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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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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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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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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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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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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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

What makes a good binder for veggie burgers? ›

The binder holds the patties together and keeps them from falling apart as they cook, and can also add extra flavor to your burger. Common veggie burger binders include eggs, flax egg, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, oats, miso paste, or even water.

How to jazz up 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.

How do you make frozen veggie burgers taste better? ›

To deepen the flavor of the burgers, Chris reaches for garlic powder and smoked paprika, which adds a bit of that smoky, fresh-off-the-grill essence we all love in a burger. Finally, you stir in what is perhaps the most essential ingredient: cooked quinoa.

What holds veggie burgers 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.

How do you elevate a veggie burger? ›

For a festive flavor, especially during Thanksgiving or Christmas, I love to make these with rosemary, sage and thyme. For the everyday meal, I just use parsley or thyme, and top with caramelized onions, arugula, and avocado. For a Mediterranean flavor, cilantro and mint. For a French touch, tarragon.

How to season a veggie burger? ›

Play with the seasonings – Add dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, seasoning salt, nutritional yeast, or cayenne in addition or instead of the paprika and chili powder. Use different vegetables – Both fresh and pre-cooked vegetables can be used in this vegan burger recipe.

What makes veggie burgers taste like meat? ›

Soy protein is still the plant protein that delivers the most meat-like taste and texture. Since it has been used for decades now, a lot of research has been done and its texturization process has been further improved.

How to make a store-bought veggie burger better? ›

Stuff it with cheese.

Cheese improves everything, including purchased veggie burgers. Slice the patty in half crosswise and fill it with you choice of cheese, like shredded cheddar or crumbled feta. Then grill the patty so the cheese melts into a gooey layer.

What cheese goes best with veggie burgers? ›

Check out Chef Brown's recommendations for veggie cheeseburger pairings.
  • Cheddar cheese: Whether sliced or shredded (to put in your patties!), its sharp profile goes well with smoky flavours, roasted onions, and vegetables. ...
  • Colby cheese: This cheese's sweet, nutty flavour is a friend to herbs.

How do you keep vegetable burgers from being mushy? ›

Adequate bread crumbs or oatmeal are required to soak in the moisture from the potato, beans, veggies, and whatever else goes into your veggie burger. Skimp on the bread crumbs and you'll be met with mush (I know from experience!).

What is a Braveheart burger? ›

Introducing the wildly delicious, one and only, Braveheart Black Angus Beef ® Gourmade Burger , made with whole muscle meats. We've pulled out all the stops in creating our signature chef-crafted Gourmade Burger featuring 100% culinary genius.

What is a Howie burger? ›

My Uncle Howie loved to grill and was very fond of Dijon mustard and onions. This burger was by far his best invention. The Howie Burger is a sweet, tart, tangy explosion of flavor. The Gruyere cheese is the perfect accompaniment, as it can stand up to the Dijonnaise and the red onions gastrique.

What is a binding agent for vegetable patties? ›

If you want a veggie burger that holds together, use binding agents like cooked grains (rice, quinoa, millet), eggs, flax eggs, bread crumbs, oats, flour or nut/seed flours like almond flour. The amount of grains or flour will depend on the recipe, but it's usually anywhere from ¼ to 1 cup.

What can I use as a binder in burgers? ›

Furthermore, apart from eggs and breadcrumbs, you have the choice of using ingredients such as potato starch, corn starch, flour, porridge oats, or cracker crumbs to bind the burger.

What can I use to bind burgers instead of eggs? ›

One of the most common substitutes is breadcrumbs, but sometimes the breadcrumbs can fall off when the burgers are cooking if there are too many or they are too dry. Other popular substitutions for eggs include cornstarch, flour, ketchup, porridge oats, cracker crumbs, and ground flaxseed.

What is a non dairy binder for burgers? ›

Ground Flax – for binding, like a vegan egg! Flour – also for binding, but use GF flour if you wish. Breadcrumbs – another binder! Or use oats for gluten free! Start with about 1 cups worth and add more until the mixture comes together.

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