3 Delicious Vegetarian Burger Recipes

Vegetarian alternatives are a great option for people who love burgers but don't eat meat. Do you know any other options besides the ones we'll show you today?

When people think about burgers, they usually think of fast food, big companies, and unhealthy diets as well. But what if we made a healthy vegetarian burger instead?

How to make a burger

The first thing you need to know is which protein you’ll be using in your recipe. There are several options such as meat, fish, legumes or soy derivatives such as tofu and textured soy protein.

Once you’ve chosen your protein base, you have to complement it with other vegetables: carrots, squash, onions, etc. It all depends on what you like. At this point, you have to homogenize the mixture and shape it into a burger.

The easiest way to do this is by using egg and flour, but how can we combine and hold together the ingredients without using animal products? Next up, we’ll show you three different, exquisite and simple alternatives you can try:

1. Tofu vegetarian burger

Ingredients for 8 patties:

• 4.5 oz of tofu
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 green Italian pepper
• 2 oz of raw quinoa
• Chickpea flour
• Soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Start by drying the tofu with a clean paper towel. Once you remove all of the excess water, crumble it using your fingers or a fork.

Then, put the tofu in a bowl and add as much soy sauce as you like. Leave it to marinate for a while; the longer you leave it, the more the taste will impregnate the tofu. Be careful to not go overboard with the soy sauce, as it can be pretty salty.

While you chop the vegetables into cubes, cook the quinoa in a pot with water. It’s important to wash the quinoa with a lot of water and a strainer before cooking it.

Then, heat up a pan with the olive oil and add the vegetables. First, add the onion, then the carrots and finally the pepper.

Once the quinoa is ready, strain it and mix it in a bowl with the vegetables you just cooked. Strain the marinated tofu and add it as well. Let the mixture rest for a little while so that it gets some consistency.

After the resting period (about one hour) shape the patties using chickpea flour to make sure they stay together. Once that’s ready, you can freeze them or cook them on a griddle with a little bit of olive oil.

2. Red lentil vegetarian burger

Ingredients for 4 patties:

• 2.5 oz of raw red lentils
• 1/2 a red or white onion
• 3 small carrots or 2 medium ones
• 1.5 tablespoon of breadcrumbs (you can replace it with cornflour if you suffer from Celiac disease)
• 1/2 garlic clove of garlic powder
• Salt and spices to your liking
• 1 teaspoon of virgin olive oil

Preparation:

First, cook the lentils in boiling water (or rinse them thoroughly if you use a can of precooked lentils). Strain them and set them aside.

Meanwhile, fry the onion in a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Once the onion becomes transparent and begins to caramelize, add the grated carrot until you have a nice texture.

At that moment, add the lentils to the pan and season everything with salt and pepper. Finally, mix in the breadcrumbs and let everything cook on a low heat until it’s well mixed. When you have the desired texture, place it in a bowl and let it cool down.

The last step is to form the patties. If you make this vegetarian burger recipe, freeze the patties and cook them directly on a pan, there’s no need to defrost them. Or you can also cook them right after making them.

3. Textured soy protein vegetarian burger

Textured soy is a great source of protein for vegan and vegetarian diets. One hundred grams of this product contains 51 grams of protein. This recipe will make about 8 patties.

Ingredients for 8 portions:

• 2 oz of textured soy protein
• 3.5 oz of sliced mushrooms
• 1 medium grated carrot
• 1 oz of the seeds you like (sesame, chia, linseed, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs (you can use cornflour if you have a gluten intolerance)
• 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour
• 1 garlic clove or garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• Salt and spices to your liking

Preparation:

The first thing you have to do is soak the textured soy for about 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the carrots and mushrooms over medium heat with a dash of olive oil.

After soaking the soy, strain it to eliminate the water completely and add it to the pan along with the seeds. Then, season them with salt and pepper and sauté everything together for 5 minutes.

Take the mixture off of the stove and let it rest until it’s warm. At this moment, add in the breadcrumbs and mix everything together before shaping the patties.

The last step is to coat the patties with chickpea flour and cook them immediately or freeze them for another occasion, just like in the other recipes.

All of these vegetarian burger recipes only take a few minutes to make. But the best thing about them is that you’ll be using natural and healthy ingredients. Burgers don’t always mean unhealthy diets!