Favorite Veggie Burgers
Truly the best veggie burger recipe! These veggie burgers are absolutely delicious and easy to make. Gluten-free, vegan and nut free.
- Total time
- 1 hr 20 min
- Active time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 8, 8 burger patties
- Difficulty
- Medium
Ingredients and Constraints
Ingredients
- Optional
- Optional
Ingredient watchpoints9 watchpoints
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Quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Black Beans
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans)
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Red Onion
1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 small red onion)
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Cilantro
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Garlic
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Adobo Sauce
2 tablespoons adobo sauce* or 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
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Acceptable alternatives: Smoked Paprika
Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
8 whole wheat hamburger buns (optional)
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Avocado
Your favorite burger fixings: Avocado or guacamole, tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, cheese, sprouts, ketchup, hot sauce, mustard, fried eggs…
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Acceptable alternatives: Guacamole
Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Avocado
Your favorite burger fixings: Avocado or guacamole, tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, cheese, sprouts, ketchup, hot sauce, mustard, fried eggs…
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Source: Favorite Veggie Burgers
Additional ingredient notes
Veggie Burger Ingredients
These veggie burgers are made with easy-to-find, healthy ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need: Sweet potatoes: For the best results, weigh your sweet potatoes at the store to ensure you’re starting with the right amount. Ideally, choose smaller sweet potatoes because they’ll cook a little quicker.
Notes
Recipe adapted from the Cafe Flora Cookbook.
Cafe Flora is a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Seattle with an ever-changing seasonal menu—check it out if you’re nearby. *ADOBO SAUCE NOTE: Buy canned or jarred chipotle peppers in adobo and use the sauce. You’ll usually find this ingredient in the international or Hispanic aisle of the grocery store.
Method Overview
Structured method notes that are separate from the step timeline.
1) Oven-Baked
I love baking these veggie burgers in the oven.
It’s the easiest way to cook a bunch at once, and they turn out beautifully cooked through and golden on each side.
2) Grilled
These burgers grill well, too!
I’ve successfully grilled them on the grates without the burgers falling apart. (If you do run into any trouble, just chill the burgers for a bit before trying again.)
3) Stovetop
Lastly, you can cook these veggie burgers in a skillet on the stovetop.
The stovetop isn’t my favorite method because it requires more babysitting than the oven, but it’s totally doable. These burgers are extra moist inside.
Method Timeline
Prep
ActivePrep
1 hr
Prep time from the source recipe card.
Cook
ActiveCook
20 min
Cook time from the source recipe card.
Total
PassiveTotal
1 hr 20 min
Total time from the source recipe card.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
Step 2
Roast the sweet potatoes: Slice the sweet potatoes down the center lengthwise. Place the sweet potatoes, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until they yield to a gentle squeeze, 30 to 40 minutes or longer. Set aside for now. (If you'll be baking the burgers, reserve the parchment-lined pan and leave the oven on.)
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until all of the water is absorbed, 11 to 14 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 10 minutes.
medium-high heatStep 4
Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin (it should pull off easily) and roughly chop the insides. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the cooled sweet potatoes and quinoa, black beans, onion, cilantro, garlic, adobo sauce, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Use a potato masher, pastry cutter, large spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer to mix really well. It's ok if the black beans get smashed in the process.
Step 5
Sprinkle the oats over the mixture and mix well with a large spoon until the mixture holds together when you shape a portion into a patty. If you won't be making the burgers immediately, cover the mixture and refrigerate for later.
Step 6
When you're ready to cook, shape the burgers: Use a measuring cup to measure out 1/2 cup of the mixture. Gently shape it into a patty about 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter. Use your hands to gently flatten the burgers and smooth out any jagged edges. Repeat the process for each patty; you should end up with 8.
Step 7
If you're baking the burgers (see recipe notes for alternate options), brush both sides of each patty generously with olive oil and place them on the lined baking sheet, leaving a few inches of space around each one. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the patties are deeply golden on the outside, about 35 minutes, flipping halfway.
35 minStep 8
Serve burgers as desired. Leftover burgers keep well, refrigerated, for 4 days. Or, freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months (thaw in the microwave for about 1 minute or in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until warmed all the way through).
1 min
Handling and Storage
Reviewed hold, storage, make-ahead, and service-timing guidance.
Burger Accompaniments
Serve these burgers as, well, burgers!
Find some great buns, or use butter lettuce leaves for a low-carb, gluten free options. Add any of the following: Ripe, juicy sliced tomato Crisp lettuce or fresh sprouts Pickles Sliced cheese Onion, very thinly sliced Avocado or guacamole Ketchup and mustard Maybe even fried eggs.
Side Dish Suggestions
These burgers would go nicely with my Simple Healthy Slaw or Gaby’s Cucumber Salad.
You could make extra quinoa while you’re at it (you’ll need a total of 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa for the burgers), and make my Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach and Quinoa Salad or Favorite Quinoa Salad.
Ideas for Leftovers
Keep these burgers on hand for quick, healthy meals.
Leftover cooked patties store well in the freezer for several months. Warm one up and serve it with a simple green salad, or a quesadilla, or any hodge-podge of ingredients you may have.
Learn More
Extra cooking notes, tests, and source details kept out of the step-by-step method.
Recipe structure
Components and intermediate outputs created by the method.
Main recipe
Recipe card ingredients and steps.
8, 8 burger patties
Mixture
Source step 3 creates or uses mixture.
Sauce
Source step 4 creates or uses sauce.
Extra useful notes
Short source-backed recommendations and facts that do not need a step.
Recipe adapted from the Cafe Flora Cookbook.
Recipe adapted from the Cafe Flora Cookbook. Cafe Flora is a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Seattle with an ever-changing seasonal menu—check it out if you’re nearby.
*ADOBO SAUCE NOTE: Buy canned or jarred chipotle peppers in adobo and use the sauce.
*ADOBO SAUCE NOTE: Buy canned or jarred chipotle peppers in adobo and use the sauce. You’ll usually find this ingredient in the international or Hispanic aisle of the grocery store. You can transfer leftover peppers and their sauce to a freezer bag, squeeze out any remaining air, and freeze for later use.
**OATS NOTE: You can use old-fashioned oats instead, if you briefly blend them in a food processor or blender until broken into smaller pieces (not as fine as flour).
**OATS NOTE: You can use old-fashioned oats instead, if you briefly blend them in a food processor or blender until broken into smaller pieces (not as fine as flour).
STOVETOP COOKING METHOD: Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or other high heat oil) in a large skillet over medium heat.
STOVETOP COOKING METHOD: Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or other high heat oil) in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, place several burgers in the pan, leaving enough room to flip them. Cook each patty until browned and heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet for each pan of burgers you fry, and dial down the heat as necessary to prevent burning.
GRILLING METHOD: Ideally, let the mixture chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before shaping the burgers and grilling.
GRILLING METHOD: Ideally, let the mixture chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before shaping the burgers and grilling. No need to coat the burgers in oil, which might burn on the grill. Shape the burgers as instructed in step 6, and cook on a grill over medium heat, turning once the undersides have turned golden and developed some grill marks. Repeat on the other side.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Use certified gluten-free oats and choose your accompaniments carefully.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Use certified gluten-free oats and choose your accompaniments carefully. As an alternative to buns, try butter lettuce leaves!
PREPARE IN ADVANCE: Prepare the burger mixture and let it chill in the refrigerator (you can let it chill overnight or up to a couple of days if you’d like).
PREPARE IN ADVANCE: Prepare the burger mixture and let it chill in the refrigerator (you can let it chill overnight or up to a couple of days if you’d like). Then assemble the burgers and cook as directed.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: These veggie burgers don’t have to be served as traditional burgers.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: These veggie burgers don’t have to be served as traditional burgers. The patties are good on their own with toppings like guacamole and pico de gallo, or in a salad with Southwestern flavors. Try serving them with corn on the cob in the summer.
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Favorite Veggie Burgers
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