Our 13 Best Veggie Burger Recipes (2024)

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This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link.

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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03of 13

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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06of 13

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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07of 13

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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08of 13

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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11of 13

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

What is 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.

What toppings to put on a veggie burger? ›

Serve with all the toppings

Serve on hamburger buns and any burger fixings you love! Go with the classic: burger sauce or vegan mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle slices, lettuce, tomato and onion. Or get creative with barbecue sauce, Sriracha vegan mayo, avocado and arugula, etc. Enjoy!

Why are my veggie burgers mushy? ›

Raw vegetables, while delicious, hold a lot of water. And when added to veggie burgers, these vegetables release all that moisture during cooking, which can make for an especially mushy burger.

How do you bind vegetable patties? ›

Consider incorporating ingredients like breadcrumbs, brown rice, quick oats, whole wheat flour, or panko to bind the mixture together. These ingredients not only add texture but also help absorb excess moisture. NOTE: use quick oats as they will hold the burger together much better than regular rolled oats.

What can I use as a binder instead of eggs in burgers? ›

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.

How do you spice up a veggie burger? ›

10 Ways to Seriously Upgrade Purchased Veggie Burgers
  1. Top it with potato chips. ...
  2. Parm it up. ...
  3. Add a fried egg. ...
  4. Go for a pretzel bun. ...
  5. Chop it up for a salad. ...
  6. Go double-decker with a portobello. ...
  7. Stuff it with cheese. ...
  8. Top it with avocado.
May 1, 2019

What is the base of a veggie burger? ›

The traditional veggie burgers are typically made with ingredients such as soy, beans, quinoa, grains, and vegetables. Large produces like Morningstar and Trader Joe's make frozen versions, but some restaurants make their veggie burger mix from scratch.

How do you spice up frozen veggie burgers? ›

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.

Why is my veggie burger bleeding? ›

What's the ingredient? To replicate the taste of beef, Impossible Foods said it scanned plants for molecules that would mimic a protein in meat that contains iron and makes blood red. It eventually settled on something called soy leghemoglobin, found in the root of soy plants.

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.

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 helps homemade burgers stick together? ›

Bind the patty together

If you're going for a leaner meat or adding bulky ingredients (eg spring onions, onions, chillies), add an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs to bind the burgers.

How do you keep homemade patties from falling apart? ›

watch the edges, and don't flip them until the edges are browning. also pay attention to the way you shape your burgers. if they're much thicker in the middle than they are on the edges, the middle will still be loose while the edges of the burger are firm. and then you have the fall-apart thing happening.

How do you make homemade patties stick together? ›

Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully. The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste.

What is a good vegan binder? ›

Chia seeds

Similar to flax seeds, chia seeds can be mixed with water and left to thicken, creating what is commonly called a chia egg. The gel-like texture of a chia egg makes this a brilliant binder.

How do you bind vegan bean burgers? ›

Panko breadcrumbs: breadcrumbs help the burgers bind together and create a nice firm texture. You can use gluten free panko if needed! Regular or Italian-style is great. Flax: ground flaxseed is our egg substitute to help the patties stick together so they don't fall apart when you cook them.

How do you elevate a veggie burger? ›

12 Ways To Add Flavor To Your Vegetarian Burgers
  1. Find fresh ingredients. Kasto80/Getty Images. ...
  2. Season as you go. Floriana/Getty Images. ...
  3. Sauté your veggies. Tashi-delek/Getty Images. ...
  4. Top with caramelized onions. ...
  5. Put a portobello on it. ...
  6. Use sweet potatoes as a base. ...
  7. Boost the umami flavors. ...
  8. Throw in some nuts and seeds.
Oct 14, 2023

What can I add to burgers to hold them together? ›

Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully. The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste.

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