Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (2024)

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Updated on October 18, 2022

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Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (1)

Commercial veggie burgers have come a long way in their ability to mimic meat in both taste and texture, but their vegetable-packed, whole grain counterparts still make for satisfying, toothsome meat alternatives. The beauty of preparing veggie burgers at home is that you can custom flavor the patties with your favorite spices and create texture with whole foods like beans, nuts, and mushrooms. From classic black bean burgers to cumin-spiced red lentil burgers and a ratatouille-inspired rendition made with stacked roasted veggies, these are our most delicious veggie burger recipes.

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Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (2)

Vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli is famous for her deliciously charred veggie burgers. For a "special sauce," she swaps out mayo for silken-tofu mayonnaise to make a tangy-sweet vegan take on Thousand Island dressing.

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02of 13

Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) Veggie Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (3)

Your quest for the perfect veggie burger is over. Cookbook author Chitra Agrawal's version uses mashed kidney beans, which get an umami burst with the addition of grated Parmesan and a melty slice of sharp cheddar cheese. Don't skip the piles of toppings: They make this already wonderful burger even more special.

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Cumin-Spiced Red Lentil Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (4)

The red lentils in these Indian-inspired vegetarian burgers don't need to be soaked and cook super quickly. The cooling homemade yogurt sauce provides a great counterpoint to the spicy patties.

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04of 13

Veggie Burgers with Pomegranate Ketchup

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (5)

Eating vegan for a month led Top Chef winner Richard Blais to examine his pantry more closely. He discovered that ground porcini mushrooms add a meaty flavor to dishes like his veggie burger.

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05of 13

Black Bean Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (6)

If you suspect that veggie burgers are a pale imitation of the all-beef original, try these robust DIY patties. Made with black beans and farro and topped with roasted red pepper spread, they're moist and delicious.

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Vada Pav (Potato Fritter Sandwich)

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (7)

This sandwich is a vegetarian's dream. It's also a nice option for meat lovers looking for a sandwich stuffed with something just as enticing as a burger. Vada pav, one of Mumbai's most popular street foods, is a potato fritter the size of a baseball stuffed into a flaky white bun, smeared with coconut and spicy green chile chutneys, and then squished until it's small enough to fit into your mouth.

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Brown Rice Veggie Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (8)

Another approach to veggie burgers uses the natural nutty sweetness of brown rice in the patty. Monterey Jack cheese, chipotle and poblano pepper, peas, and pumpkin seeds contribute extra flavor and texture.

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Ultimate Veggie Burgers

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (9)

These veggie burgers hit every satisfying, savory note with a hearty mix of pearl barley, chickpeas, mushrooms, and crispy panko. For the sturdiest patties, evenly distribute the panko by stirring the patty mixture until very well-combined.

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09of 13

Spiced-Tofu Sandwiches

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (10)

For this fantastic vegetarian spin on a burger, grilled tofu gets marinated in a smoky spice paste, then topped with barbecue mayo.

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10of 13

Roasted Veggie Burgers with Carrot Ketchup

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (11)

Chef Edward Lee takes a different tack to the traditional veggie burger. Rather than creating a patty, Lee layers roasted vegetables and tops it off with melted cheese. "It looks like a slice of a rainbow," he says.

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Beet-Bean Cheeseburger

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (12)

This exceptional veggie burger, created by chef Dan Barber for his WastED pop-up at Blue Hill in New York City, has a lot of ingredients; each one adds to the taste and texture and makes it exceptional. The key is cooking the burger until it's well-seared, so you get the familiar charred flavor.

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12of 13

Corn and Shiitake Fritters

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (13)

Sweet corn kernels take two different forms in these crispy cakes. Half the corn is pureed into the batter; the other half is sautéed with shiitake and onion to give the fritters crunch. Serve them on buns slider-style or simple and unadorned.

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Crispy Quinoa Sliders

Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (14)

These crispy, light little patties are fantastic as mini vegetarian burgers, and they'd be great served alongside a salad.

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Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to make veggie burgers taste better? ›

Spices and tomato paste: Smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper combine to make these burgers a little smoky and incredibly delicious. Tomato paste adds color, sweetness, and an umami flavor to the burgers (highly recommended!). Cooked rice: Adds more texture to the veggie burgers.

What toppings go on a veggie burger? ›

Load your veggie burger up however you like – I like mine with avocado or guacamole, sliced red onion or pickled red onions, mustard, Sir Kensington's Avocado Mayo (not vegan) or Fabanaise (vegan), sprouts, and a squirt of sriracha or chipotle sauce on a homemade bun.

What binds a veggie burger together? ›

Common binding agents include flax eggs (a mixture of ground flaxseed and water), chia seeds, mashed potatoes, tapioca flour, or even your favorite nut butter. These ingredients help hold everything together and prevent your burger from crumbling.

What are the ingredients in plant-based burgers? ›

If you're making your vegan burger patty from scratch some common burger mix ingredients include plant-based proteins like black beans, chickpeas, other legumes, cooked quinoa or brown rice, rolled oats, certain vegetables like bell peppers, red onions, caramelized onions, shiitake mushrooms, cashews, and coconut ...

Are veggie burgers actually good for you? ›

Some veggie burgers have plenty of nutritional benefits and taste great, but may be low in protein. You can make up the difference with protein-rich sides such as beans and legumes,” she says.

What is in most veggie burgers? ›

The patty may be made from ingredients like beans (especially soybeans and tofu), nuts, grains, seeds, or fungi such as mushrooms or mycoprotein.

What can you use instead of breadcrumbs in veggie burgers? ›

Rice. While cooked rice won't work for fried foods since it can't get crispy, both cooked and uncooked rice is great as a binding agent for things like meatloaf, meatballs, or veggie burgers.

How do you thicken veggie burger mix? ›

Eggs are the most common and effective binder, and egg replacers are an excellent alternative for vegan burgers. Other common binders include wheat germ, bread crumbs, oats, and ground flaxseeds. These are dry ingredients, though the recipe's other ingredients often add just enough moisture to make a sufficient binder.

Do you put cheese on a veggie burger? ›

In a veggie burger, cheese can act as an amazing binding agent while adding great flavour and texture. You can even use pre-shredded cheese for quick preparation!

What is a mcdonalds plant burger made of? ›

Ingredients: EITHER: WHEAT Flour (contains Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sugar, SESAME Seeds, Cream Yeast, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Dextrose, Thickener (Guar Gum), Emulsifier (Mono- and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Pea Protein, Potato Starch, Natural Flavouring ...

What is the difference between plant-based burger and veggie burger? ›

While both options may contain veggies, the key difference between vegan burgers and veggie burgers is that vegan burgers are made from a protein and are made to mimic the flavor and texture of actual meat while veggie burgers are not meant to evoke meat properties at all.

What's in A&W plant-based burger? ›

The Beyond Meat burger patty is made with 100% plant-based ingredients, including peas, rice, mung beans, coconut oil, pomegranates, potatoes, apples, and beets. The result is a truly satisfying burger experience.

How do you make frozen veggie burgers taste good? ›

Slice up some onions and (optional) beets thinly. The onions help to keep the burgers moist and add steam and flavour during cooking. If you don't like onions, try sliced mushrooms. Spices like garlic powder and a good barbecue sauce are also important for that authentic barbecue flavour.

How do you make vegetable meat taste better? ›

Minimally processed items like tofu, seitan, and tempeh on the other hand don't usually have added salt, so feel free to add sodium-heavy ingredients like soy sauce to improve the flavor. Don't be shy to experiment with a wide range of herbs and spices to help enhance the flavor of plant-based meat.

How do you add flavor to vegan burgers? ›

For additional flavour you can also add cheese, onion, paprika powder (or msg, soy sauce, sea weed, mustard… Note this is just the patty, you don't need to go overboard). How would you make a great vegetarian burger?

How can I make my burgers more flavorful? ›

  1. There are many ways to add flavor to plain ground beef before making burgers or meatloaf. ...
  2. **Onions and Garlic:** Sauté finely chopped onions and garlic in a bit of oil until they're soft and translucent, then mix them into the ground beef. ...
  3. **Herbs and Spices:** Experiment with various herbs and spices.
Feb 28, 2023

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