How to Make Vegan Burgers

Update: I still love this recipe, but do have a simplified version now that uses fewer ingredients. See my post on Vegan Burgers 2.0 for the new recipe!

My vegan burgers are not your standard veggie burgers! They are firm in texture and have a meaty flavor like the ones you pay $3 apiece for at the store, but these only cost about $0.70 each. The burger mixture can also be used to make vegan “meatloaf” or “meatballs”! It freezes very well, too, and I always keep some burgers in my freezer for quick meals when I am busy.

There are a lot of ingredients and quite a few steps in this recipe, but I promise that none of them are difficult! Follow the photos below, and you will end up with amazing vegan burgers that look and taste like burgers!

Get the TVP ingredients ready. You will need vegan “beef” broth and vegan Worcestershire sauce. You can use store-bought veggie broth and vegan Worcestershire sauce if you don’t want to make your own, but the flavor of your burgers will be different.

Add the TVP and oats to a very large mixing bowl, and then stir them together:

Heat the broth, Tamari, Worcestershire, and water together until boiling. Pour the hot liquid over the TVP and oat mixture:

Mix together and set aside:

Get your binding ingredients ready:

Grind the walnuts until they are very finely chopped, but not so much that you get walnut butter:

Add the ground walnuts, flax, nutritional yeast, and oat flour to a small bowl, and mix together. I use gluten free oat flour, but all-purpose flour is fine if you can have wheat.

Add the brown rice, mix again, and add to the TVP mixture:

Mix together and set aside:

Get your sauce ingredients ready:

Add the tahini, miso, tomato paste, dijon, sriracha, and liquid smoke to a small bowl. Whisk together, add the ketchup, and whisk again. Set the sauce aside.

Get your vegetables and Magical Seasoning Blend ready. Mash the roasted garlic:

Melt the refined coconut oil in a large pan, then add the crushed red pepper and cook for a minute or two until the pepper is popping:

Add the onions, mushrooms, and Magickal Seasoning Blend to the pan. Cook for eight to ten minutes over medium-high heat:

Add the mashed roasted garlic and the sauce, then cook for two more minutes:

Add the cooked vegetables to the TVP mixture:

Start mixing with two spoons or spatulas:

Once the mixture is cool enough, mix well by hand:

Your burger mixture is ready to shape:

Weigh 4 oz pieces of the mixture. If you don’t have a scale, read this post on why you should use a kitchen scale. Then, either go get a scale or divide the mixture into 16 equal pieces.

Shape the mixture into 16 patties, and place them on pans lined with waxed paper. (You will have a little left if you weighed the pieces, so you get a bonus slider!) You can freeze any you won’t cook within the next few days. Once they are frozen, transfer the patties to a freezer bag. (Add an extra five minutes to the cooking time if baking frozen patties.)

Spray a baking pan liberally with non-stick spray:

Place your burgers on the sprayed pan, then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes:

Turn the burgers over, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes:

Your burgers are ready to eat!

Enjoy! (Burger is shown on a homemade gluten free and vegan bun, with a slice of Chao cheese.)

 

How to Make Vegan Burgers

Delicious vegan burgers with a firm texture and meaty flavor.

Course Main Course
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 16 Burgers
Calories 235 kcal
Author Deborah Mesdag

Ingredients

TVP Ingredients:

  • 1 10 oz bag TVP
  • 90 g (1c) Rolled Oats
  • 480 g (2 c) Vegan "Beef" Broth
  • 45 g (3 TBS) Tamari Soy Sauce
  • 45 g (3 TBS) Water
  • 30 g (2 TBS) Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Binding Ingredients:

  • 300 g (2 c) Cooked Brown Rice
  • 120 g (1 c) Chopped Walnuts
  • 40 g (1/3 c) Gluten Free Oat Flour or All-Purpose Flour
  • 30 g (1/2 c) Nutritional Yeast Flakes
  • 30 g (1/4 c) Ground Flaxseed Meal

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 17 g (1 TBS) Tomato Paste
  • 24 g (1 1/2 TBS) Tahini
  • 24 g (1 1/2 TBS) Miso Paste
  • 10 g (2 tsp) Liquid Smoke
  • 5 g (1 tsp) Dijon Mustard
  • 5 g (1 tsp) Sriracha
  • 35 g (2 TBS) Ketchup

Vegetable Ingredients:

  • 56 g (1/4 c) Refined Coconut Oil
  • 180 g (1 1/2 c) Chopped Onion
  • 8 oz package Mushrooms
  • 25 g (about 12 cloves) Roasted Garlic
  • 12 g (1 TBS) Magical Seasoning Blend
  • 0.4 g (1/4 tsp) Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions

TVP Instructions:

  1. You will need vegan “beef” broth and vegan Worcestershire sauce. You can use store-bought veggie broth and vegan Worcestershire sauce if you don't want to make your own, but the flavor of your burgers will be different.
  2. Add the TVP and oats to a very large mixing bowl, and then stir them together.

  3. Heat the broth, Tamari, Worcestershire, and water together until boiling. Pour the hot liquid over the TVP and oat mixture. Mix together and set aside.

Binding Ingredient Instructions:

  1. Grind the walnuts until they are very finely chopped, but not so much that you get walnut butter. Add the ground walnuts, flax, nutritional yeast, and flour to a small bowl, and mix together. I use gluten free oat flour, but all-purpose flour is fine if you can have wheat.

  2. Add the brown rice, mix again, and add to the TVP mixture. Mix together and set aside.

Sauce Instructions:

  1. Add the tahini, miso, tomato paste, dijon, sriracha, and liquid smoke to a small bowl. Whisk together, add the ketchup, and whisk again. Set the sauce aside.

Vegetable Instructions:

  1. Finely chop the mushrooms, and mash the roasted garlic.

  2. Melt the refined coconut oil in a large pan. (You have to use refined coconut oil in this recipe, unless you want coconut flavored burgers.) Add the crushed red pepper and cook for a minute or two until the pepper is popping.
  3. Add the onions, mushrooms, and Magical Seasoning Blend to the pan. Cook for eight to ten minutes over medium-high heat.

  4. Add the mashed roasted garlic and the sauce, then cook for two more minutes. Add the cooked vegetables to the TVP mixture.

Mixing Instructions:

  1. Start mixing with two spoons or spatulas. Once the mixture is cool enough, mix well by hand. Your burger mixture is ready to shape.

Shaping & Baking Instructions for Burgers:

  1. Weigh 4 oz pieces of the mixture. If you don’t have a scale, read this post on why you should use a kitchen scale. Then, either go get a scale or divide the mixture into 16 equal pieces.
  2. Shape the mixture into 16 patties, and place them on pans lined with waxed paper. (You will have a little left if you weighed the pieces, so you get a bonus slider!) You can freeze any you won’t cook within the next few days. Once they are frozen, transfer the patties to a freezer bag. (Add an extra five minutes to the baking time if cooking frozen patties.)

  3. Spray a baking pan liberally with non-stick spray. Place the number of burgers you wish to cook now on the sprayed pan, then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

  4. Turn the burgers over, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until nicely browned. Your burgers are ready to eat!

4 thoughts on “How to Make Vegan Burgers”

  1. Hi. These look awesome but I can’t eat soy and have not found a TVP that has no soy.. what would you replace TVP with please. Thanks lea

    1. Hi Lea! There isn’t a substitute for the TVP in this particular recipe, as the TVP is what gives the burgers their texture. You could make a burger with black beans instead or with wheat gluten if you can have wheat. I am working on a black bean burger and will share the recipe soon!

  2. I have a question. Could I substitute well-pressed, extra firm tofu that I crumble myself, for tvp? I could even bake it in the oven if that helps.
    If I omit the liquid smoke, will that diminish the “beefy” taste, or simply remove a “grilled” taste?
    I almost never grilled my real beef burgers, I cooked them on the stove in a pan. So, I am not looking for “grilled” burgers, in terms of taste.
    Finally, will I ruin the binding and texture of these burgers if I substitute out the flax meal for something else.

    1. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any substitute for the TVP in this recipe. The liquid smoke doesn’t really make the burgers taste grilled, but it does add complexity to the overall “beef” flavor. You can leave it out if you can’t find it though. You can probably sub wheat germ for the flax meal, or you could try my simpler burger 2.0 recipe that doesn’t use any flax.

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