Learn how to use the ingredients you already have on hand to make the best ever veggie burgers. Our Vegetarian Burger Topic is brought to you by Produce for Kids. Your healthy family resource for nutritious meals.
There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to make a veggie burger and realizing you’re missing half the ingredients. With this easy formula, you can create your own awesome veggie burger recipe with whatever you have lying around! Feel free to use fresh or frozen vegetables and leftover grains from a previous dinner (or last night’s takeout!) to make these burgers even easier.
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Video: How To Make Vegetarian Burgers
The Formula For Vegetarian Burgers
What you’re going to do is build your burger mixture using the lists and amounts below. The formula is…
The Best Veggie Burger = Standard Ingredients + 2 Cups Chopped Soft Veggies + 1 Cup Cooked Grains + 1 and 1/2 Cups Cooked Legumes + 1/2 Cup Flavor/Texture Booster + 3 Tsp. Spices + 1/2 Cup Dry Base
Choose your ingredients from the lists below based on what you have and then follow the instructions to build your best veggie burger. Yay!
Can You Freeze Homemade Veggie Burgers?
Yes! These veggie burgers can be frozen for up to three months. I think it’s best to cook them first, then freeze them so they can just be heated through from the freezer. Wrap them individually and then store in a zip-top freezer bag. The recipe as written makes 8 patties, so it’s great to enjoy some right away and store the extras for an easy and delicious meal later on.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you cooked them before freezing, you can simply microwave the frozen patties for 30 seconds at a time until heated through.
You could also bake them in the oven straight from frozen. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, until heated through, flipping them halfway through. Or they can be cooked in a skillet on the stove over medium heat for 12-14 minutes, flipping every few minutes.
I have found that they don’t need it to hold together. If you’d prefer to use egg, use it in place of the reserved liquid from the legumes.
Podcast Episode On Making Veggie Burgers
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly how this veggie burger formula comes together, with great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintThe Perfect Veggie Burger Formula
Learn how to use the ingredients you already have on hand to make the best ever veggie burgers.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Refrigerate: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 burger patties 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
STANDARD INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- oil for cooking (e.g. olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil)
2 CUPS COOKED VEGETABLES, FINELY DICED OR CHOPPED (PICK 1-3)
- sweet potatoes
- beets (golden or red)
- carrots
- mushrooms
- spinach
- kale
- corn
- squash
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- artichokes
- zucchini
- bell peppers
1 CUP COOKED GRAINS (PICK 1)
- millet
- quinoa
- bulgur
- rice
- buckwheat
1½ CUPS COOKED LEGUMES, LIQUID RESERVED (PICK 1-2)
- canned beans (e.g. black, pinto, cannellini, kidney)
- lentils (red or green)
- chickpeas
- soybeans
- mung beans
- adzuki beans
- black eyed peas
½ CUP FLAVOR/TEXTURE BUILDERS (PICK 2)
- fresh herbs, finely chopped (e.g. cilantro, basil, dill, parsley, thyme, sage, chives)
- scallions, thinly sliced
- chopped nuts (e.g. walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews)
- chopped sundried tomatoes
- chopped olives
- flax seeds
- chia seeds
- sesame seeds
- mashed avocado
- unsweetened nut butter (e.g. peanut, almond, cashew)
- tahini
3 TEASPOONS SPICES (PICK 2-4)
- cumin
- chili powder
- smoked paprika
- cayenne powder
- Italian seasoning
- black pepper
- fennel
- oregano
- curry powder
- coriander
- cinnamon
- turmeric
- citrus zest
½ CUP DRY BASE (PICK 1)
- ground oats
- cornmeal
- bread crumbs
- panko
- almond meal*
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables and cook until soft, 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to a food processor**. Add all remaining ingredients except the reserved bean liquid and frying oil. Pulse 5-10 times to combine. Don’t overdo it; you don’t want a paste!
- Press the mixture between your fingers. If you can form a patty with it, you’re good to go. If it’s too crumbly, add the reserved bean liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it sticks together. If the mixture is too wet, add more of the dry base ingredient, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Taste the mixture and add salt to your taste.
- Form the mixture into 8 patties (about ⅓ cup of the mixture each) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the patties uncovered for 30 minutes. (Don’t skip this step! Resting will help the patties stay together.)
- When ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook 3-4 patties at a time until brown on one side, then flip and brown the other side. It should take about 3-4 minutes per side. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan before cooking each batch of burgers.
- Serve immediately or cool and then wrap each burger in foil, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze for later. Reheat in a dry pan on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*We’ve heard from a reader that almond flour doesn’t work in place of almond meal. We’re doing testing now and once we know for sure, we will revise the recipe to reflect this issue. Until then, be sure you’re using almond meal and not almond flour.
**You can also do this in a large bowl with a potato masher. Just make sure your veggies are cooked so they are soft enough to mash! Use a potato masher or large mixing spoon to mix and mash the ingredients together.
This post originally appeared in July 2016 and was revised and republished in October 2022.
Chandra Dhopatkar says
I am a ISKCON Indian chef and was looking for a solution to use up fresh (same day) left overs. I always have rice, beans, chapattis, curry base, left. Today, using your formula I made Punjabi Veg Burgers. We do not use garlic or onion, so I substituted capsicum and pureed tomatoes, and fried them as you would the onion garlic. I sauteed them in a punjabi spice mix. Then added mixed vegetables. Mixed well, then added to processor. Added basmatti rice, chapattis, sun dried tomatoes, roasted salted cashews, cilantro and fenugreek leaved, red kidney beans (has been previously cooked punjabi style rajma), and blended. Afterward I shaped into 8 large patties, then refrigerated for 30+ min. Then cooked on flat grill using tiny bit of fry oil. The result: Gone in 10 minutes and everyone loved them. One food critic told me I deserved an award. Another stated it was the best he ever tasted. Big Thanks To You! Hare Krishna!
Christine Pittman says
Chandra, How fantastic! They sound amazing. Thank you for sharing what you did.
sherry says
if you want to use beets as one of the veggies – do you use canned or fresh?
Christine Pittman says
Sherry, Canned are already soft and ready to eat so you can use those. Fresh beets would need to be cooked first. Here is my easiest (and not at all messy) way to cook beets: https://cookthestory.com/how-to-roast-beets/
Reece says
I made a nice pdf version of this to print out at home if you would like it! I had to clean up a few things to make everything fit (such as removing the examples and combining two items). If you would like it to publish, let me know and I can send it to you
Christine Pittman says
Reece, I would love that! Please email it to me at christine at thecookful dot com. Thanks!
Saida says
Great post. I’m trying this tonight. Gonna make thinner than burgers to pour homemade gravy over them and serve over mashed potatoes 😋. Thank you much
Gabriella a says
So I was in a hurry and was reading right and forget to cook the veggies before I put them in the blender is that gonna mess up the recipe do u know?
Christine Pittman says
Gabriella, I think you really do need to cook the veggies first. Did you try them anyhow? How did they turn out?
Bethy says
My mom is concerned about alkali vs acid foods. Do you have any information on this? Also, what is the binder in this, is it ok to out egg to hold it together?
Bill says
When I click the Print icon to get the print-formatted recipe, the headings for the ingredients are not visible. For example, “2 cups vegetables, finely diced or chopped (Pick 1-3)” is not visible.
Christine Pittman says
Bill, thanks. I’ll see what I can do to fix it. Sorry! I really should make a nice printable of this for people.
Kristen says
This is so helpful!! Thank you!
And the burgers worked perfectly – I’ve been looking for a formula like this forever (-:
Christine Pittman says
Kristen, so happy you like it!
Alexis says
oh my gosh i’ve been looking for something like this, thank you for such a well-detailed recipe! i love the options, it’s so inclusive!!!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Alexis!
Anthony says
After years of contemplating, I finally decided to drop meat from my diet. One of the first things I had to do was find a good veggie burger recipe. Your formula was like a gift from the gods! I went with a sweet potato/zucchini/spinach burger and LOVED IT. This will definitely be my go-to recipe from now on, and with a so many combinations, I’ll never get bored of it.
Thank you for helping make my meat-less transition so much easier.
Christine Pittman says
Anthony, Your burgers sound amazing. I’m so happy that you like our formula!
Guy Buckingham is a twat says
Guy, you complete moron. Ever heard of copy paste?
Note: My 3 year old daughter could print this page with little to no effort. Think its time you brush up on those tech skill.
The world is a better place if you don’t complain about everything.
Guy Buckingham says
This page has 30 ads on it. Are you here to only make money? This is obnoxiously difficult to print. When you try to print it, it only prints part of the recipe. This was tried on an iPad, and two desktop browsers. Spend some time hiring web people that know there website development, and hire less marketing!
Note: when I went to the desktop browsers your search engine could not even find the recipe, although I was typing in the exact title!
Linda says
This is great! I happened to have enough ingredients on hand to try this out and it came out amazing. I used quinoa, lentils, panko, peppers, scallions, mushrooms, and sesame seeds (plus assorted spices, and the standard ingredients, of course). I made a full batch and froze what we didn’t eat for dinner. The reheated burgers are also great! Thanks!
Christine Pittman says
Linda, this is wonderful to hear. So happy your burgers were fantastic!
Clare says
Thank you for posting this very helpful formula…it works. The proof? My tiny family members ate every bite! I did, however, tweak the proportions of spices and the dry base as I made mine nut free and gluten free by substituting corn meal with my personal blend of white and brown rice and tapioca flour and chia seeds (soaked in water to serve as a binder). Once again, thank you!
Christine Pittman says
Clare, Thanks for telling us about you substitutions. I’m so happy these worked out for you!
Meghan says
Well this is a happy and helpful little find. Thank you! I’m going to post this chart inside of my kitchen cabinet door so I can have a visual💜
Christine Pittman says
What a great idea, Meghan!
Janira says
Awesome recipe!!! My bf is a vegan and I am not… but I love to cook and can’t wait to make my own burger based on this great foundation of Ingredients!!!
Kellie says
The calorie count and nutritional information is completely dependent upon the ingredients chosen.
Collette Drury says
Can these be frozen at any point ?
Christine Pittman says
Collette, I’d freeze them after cooking them and then just defrost in the microwave.
Ashley says
Hi there! I have 2 questions
First of all, can you refrigerate your mixture overnight? Secondly, can you cook these on the grill? Thanks!
Christine Pittman says
Ashley, Yes you can refrigerate these. Some version do work better on the grill than others. I’d say you’re best to pan fry or bake them though.
Inderia says
How many calories is in this. What are the nutritional cakes of this burger.
Christine Pittman says
Inderia, Since this recipe has so many options, it’s impossible to give nutritional information. It depends completely on which ingredients you choose to use from the lists provided.