The Best Veggie Burger (it’s vegan too)
This veggie burger recipe is my favorite for so many reasons, I don’t know where to begin! First, it’s not mushy and tastes so good even carnivores like myself enjoy them.
It also doesn’t use ingredients that need to be ordered online. If you can get a hold of everyday staples like oats, beans, carrots, celery and onions…you’re in business! Last but not least, it’s already vegan, so no need to adjust ingredients to make it so. And with a couple of minor tweaks, you can make it gluten free!
Tips for Making the Best Veggie Burger
- Use quick oats The large flake oats still work, but the texture is a little more coarse and thorough cooking can be a challenge. Using quick oats will ensure they cook properly without taking so long.
- Don’t mash the beans too much Your burger will have a much better texture if you leave some of the beans chunky. I also like to use a box grater to shred the vegetables rather than grind them in a food processor. More chunks, more texture!
- Don’t add water or other liquid to the mixture (at least not too much) This mixture is STIFF! And it should be. You can add a touch of water to make it easier to mix but if you add too much, your burgers will turn out soft and mushy.
- Let the mixture marinate overnight if possible Even though time is precious, marinating the veggie patty mixture allows for flavors to develop. Not only that, the oats and whole wheat flour soak up lots of moisture that makes cooking them much easier.
How Do I Make These Burgers Gluten Free?
There are 3 ingredients in this recipe that contain gluten: the oats ( assuming they are not certified gluten free), the whole wheat flour and the soy sauce. Make these gluten free by using certified gluten free oats. To substitute the whole wheat flour, use the same amount of rice flour instead. And for the soy sauce, ingredients like miso paste, tamari and liquid aminos are excellent substitutes. I hope you try these veggie burgers. If you do, please leave me a comment down below and share your thoughts!
Best Veggie Burger
The tastiest veggie burger I ever made. It uses simple ingredients, it's vegan and it can be made gluten free.
Ingredients
- 50 grams carrot half medium
- 50 grams celery 1 small stalk
- 100 grams onion 1 medium
- 1 clove garlic
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs dry
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 - 19 fl. oz. can black beans drained but not rinsed
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Using a food processor or a box grater, pulse or shred the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Add the salt and stir together well, mashing the mixture so the salt can draw out liquid from the vegetables. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine oats, whole wheat flour, Italian herbs and black pepper. Mix until well combined. Add beans, vegetable mixture and soy sauce. Mash the beans with a fork before mixing everything together. Do not mash the beans too much. The mixture will be stiff, so feel free to add a spoonful or 2 of water. Do not add too much though or the burgers will be mushy.
- Cover mixture and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. If you are in a hurry, at least 1 hour is necessary.
- When you are ready to cook the burgers, shape the mixture into 6 patties. Heat 1/4 inch oil in a skillet on medium high and sear the burgers on each side for 45 seconds to 1 minute. When both sides are golden brown, reduce the heat to the lowest temperature and cover with a lid.
- Cook low and slow for 15 minutes on each side, checking frequently to prevent burning. By the end of cooking, the burgers should be slightly darker than when they were seared and cooked thoroughly. Serve on buns with your favorite condiments.
Can I air-fry the burgers instead of pan-frying them? How long and at what temp?
I am quite sure you can but I do not use an air fryer so I can’t give an answer. Any setting that’s low enough they wouldn’t burn yet still get fully cooked inside. I hope this helps : )
Can you make and freeze these for later use? Thanks!
Yes you can! Form them into patties and wrap them really well—they freeze beautifully. Thaw slightly before cooking them. Enjoy! 🙂
These were delicious! The entire family loved them including including (my sometimes picky) 7 and 4 year olds. Af first, I was a little skeptical that they would be the best veggie burgers ever, but they were!
I substituted the wheat flour or rice flour for my own ground up oat flour. Everything turned out perfect!
Thanks for a great recipe!
I am so happy to hear this! Your substitutions are perfect. Thank you for the kind feedback : )
If I were to use vital wheat gluten how much would I use and would would I take out?
I have substituted 1/4 cup (half) of the whole wheat flour with vital wheat gluten and the burgers turned out a bit firmer. A bit more burger like 🙂
These taste great. So happy to find a healthy good tasting “burger patty” I can make. Although, the mix has turned very dry and crumbles when I cook the burgers. What might you suggest? Thank you
I a so happy you liked the recipe! You could try cutting back on the whole wheat flour (say by half) or even a little of the rolled oats. I hope this helped 🙂
This is hands down the best veggie burger I’ve ever made, and I’ve tried many. Due to comments about crumbling or not staying together, I added a flax egg, While the mixture was still very stiff after spending the day in the fridge, the patties cooked perfectly, and held together beautifully. I was amazed at how much it looked like a meat patty and had that same mouth feel. For flavor preference I nixed the Italian seasoning in favor of a taco seasoning from Minimalist Baker. I also added 1 Tsp of tomato paste and subbed tamari for the soy sauce for umami. This will definitely be my go to recipe, and will enjoy playing with different flavor profiles by varying seasonings.
Thank you so much for this positive feedback. Those revisions sound amazing! I will have to try myself. Happy Cooking!
These really are the best home-made veggie burgers I’ve made. Great texture and they really do hold together well, which is the main complaint I’ve had for other burger recipes I’ve tried.
A few substitutions/additions I made:
– Used a home made gluten-free flour blend instead of the rice flour
– added a couple tablespoons of beet powder for more of a meaty coloring
– added about a tablespoon of liquid smoke
Thanks for the great recipe!
I am so happy you enjoyed these burgers. They are my absolute favourite when it comes to veggie burgers (I love meat burgers too) and your suggestions sound wonderful. I am going to try them. Happy Cooking!
How long do frozen veggie burgers last?
These freeze up to 3 months 🙂
How long can you freeze these for ?
These freeze up to 3 months 🙂
I’m always looking for a burger recipe that works. Can I substitute black beans for another bean? Or are black beans the least mushy? Thanks!
Hi! You can certainly use other beans or even lentils—they will still work, but I find black beans to be the least mushy.
How do I freeze these , in an airtight container ? and If I want to make more of the batch , do I add more beans and would the other amount change of the ingredients.
I either like to freeze this as a big mass to form into patties later or I form into patties and individually wrap them then freeze. Then I put them into a freezer bag so they have double protection. If you want to make more, your best bet is to double the batch without altering any of the proportions of the other ingredients. Changing the formula will likely mess up the texture. I hope this helps.
Delicious
Thank you!
I have made a lot of veggie burgers in my day since I’ve been plant based for over 33 years. This is a keeper for sure! It’s delicious and the texture is amazing!
So happy you enjoyed, thanks so much!
Can I freeze these AFTER cooking?
I have only frozen before cooking so I really don’t know. My guess is that they would freeze well after cooking also.
Hi. Is using quick oats a must. I buy the old fashion oats. Thanks.
The old fashioned oats are a bit too large for these burgers. You can pulse them in a food processor or blender until they are broken down a bit, then they will be just like quick oats. I hope this answer helps 🙂
What the hell is 1 – 19 fl Oz????
I understand the fluid ounces part but 1 – 19?? Is that 1.19, 1/19, anywhere from 1 to 19????
This means one can of black beans that is 19 fluid ounces. The 1 means quantity of cans 🙂
Recipe looks great. About the canned black beans, all the varieties I see are 15 fluid ounces, not 19 as you state. So what is the correct amount of beans needed?
Thank you for your patience with my response. It works out to be about 1-1/2 cups of black beans. The cans I use are 19 fluid ounces but I measured them by volume and got that amount.
I made these as written and they were excellent. Husband was determined not to like them but changed his stubborn mind after tasting. We had leftovers and I crumbled them up and put them in a spaghetti sauce and one could barely notice that it was not hamburger. Question…do you think I could cook it as ground beef instead of burger first then crumbling? How would you suggest doing that?
Wow, so glad even your husband liked the recipe! I have crumbled it into spaghetti the same way as you did, so I have not tried from raw. I think it would still crumble like regular meat if I were to guess.
What are the macro nutrients for these?
I love these, love that they hold together so well!
I made a double batch and froze half the patties. Do I thaw them before cooking?
So glad you liked these! Yes, if you freeze them thaw before cooking 🙂
I think I’ll try these as a smash burger taco.
Sounds great, enjoy!
Easy to make, and makes a ton of food cheap. I made a half recipe it it was still plenty. 2 burgers for dinners. 2 burgers for the freezer. Really fills you up. Takes a while to cook, it’s the only downside.
Definitely going into the regular rotation.
So happy they are now part of your routine. Happy Cooking!
Love the taste. But mine don’t stay together well. .I added prob 1/3 cup of water, as they were soo dry they didn’t hold .
I’ll try again. Any suggestions. More beans, my can was 16 oz.
Did you use old fashioned oats by chance? They make shaping these a challenge. Also did you allow them to soak for 4 hours? I am glad you liked how they taste 🙂
I did not use old fashioned oats. I used quick. 1 can chickpeas. I’ll try lessening the oats by a bit.. at 6 hours in fridge, they were like dry granola mix. I did add abt a 1/3 or more cup of water . Left over night. That worked well. Love these. Making more today.
I have made many veggie burger recipes that *claimed* to be “the best,” but these are the first that have actually delivered! Mine were a little fall-apaet-y, but I think thats because I only let these sit for just over 4 hours. Definitely going to make these again! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!!!
I’m so happy these worked so well for you! Hint: if they rest a little after cooking they become even more stable. Bon Appetit!
I’m on the second batch of this. I’m wondering if I add one or two eggs [I know it wouldn’t be vegan then] could you cook it like a meatloaf? Has anyone tried this?
Yes, a very nice durable burger, I made a double batch and they freeze so well also! Major problem is lack of flavor, they tend to be rather bland. Others had the same comment. I need to mess around with spices I guess as the small amount of Italian herbs doesn’t cut it. Might try some Asian spices, and maybe make them just a bit wetter, but they formed into patties so nicely. Else, an awesome framework for an excellent vegan burger! I used rolled oats BTW.
Hi Mike, thanks so much for your feedback. I think my herbs and spices might be a bit potent because I find a little goes such a long way. I like the idea of Asian spices. It really is a framework like you said, open to many variations. Happy Cooking!
Can you make meatballs out of this ?
Hi there, yes you can! However I recommend using vital wheat gluten in place of the whole wheat flour. They will keep their shape better when covered with sauce.
These are the best freaking burgers! I like them better than beef burgers.
I can’t stop making them!
They do tend to crumble to pieces in the pan; I’ve found that if I add some flax egg it solves the problem. (1 tbsp flax, 3 tbsp water). I tend to add this when shaping the burger, but it would probably work in the starting mix as well.
Thanks so much for your positive feedback! I’m so happy you’re enjoying them–and thanks for the tip about the flax eggs. It will be very helpful if they need a little extra binder. Happy Cooking!
Can the salt be omitted, or will the veggies stay too wet?
Hi there! If you omit the salt the burgers will be very bland. The salt also helps pull out the liquid from the veggies helping the mixture stick better. If you’d like to cut back, I would recommend holding back half a teaspoon. I hope this helps 🙂