be done in 15-20 minutes. Stir in the cider vinegar near the end.

5) Combine the beet mixture with the rice and drained beans and mush everything together. Add the spices and taste for salt and pepper.

6) Cook the burgers by shaping them into patties and adding them to a very hot oiled skillet. They should sizzle. Flip them after a few minutes. Add cheese once you flip it. If you cover the pan with a lid (or plate) the cheese will melt faster.

7) Serve with a toasted bun and whatever toppings you want!

Adapted from a Kitchn Recipe.

The Beets Mixture

One of the problems that some veggies burgers have is that they can be a bit mushy. These guys definitely don’t have that problem. The rice, beans, and beets give a really great texture to the burger that almost gives it kind of a meaty feel and a really nice deep flavor.

Basic stuff.

The beet base for these burgers is really easy. The hardest part is just chopping up all the stuff. Be especially aware of what you’re wearing when you’re dicing the beets. HINT: Wearing white is a recipe for disaster.

Dice up the poblano peppers (take the seeds out), onions, and beets into pretty small cubes. I diced them into about 1/4 inch cubes.

Good chopping practice!

Next, add a Tablespoon or so of olive oil to a large pot and put it over medium-high heat. Then add the onions, peppers, and garlic and cook them until the onions are translucent which should take about 4 minutes. Then stir in the beets, cover the dish and cook until the beets are soft. Stir the dish every few minutes until it’s done just to make sure nothing burns. It’ll probably take about 15-20 minutes for the beets to cook.

Stir in the cider vinegar near the end and set the bright red mixture aside.

While you’re working on the beet mix, get a large pot of water boiling separately and add a good pinch of salt to it along with 1/2 Cup of rice. Boil the brown rice until it’s a bit beyond cooked. It’ll make it easier to mush and form later.

It’s not important how much water you use when boiling the rice in this case. Just cook it until it’s the right consistency and then drain it using a strainer.

Rice is a burger works nicely.

Combine the rice with the black beans (I just used canned) and mush them together a little bit.

In a bowl!

Then add all of the beet mixture along with the spices.

The original recipe called for a few Tablespoons of flour to help thicken the mixture, but mine was pretty wet when I was done and so I added a bit more flour. The burger mix should be shapeable obviously so just add flour in small increments and try forming a patty out of it. It’ll be pretty delicate (or at least mine was) but it should stick loosely together.

This was what my final mix looked like. Don’t forget to taste it and add some salt, pepper, or any of the other spices if it seems under-seasoned.

All mixed up!

Cooking the Burgers

While it’s nice to fire up a grill and cook these guys, they are actually really hard to cook on the grill. I was able to do it by spraying the grill with some non-stick spray and grilling them on high heat for just a few minutes a side. It was pretty touch and go though.

I think the real way to cook these guys is in a heavy pan. You don’t need anything special. Just your largest skillet should do the trick. Add a tiny amount of oil to it and crank up the heat to high. Then form your burgers and add them straight to the pan. They should sizzle!

Cook them for a few minutes a side until they are nice and browned on the outside. Obviously these are cooked already so you just want to give them some texture. Mine cooked beautifully in a pan and it was a lot easier than the grill.

You can try the grill if you're advanced.

If you’re using cheese (probably should) then just add it when you flip the burger. If you cover the pan the cheese will get really melted.

Then add a burger to a toasted bun and chow down!

Bright red!

I thought these were awesome and ate a few of them. The beet mixture keeps great in the fridge for a week or so. It would be totally acceptable to have some on hand and cook up a burger when the mood struck you.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to tell anybody about it because they would ridicule you.

Whatever though. I don’t mind suffering through a few snide comments if it means I get to eat this burger. It might not be for everybody, but there’s no doubt that I’d choose this over a normal veggie burger and probably on many occasions over a real burger.

If you refuse to at least try something like this then the joke’s on you suckers!

Bethany lost a series recently and had to make dinner for Jeff (and me because, well, I live here). When she told me what she was going to make I thought it would make a great post! She chose to make a spicy black bean patty with a cilantro yogurt sauce. It was really good and healthy!

Healthy and spicy. Good stuff.

We ate these with lots of the cilantro sauce and a simple side salad. When I tried this patty the first thing that came to mind was how delicious this would be as a veggie burger.

Spicy Black Bean Patties

Yield: Makes 10-12 patties.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 Cups dry black beans (or 2 16 ounce cans)
2 Jalepenos, diced but keep the seeds
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 Cup breadcrumbs
1 Teaspoon cumin
1 Teaspoon chili powder
1 Teaspoon oregano
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce:
2 Cups yogurt, Greek works great
1/2 - 3/4 Cups cilantro, chopped loosely packed (if you hate cilantro, maybe try parsley)
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt

Helpful Equipment:
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:

1) Chop the veggies.

2) Sauté the veggies in a few tablespoons of oil until they are a bit soft, but not browned at all. Just a few minutes should do the trick.

3) Cook the beans according to the directions on the package. If you are using dry beans, which I recommend, you’ll want to soak them overnight so plan for that.

4) Add the breadcrumbs and using a masher or large spoon, mash up the beans and breadcrumbs.

5) Mix in the sautéed veggies and all the other spices.

6) Form about 4 ounce patties with the mixture.

7) Sprinkle the chili power and cumin on each patty.

8) Cook them in a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes a side.

9) Stir all of the sauce ingredients together.

10) Serve with a small green salad using the sauce as salad dressing!

This recipe is definitely not hard, but it does require some serious chopping. For the peppers, we took out the seeds, but kept them so we could add some of them later to make the patties spicier. Use them or toss them depending on how much heat you want.

Chopping lots of stuff.

Making the patties

Once your veggies are chopped, saute them in a few tablespoons of oil until they are a bit soft, but not browned at all. Just a few minutes should do the trick.

Soften these up a bit.

Cook the beans according to the directions on the package. If you are using dry beans, which I recommend, you’ll want to soak them overnight so plan for that.

Once your beans are cooked, add your breadcrumbs and using a masher or large spoon, mash up the beans and breadcrumbs. I wouldn’t use a food processor for these because you run the risk of over-processing the beans. You want them to still have plenty of texture, but just broken up a bit.

Breadcrumbs never looked so good.

Mix in your sauteed veggies and all your other spices. Feel free to adjust the spices if you want the patties even spicier.

Then form about 4 ounce patties with the mixture. You should be able to get about 10-12 patties out of the mixture. To finish these guys off, cook them in a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes a side. These will give the burgers a good crust on the outside and heat them up all the way through. We sprinkled some more spices (chili powder and cumin) on each patty before frying them up.

These were getting a little too healthy.

Making the Sauce

Ok. Well, there isn’t much to explain for the sauce. Basically, just stir everything together. The good news is that you can definitely make it ahead of time. In fact, if you let this sit for a few hours it gets even better.

Nothing like a good light dressing.

These were really spicy and delicious and the sauce compliments them really well. Bethany was feeling very healthy and served this with a simple salad, using a bit of the sauce as a dressing also.

Also be good on a burger.

If you’re a regular Macheesmo reader, you’ll know that I’ve been trying to eat less meat this year (and so far succeeding I would say). These were exactly what I look for as a meat substitute. They had a ton of flavor and spice and were very filling actually even without a bun.

If you are vegetarian or are planning on going to a bbq were people would be open to a really good homemade veggie burger, I recommend these guys very highly.

I wanted to make something that was small enough to snack on but also substantial. The veggie slider was the perfect answer.

I like meat, but these guys were good:

Sliding into health.

Guy Fieri had a great veggie burger recipe on his Food Network show that I used as the base for this recipe. I changed a few things around based on what I had on hand. Also, I obviously shrunk the size of the patties.

Veggie Burger Sliders
(Makes 16 sliders)
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped finely (I used a few scrap onions)
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped finely
- 1 jalepeno, chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic, guess what, finely chopped
- 12 ounces black beans (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 12 ounces chickpeas
- 4 Tablespoons black olives, chopped
- 4 Tablespoons artichokes, chopped
- 8 ounces rolled oats (2 1/2 cups-ish)
- 4 Tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 4 eggs (note that this is more than the original recipe. I couldn’t get the mini burgers to hold together with the amount he used)
The Flavor
- 1 Teaspoon paprika
- 1 Teaspoon chili powder
- 2 Teaspoons oregano
- 1 Teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1 Teaspoon cumin
- 1 Teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon sage
- 1 Tablespoon chopped basil

Helpful Equipment:
- Cast Iron Skillet

The first part of this recipe involves some knife work. Considering we are making very small burgers, it is important to have these pretty finely chopped. More important, we need them uniform.

Dicing is important for small burgers.

Put a Tablespoon or two of oil in a sautee pan and get these guys cooking. Don’t cook them all the way though as they will finish cooking later on when we cook the burgers. This is just to get them going. They should still have a bite after this.

Stir it up!

Ok. Once that is done get the largest bowl you have. Take your black beans and chickpeas and process them a few times. If you don’t have a food processor this recipe will be hard, but you could them reasonably combined if you had some quality time with a pastry cutter or fork.

If you have a processor though, that is the way to go. You don’t want a mush though. Some chunks are good. I pulsed mine for a few seconds and they were perfect. I also pulsed my oats a few times to get them a bit finer.

Then you just combine everything!

Looks like mush. Tastes like good mush.

The real flavor in this recipe comes from the ton of spices you add. I felt like I was dumping my entire spice drawer into the bowl. Worth it. Once all the spices combine with the beans and everything they are perfect. I must say I didn’t miss beef for a minute while I was eating these.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. Add your eggs to your mixture and then form 16 small patties. Hopefully you remembered to buy mini-buns as well…

Put a few more tablespoons of oil in your pan and then sautée then lightly for a few minutes on each side.

These stayed together nicely.

These are probably the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. While I like the beef version, these are a great, healthy alternative. Not to mention these are absolutely awesome on day 2. Take them for lunch the next day and impress all of your vegetarian friends.

These were tasty.

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