I have tried many different veggie burgers, but this one is definitely one of my favourite vegan burger recipes. The texture is perfect for frying or even on your grill or bbq, it does not fall apart. And the smoky flavours really add to the 'burger experience'.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
🥘 Main ingredients
- brown rice
- lentils
- breadcrumbs
- walnuts
- onion
- flax egg
- cumin powder
- smoked paprika
- chilli flakes
- sugar
- bbq sauce ( see below)
For the BBQ sauce;
- apple cider vinegar
- Worcestershire
- mustard
- lemon juice
- ketchup, or fresh tomato puree
- smoked paprika
- chilli powder
- black pepper
I always like to use my own home made bbq sauce, but of course you can use a shop bought one. The home made bbq sauce I use in this recipe uses ketchup. *For a healthier option you can use your own fresh tomato paste.
This vegan burger is very easy and reasonable quick to make. The rice and the lentils need to be pre-cooked and cooled down. But honestly I often just make these burgers when I have left-over rice in my fridge anyway. The recipe uses brown rice, but it would work with wild rice, black rice or any slightly 'sticky' rice.
🥗 Serving options
veggie burger on rustic bread 
veggie burger on bun veggie burger with vegetables
These burgers are easy to make ahead of time. If you want to enjoy them on your garden bbq-party. You can make them in small bite sizes and grill them on your bbq last minute.
Built your perfect burger with your favourite ingredients. You can use the classic bun bread, or go for the more the rustic / sourdough bread. Add lettuce, tomato, cucumber, gurken, fried onions, cabbage, carrots, beetroot or any other ingredients. My personal favourites are; Gurken and fried onions for a bit of crunch 😉
💭 Top tips
Nobody likes mushy burgers.
It can sometimes be a struggle to keep veggie burgers dry, and firm in texture. This is often caused by (raw) vegetables which release too much liquid during cooking. To prevent this;
- only use pre-cooked ingredients
- make sure the ingredients are as dry as possible before mixing the mixture (drain or press dry)
- add liquids (like bbq sauce) carefully bit by bit to the mixture. If you think it becomes to wet, stop adding. The mixture should be moist not soggy.
- add extra breadcrumbs, oats or a bit of cornstarch if your mixture is too wet
🍔 Sauce suggestions
Who doesn't like a nice rich sauce on top of their burger? And best of all, they don't have to be bad, processed, and fatty. Take a look at these delicious burger sauce options;
- vegan mayonnaise (gram flour Mayo)
- or the ultimate delicious silky aioli
- your own favourite hummus
- a spicy red pepper sauce
- or if your a peanut lover go for a spicy sate sauce
- bbq sauce, like the thickened one in this recipe.
- some might like the vegan cheese sauce on their burger.
🍷 Wine pairing
To be able to choose the perfect wine with a veggie burger it is necessary to look at the accompaniments. Are you using a spicy sauce, or highly acidic ingredients on your burger than that changes the suggestion on wines. Read my general wine pairing post to get an idea of which flavours with which wines to pair.
If you don't add any strong flavours to your burger than I would suggest to go for a low/medium tannins , medium acidity, fruity red, like; gamay, young pinot noir, or a valpolicella. For the white, try; Chardonnay or viognier.
But for a summer bbq party, a fresh, fruity rosé can be the only right option!
📖 FAQ
A veggie burger has less saturated fat than a meat or fish burger. But I do want to point out that not all shop bought veggie burgers are healthy. There are often unhealthy additives in a shop bought burger of any type. So if you really want to be sure what your burger contains, Make your own, and keep it fresh and healthy.
You can use many different ingredients in a veggie burger. And mostly this is just a personal preference. But if you want your burger not to fall apart make sure it contains an egg-replacer (for the vegan burgers). Eggs are normally the binder in a burger, so if you make your burger vegan, replace this with, for example; flax-egg (like in this recipe), chia-seeds (soaked), breadcrumbs, cornstarch, or oats.
Vegetables, especially raw vegetable contain a lot of water. While cooking, these vegetables release a lot of their water. So make sure that the ingredients you use, are pre-cooked, and if necessary, well drained. Be careful adding too much liquid (sauce) to your burger mixture. It is best to add any liquid bit by bit, so your mixture doesn't become to wet.
Enjoy these burgers in whichever way you like to eat your burger. Add @haricoco1 to your instagram pictures, I always love to see your creations of my recipes. And feel free to comment below. Bon appetit!
📋 Recipe
This recipe makes two very large burger, or three 'normal' size patties.
Ingredients
- 125 grams ½ cup cooked brown rice
- 200 grams 1 cup cooked lentils
- ½ onion fine chopped
- 65 grams ½ cup walnuts, toasted
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon coco sugar
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 flax-egg 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds + 3 Tablespoons water
- 25 grams ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce
- for the bbq sauce
- 45 grams ⅕ cup vegan ketchup, or freshly made tomato puree
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon coco sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- pinch of smoked paprika
- pinch of chilli powder
- pinch of ground black pepper
Instructions
- If your rice and lentils are not cooked yet, Cook them according instructions and let them cool down completely.
- Make your flax-egg by adding 3 Tablespoons of water to 1 Tablespoon of ground flaxseeds, stir well and leave to soak for minimum 15 minutes.
- Sauté the chopped onion in a bit of olive oil until softened, set aside.
- Add the walnuts, cumin, smoked paprika, coco sugar and chilli flakes to a food processor, pulse shortly until well mixed, set aside.
- Make your BBQ sauce by mixing all the ingredients, if you prefer your sauce to be thickened into a syrup, bring to the boil, and let it reduce.
- In a large bowl mix the rice, lentils, the walnut and spice mixture, sautéed onion (any liquid well squeezed out), 1 flax-egg, breadcrumbs, and 2 Tablespoons of the BBQ sauce.
- Mix well and form two large (or 3) patties with your hands.
- Grill or fry your patties until nicely browned.
Video
Notes
- Reduce the bbq sauce into a syrup before adding to the mixture. And add the sauce bit by bit.
- Press as much as possible liquid out of the sautéed onions before adding
- If your mixture feels too wet, add extra breadcrumbs.
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