From day one of this blog, I had the idea to make “fuss-free” vegan recipes, but it took me awhile before I really nailed down what that meant. In the beginning, I thought the best approach was to use no specific measurements and vague instructions for my recipes… Unsurprisingly, recipe testers had varied results. Yep, not the smartest idea I’ve ever had.
Luckily, it wasn’t long before I re-thought “fuss-free” and made it all about simple ingredients, and quick and easy recipes. That doesn’t mean that my original fuss-free recipes (if you can call them that), were bad, it just means there was a dreadful lack of guidance and poor food photography to boot.
So every now and then I like to go back in time and revise one of the original fuss-free recipes. I’ve done it before with my 6 Ingredient Pulled Jackfruit, and Lentil Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce, and today I am doing it with these Vegan Beet Burgers.
Because omnomnom!! My first version for vegan beet burgers required too many ingredients, a couple of flavours were competing, and of course, some measurements would be helpful. I’ve taken it from 14 ingredients to just 10, made it simpler and quicker, and got those flavour notes on point.
The intense colour of these burgers is so neat, but what’s really rocking my socks is how the beets provide this deep rich earthiness to the burgers. So much flavour depth. The oats and lentils make a great base, and the sneaky trick is adding a bit of peanut butter which adds some richness and good fat balancing everything out perfectly.
When you make these, the dough is really sticky, but once cooked, they firm up and have a nice texture bite (no mushy burger here)!
To make Vegan Beet Burgers: peel the beets. I have a grater attachment for my Breville food processor so I used it to grate the beets directly into the processor. If you don’t have that, just grate beets with the grater you have.
Then just add the beets, along with all of the remaining ingredients to the food processor.
Pulse, stopping to scrape the sides, until the mixture comes together.
Form into 4 patties. The patty mixture will be very sticky, so wet your hands in between forming each patty, to help stop the sticking.
Then you can either fry or bake the burgers, until brown on the outside and tender on the inside.
Leftover burgers get quite firm in the fridge overnight, so I prefer mine freshly made. However, if you like a nice firm bite, you might enjoy them even more!
Quick and easy recipe for a hearty veggie burger with a perfect bite (not mushy).
- 2 cups grated raw peeled beets (about 2 medium beets)
- 3/4 cup large flake rolled oats
- 1/2 cup cooked lentils (I used canned)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 yellow onion , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
If you have a grater attachment for your food processor you can use it to grate the beets directly into the processor. If not grate beets with the grater you have, then add the beets, along with all of the remaining ingredients to the food processor. Pulse, stopping to scrape the sides, until the mixture comes together.
Form into 4 patties. The patty mixture will be very sticky, so wet your hands in between forming each patty, to help stop the sticking.
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the patties. Cooking them low and slow is the key for good texture. Cook about 3 to 5 minutes per side, until they are nicely browned on both sides and hold together well. Serve hot on a bun with your favourite burger toppings.
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
Lay the patties out in a single layer with room around them for air to circulate. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, flipping halfway through until firmed up and lightly brown on both sides. Serve hot on a bun with your favourite burger toppings.
Leftover burgers get quite firm in the fridge overnight, so I prefer mine freshly made. However, if you like a nice firm bite, you might enjoy them even more!
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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Oh. My. Gosh. These were amaaaaazing. I made a few changes, subbing walnuts and chia seeds instead of flour. I also used cooked beets from Trader Joes, the kind that are in a plastic vacuum sealed package in the cooler. I didn’t really measure the oats, I just made the mixture without oats and then added oats until the mixture felt right. They had a great texture, held together well, and got a thumbs up from my non vegan husband.
I am so impressed!
Yay!! So happy to hear that, Michelle. Very glad you both enjoyed them 🙂
HI, I have previously cooked beets. Could I use them in this recipe or do they have to be raw?
I’ve never tried the burgers with previously cooked beets, but my guess is it might make them a bit mushy.
Can white beans be substituted for lentils, or would they be too soft? Thanks!
I think that should work just fine. Enjoy!
These were absolutely amazing. I seriously couldn’t believe how much I liked them. I at this on a toasted whole wheat English muffin. I know this is a vegan recipe, but for those who are not vegan, I found a little Sriracha mayo went well on it and have a feeling some nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a squeeze of lime might go well too! Thanks again. So good!
So happy you enjoyed the burgers so much, Dan! Just in case you were interested there are many vegan mayonnaises available such as Vegenaise, Hellmann’s vegan, or Earth Balance mayo, and I even have my own recipe in my cookbook. To make Sriracha mayo you could just mix Sriracha with vegan mayo to taste. 🙂
These burgers were fantastic. I found I had to cook them longer to get them drier. I was wondering if you can make them a day ahead then, cook in the oven and then just heat up on the grill for a char flavor. Have you had any experience freezing these after cooked so you could heat them up later. This really is the first veggie burger that has not crumbled. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy you loved them, Richard! Low and slow is the way to go 😉 From my experience, I don’t love the texture of them when they are left for a day, as they tend to get a bit chewy and bready. However, maybe you will like them like that. If you wanted to prepare them ahead of time, I would form them, and drop them onto parchment paper, and pop in the fridge uncooked, or maybe even the freezer (I haven’t tried that). Then just heat up the grill or frying pan when hunger strikes. Hope that helps a little. Enjoy!
A little update, a reader said on my facebook page: “We just cook them a bit less than we do when we eat them and let them cool. Wrap them in cling wrap and then into a freezer bag (we get the really big ones and put them in that) and freeze them. Works like a charm”. She then just reheats them in a pan. 🙂
Hi
I made this burger and it came out excellent, My husband loved it and wanted more so he bought more beetroots. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Geetha.
Woohoo! So happy to hear that you and your husband loved it so much 🙂
These look great. What sort of lentils did you use?
I used pre-cooked canned brown lentils, but any cooked lentil will work 🙂
Can you make a suggestion for an oats substitution? We’re gluten free with oats sensitivity.
You could try cooked brown rice, I’m pretty sure that should work well. Enjoy!
I attempted to make this recipe tonight and failed miserably:( I must have added way too much beets because it was a soupy mess. I tried to double the recipe- still soupy… At that point, I gave up. I guess, I’m not familiar with what a medium size beet is. Oops. Next time I’ll slowly add the beets to make sure I have the correct texture.
Oh no! so sorry to hear that. I will test these again pronto and measure the grated beets in cups to help you out, but I don’t think it would affect the burgers too much if there was a little more or a little less beets. The beets are grated raw on the large grate hole so they are quite dry actually and not add too much moisture until cooked in the burger later… I will re-test and let you know.
I retested this recipe, and my 2 medium beets made 2 cups grated or 230 grams. With those measurements they worked out perfectly! If you try them again, make sure to pulse the burger mixture only a couple of times, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. You still want the burgers to have a bit of texture. Hope that helps!
Did you maybe use canned or jarred beets instead of fresh? I’m thinking about trying these soon. I’ll use fresh, raw beets and let you know how it goes!
Hey Sam, do you think these would hold up on the grill?
They are very sticky before they are cooked, so I think if you oil your grill well, and keep the heat fairly low that they would probably work! Let us know if you give it a try and how it goes 🙂