How to Build the Best Plant-Based Oil-Free Veggie Burger

Making a healthy, plant-based veggie burger can be a challenge. While you want to pack in a lot flavor, vegan burgers can run into a few roadblocks. Perhaps they fall apart on the grill. Or, maybe they are too mushy. Here are my tips for dealing with your biggest veggie burger problems. Learn how to build the ultimate plant-based burger.

How do I make my veggie burgers taste better?

Solution: Add more flavor!

Whole foods, plant-based veggie burgers are leaner than standard beef burgers. Because you’re not relying on the fat in traditional meat burgers, you’ll need to have a heavier hand in using spices, herbs, and other flavoring ingredients. You can increase the flavor even more with some simple tricks:

o   Sauté the dried spices

• When you sauté the vegetables for the patty mixture, add dried spices like smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, curry powder, and cumin. Add these spices during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Heating them up brings out their natural flavor. You can taste lots of flavor from dried spices in Smoky Un-Beetable Beet and Black Bean Veggie Burgers

o   Use more fresh herbs

• Veggie burgers are a great way to use up lots of fresh herbs. Fresh basil, chives, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and thyme can all add lots of flavor. Use lots of one herb or mix them up for a Garden Veggie Burger.

o   Add acid, heat, or umami

• An extra “kick” can come from acid (like lime or lemon juice), spice (like chili paste or hot sauce), or umami (like mushrooms, nutritional yeast flakes, or soy sauce). Add a tablespoon or so to your veggie burger mix. Or, combine them for Shiitake Mushroom Edamame Asian Veggie Burgers

o   Let them Sit

• Once you have your veggie burger mix ready, shape the patties and then let them sit for 10 minutes before cooking.  This allows the flavors to come together more. If you throw them in the freezer, this will help them stay together when you put them on the grill or in the oven.

How do I make my veggie burgers stick together?

Solution: Puree the mixture

If your veggie burgers fall apart when you try to grill them, it’s likely because the mixture isn’t pureed enough. Sometimes it’s nice to have chunks of brown rice, broccoli, quinoa, or bell peppers in your plant-based burgers. However, once you bite into these patties, they often crumble in apart…leaving you left to scoop up the bits with a fork. Just as traditional meat burgers are ground a few times for a smooth mix, veggie burgers should also have a smooth texture.

Chef Katie’s Tip: You don’t need a food processor to puree your veggie burgers. A hand-held immersion blender also works great for pureeing. Simply transfer your veggie burger base to a deep bowl and puree with a blender. If you want a little bit of color or texture, add no more than ¼ cup of bite-sized “bits”. Corn, peas, chopped olives, and chopped herbs all work great to add enough texture and color for an appetizing patty.

How do I avoid mushy veggie burgers?

Solution: Start with a dryer mixture

The veggie burger mixture should be dry enough that it holds together before baking or gilling.  If it’s too wet, you’ll have a soft, mushy burger.

You can avoid this problem with a few easy tricks:

Avoid using raw vegetables

• They have too much moisture.  Cook ALL of the moisture out of your raw veggies (or at least as much as you can).  Not only does this help create a firmer burger, it also intensifies the flavor.

Use a Binder

• A binder, like brown rice flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, or cornmeal will help absorb moisture and bind the mixture together.  You can always add more of this binder to get dryer burgers that will hold together better.
  • Avoid using nut flours (like coconut or almond).  They have too much fat and will end up adding more moisture to your mix.
  • Avoid using flours with gluten (like whole wheat or spelt). They can easily become gluey and chewy if overmixed. They also tend to give veggies burgers a taste of raw flour – not delicious.

Chill the patties

• Let the burgers rest for at least 15 minutes in your fridge before cooking them. Not only will this help the flavors meld together, it will also help prevent crumbling burgers. If making the burgers ahead of time, you can bake them off then freeze.   From the freezer, toss them right on the grill or the oven and cook until heated through.

Avoid too much liquid

• Add liquids like worchestershire, tamari, or lime juice can help add flavor to your veggie burgers. However, you want to use these ingredients judiciously. Add just enough to add flavor, but don’t add so much that your mixture becomes soggy.
  • Chef Katie’s Zesting Trick: If you want to add fresh lime or lemon flavor (without the juice), add the zest instead. Much of the flavor of citrus comes from the juice. You can use a microplane to scrape off the zest and add to your veggie burger mix.

The Ultimate Veggie Burger Builder

Use this helpful Veggie Burger Builder Infographic to build your own unique veggie burger. This is your no-recipe guide for combining healthy plant-based ingredients for delicious flavor. Print this out or “pin” it for easy reference next time you make vegan burgers.

Ready for More Veggie Burger Recipes?

• Plants-Rule: The Best Veggie Burger Recipes
• Plants-Rule: The Best Veggie Burger Sauces and Toppings
• Forks Over Knives: Are ‘Plant-Based’ Veggie Burgers Actually Healthy?
• The Kitchn: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Veggie Burgers

Make One of these Recipes? Let me Know!

If you give any of these bean recipes a try, let me know! Leave a comment, or take a picture and tag it @chefkatiesimmons on Instagram. On Facebook, tag @plants-rule. Peace and chickpeas, Chef Katie