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.
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.
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The 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.
This is an incredible recipe. I love the many options. I found that using a hand electric mixer is much easier than using a food processor. But they are so delicious. Thanks
You’re welcome, Joyce! It’s fun to switch it up and try different combinations.
Love your recipe chart!
I would also recommend that when making them, it’s also an ideal time to empty out your fridge of left overs, such as old mashed potatoes, leftover mc n cheese, chili, noodle salad , old corn bread, or whatever you want to get rid of before it’s too late.
😊 have a nice day
Great recipe, I love having the formula and then adapting it to what I have or like.
Do you think they can be cooked on the barbeque?
If cooking them on the grill, I would probably use a grill pan instead of putting them directly on, Deb. I love veggie burgers but they aren’t as firm as regular burgers so there’s more risk of them breaking apart. Either way, brush some oil on your grilling surface before putting the burgers on.
This has become a regular in our house and I love when there are extra burgers left over — I crumble them into salads or egg scrambles. YUM!
That’s awesome, Rachel! Thanks for sharing how you reimagine the leftovers. 🙂
Very fortunate to come across this formula. Was looking for a less expensive alternative to buying store-bought veggie burgers. This recipe or formula makes a firm Burger. But tastes way better than store-bought I’ve only tried one combination so far and it came out really good. I can’t even say that it tastes like a store-bought veggie burger but that’s actually a good thing. It is a huge cost saver and way more healthy. The taste is a 100 percent positive difference. We look forward to experimenting with different combinations.
That’s wonderful to hear, Lynne. Have fun experimenting!
This turned out great.I liked the flexible combination of ingredients.I made vegetarian onion gravy and had it all with mashed potatoes and peas.
Greg, that sounds really wonderful. I’m so happy you liked it!
What an amazing recipe! Thank you so much. It worked beautifully. I can’t wait to make it again with different spices and herbs.
Thank you, Grace! There’s so many yummy variations you can make with this!
Great recipe (formula!) can these be baked in oven rather than frying in skillet? Can you use chickpea flour?
Thanks,
S
So, I don’t know if chickpea flour would work. All of the bases listed are coarser in texture than chickpea flour is, but if you try it, please let us know!
As to baking, yes, you can probably bake them. 8-10 per side at 350 should be good. However, if I was going to use an oven, I would probably try broiling them instead of baking them. Put them on a pan about 8 inches from the heat source and broil until browned a bit, flip and do the other side.
I loved the ingredients as soon I read the recipe….immediately dived into making it and loved the texture of the patty. This is my goto burger patty now
Thanks, Ritu! Which combination did you go with?
Hello!
I did not cook the veggies first….. It still turned out great! I was trying to make a veggie vurger that very much resembled a regular burger for my very picky son. For veggies I used mushrooms (color) and onions and garlic. Everything else I put in there was similarly colored, walnuts, flax meal, black beans, oatmeal, and salt pepper and a veggie seasoning. They were pretty wet because I didn’t precook the veggies. SO I pan fried them on both sides first and then cooked them in the oven on 300 for 15 minutes. Perfect! They look just like regular burgers. We’ll see what my son thinks when he gets out of school today 🙂
Wonderful, Emily! Hope they were a hit with your son.
Absolutely delicious!! I can’t wait to try other combinations! I served mine with avocado, lettuce, tomato, red onion…and a smear of mayo, mixed with Texas Pete. I could eat one every day! Thank you so much!
My burger creation: black beans, chickpeas, Quinoa, carrots, squash, broccoli, red bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, walnuts, salt, pepper, smokey paprika and Italian seasoning.
You’re welcome, Cristy! I love to hear what combinations people choose. Delicious!
Wonderful website. Your formula is on my desktop use it a lot. One thing I do have trouble with is the binding together of the ingredients. I experimented and realized that I had to put more Panko in to make them stick together. It was not a problem I was just worried I would have too much panko. They are in the fridge resting now. Maybe I’ll take a nap too!
Thanks for all your good vibes.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Emme! As well as for letting us know that more panko was needed for yours.
I love having this formula! I have made these burgers 5 times 5 different ways, and each one has been fantastic! Thank you
That’s wonderful, Sue! I love that you’ve tried so many different combinations. 🙂
How many grams of burgers does this recipe produce?
This recipe makes 8 patties of about 1/3 cup. But the grams would really depend on what ingredients you select from the above lists! Sorry I can’t be more specific, Daniel.
Uau!
It really is a great combination!
And the texture is perfect 😉
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Catarina! Glad you found a combo you enjoy.
What a wonderful veggie burger cheat sheet! When I read this recipe I started thinking about the combinations I could put together. I’m also a very simple, make it quick kind of person.
I thought of thanksgiving flavors. I used kidney beans, celery, carrots, sweet potato and corn. I used a little bit of vegetable bouillon (seasoning), parsley, jasmine rice, Pablo, dried cranberries and cherries. I loved it and had a few to freeze because I made a half batch. I look forward to marking some other combinations in the future!
How fun, HR! Thanks for sharing your combo with us!
Do You have any photos of these burgers?
Because there’s so many different combinations that you can do with this formula, we don’t have photos of the finished burgers. We’d love to see yours and know which ingredients you used though, Paula! Tag us on Instagram @thecookful