All American Classic Veggie Burger

These taste amazing and are packed with vegetables, with nearly 1 cup of veggies in every burger. There’s no getting around the fact that veggie burgers take longer to make than regular hamburgers, but these vegetable-packed burgers are well worth it. The steps are easy – you can do this!

If you have a food processor we highly recommend that you use one. If you only have a blender, you can use it to chop the veggies and other ingredients, but you will need to scrape the sides down a few more times (the food processor really is the better tool for this recipe).

How to make Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
• 8 ounces (225g) mushrooms
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 ½ cups (85g) broccoli florets
• 1/4 medium onion
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for cooking
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, try homemade chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 2 cups packed spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, or other fresh herbs
• 1/2 cup panko or homemade breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3/4 cup cooked brown rice

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C). Position two racks so you can fit both baking sheets in at once. Then, line two baking sheets with foil, parchment, or a silicone mat.
2. Drain the beans and spread them on one of the prepared baking sheets.
3. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Remove tough stems, then roughly chop.
4. Roughly chop up the carrot, broccoli, and onion into 1/2-inch pieces.
5. Add the mushrooms, chopped vegetables, garlic, olive oil, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground (10 to 20 times). Put the ground vegetable mixture on the second baking sheet and pat it into a thin, even layer.
6. Slide both baking sheets (beans and veggies) into the preheated oven.
7. Roast the beans until dry with slightly split skins, about 15 minutes.
8. Roast the vegetables until they look dry and toasted, about 30 minutes. Stir them a few times and press them back into a thin layer to prevent the outer edges from over-browning.

 

9. Let both the roasted vegetables and beans cool on the counter.
10. While the beans and vegetables roast, rinse the food processor bowl and pat it dry.
11. Place the walnuts, spinach, and fresh parsley into the clean food processor bowl. Pulse briefly until roughly chopped, resembling the size of breadcrumbs.
12. Add cooled beans and pulse 5 to 10 times until the beans look crumbly with large crumbs.
13. Add the roasted vegetables, breadcrumbs, eggs, and tomato paste. Pulse until everything is just combined. You want to keep some texture and avoid over-processing it into a smooth paste.
14. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gently fold in the cooked rice.
15. Divide the veggie burger mixture into 8 equal portions (each portion should be about 3 ¼ ounces. Form each portion into a patty that’s about 1/2-inch thick.
16. Place a skillet over medium-low heat and add oil (about 1 tablespoon for 4 burgers). Carefully place the patties in the skillet and cook on each side for 4 to 6 minutes until heated through, firm, and browned. As you flip them, a few bits might fall. Gently press any loose bits back into the sides of the patties.
17. Place on buns and add desired toppings and serve!

Note: Cooking them directly on BBQ grates can cause them to crumble. Use a cast-iron skillet with some oil to cook the burgers on the grill (indirect, medium heat is best).