These homemade vegan burgers are scrumptious, satisfying, and easy to make. A recipe that both vegans and omnivores will love!
Over the years I’ve developed many recipes for hearty vegan burgers. Store-bought veggie burgers have improved in taste and texture, but for me they still never compare to homemade.
Homemade always better, right? Plus, you can really tweak seasonings like dried herbs and spices, and also salt – whereas you “get what you get” with commercial burgers.
It’s funny, though, because I think vegan burgers are still perceived as being bland or not very satisfying.
It feels like a long time ago since I wrote LTEV, but must reference it in this post because I have a full chapter on hearty vegan burgers in that cookbook. I wanted to show people that homemade burgers are far better than storebought, more satisfying, and can hold their own on a burger bun!
When I wrote Let Them Eat Vegan, our girls were younger and a little fussy about veggie burgers. Store-bought burgers were far too spicy for them, and if they saw pieces of onion, mushrooms, or bell peppers in a patty they would try and pick them out. Plus, many burgers didn’t hold up well on a burger bun.
So, I set out to create a collection of hearty vegan burgers that kids and adults would both enjoy – and that would be easy to make.
These Nutty Veggie Burgers are one of our favorites. They are dense and toothsome, and very satisfying. Since they have a base of nuts, along with vegetables and oats, they are one of the more filling vegan burgers.
These Nutty Veggie Burgers also hold up well on a bun, and they are EASY! So easy that there is no sauteing of onions or other ingredients before working the mixture together. Instead, all the ingredients go straight into the food processor. The machine does all the work, apart from shaping the patties!
To cook, you can bake or pan-fry (a non=stick works best). Then, serve up on a bun (or in a pita or green wrap). If you have Let them Eat Vegan, be sure to try the Almonnaise and Sunshine Fries to pair with these burgers. Quite a delicious way to round out these hearty vegan burgers!
Hope you really enjoy these… more soon! x Dreena
Nutty Veggie Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw almonds
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- ½ cup raw pecans or more walnuts
- 1 small clove garlic roughly chopped/sliced
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp tamari SOY-FREE: use coconut aminos
- 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning or 1/8 tsp each of dried thyme and ground sage
- ½ cup finely grated carrot packed
- ½ cup finely grated zucchini packed
- ½ – 1 cup rolled oats see note
Instructions
- n a food processor, add almonds, walnuts, pecans, garlic and salt. Puree until the nuts are finely ground. Then add ketchup, nutritional yeast, tamari, poultry seasoning (or thyme/sage), carrot and zucchini, and pulse through until the mixture becomes dense and is starting to hold together, and then pulse in oats. Remove blade, and shape into patties. To cook, you can either bake or pan-fry. To bake, place shaped patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 9-10 minutes on each side. I prefer these burgers pan-fried. To do so, use a good non-stick skillet. Place patties on skillet over medium heat. Cook patties, about 5-7 minutes on first side, and then another 3-5 minutes on second side until golden brown. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes and fixings of choice.
Notes
- Using ½ cup of oats will firm the patties up nicely enough, and you can use up to 1 full cup of oats for even firmer patties.
- If you’d like to make this into a loaf, it works pretty well. Press into a lightly oiled and lined (with a strip of parchment, for easy removal) loaf pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, uncovering for the last 5-10 minutes just to lightly brown the top. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, and then use the parchment to lift the loaf out of the pan to slice.
image credit: Hannah Kaminsky
Alisha says
Could I sub cashews for the walnuts in this recipe?
Dreena Burton says
Hi Alisha, you can, the flavor will be slightly different but should work just fine!
Lou says
Made these last night for the family and everyone loved them, I didn’t have nutritional yeast so added a little Vegemite as internet said it would be a good substitute and it worked great. Could these be frozen? If so would I freeze them uncooked?
Hubby has taken leftovers for work in a sandwich with salad and coleslaw. Thanks for a great recipe.
Dreena Burton says
Thanks Lou! Really happy to hear you’re enjoying them – love the idea of adding a bit of vegemite!
Yes, you can freeze them. Typically I don’t cook patties first, rather shape and place in an airtight container with strips of parchment between the patties.
Catherine says
Please tell me what ‘grated carrot packed’ is? It isn’t a familiar term in the UK – what and why ‘packed’?
Dreena Burton says
Hi Catherine, for sure, it just means the measure is a little more full, the carrot is lightly packed into the cup. That help?
Marianne says
Thanks Dreena. I get it now. The penny didn’t drop because over here we measure ingredients by weight. I look forward to trying the recipe.
Anna says
These burgers are amazing. Even the meat eaters in my family have left the beef burgers for these beautiful Nut burgers.
Dreena says
Amazing to read that, thank you Anna!
June Siegel says
This looks fantastic. I just made your artichoke sunflower burgers for the hundredth time since you posted it 6 years ago. It’s even better the next day, heated up. I was thinking it would make an amazing finger food for appetizers. Now onto trying this one. Thank you.
Dreena says
How wonderful! Thank you June – I’m very late to see your message, but thank you for the feedback and wishing you a happy 2021!
JoAnn says
Great recipe! It’s now our family fave! Thank you for sharing
Dreena says
Thanks JoAnn 🙂
Colleen says
Thank you for sharing this recipe, Dreena! They were very tasty and great broken up over a salad. I did find them to be a bit dry even though I added an extra tablespoon of tomato paste and a few tablespoons of water, along with chopped red onion, so I think I will use gram weight instead of trying to guesstimate cups for the nuts. I think that was probably my issue. Thanks again for sharing your talent! Your CREAMY VEGAN ARTICHOKE SPINACH DIP (WITHOUT THE JUNK!) is my absolute favorite!
Dreena says
Hi Colleen, thanks for the note – my reply is late. Sometimes you need to puree longer, longer to release the oils from the nuts. But yes, extra bit of tomato paste or ketchup does the trick! And thanks re the dip – it’s def a fave for us too. 🙂
Jane says
We just ate these for dinner and they were delicious thank you. I added grated red onion and mustard (and some left over cooked chick peas).
Great texture and will add this recipe to my vegan collection.
Dreena says
Oh fabulous! So pleased to know you loved them. Hope you make them again and again… thanks Jane!
Myr says
This looks great and I’d like to try it.
I can’t eat tomato though – any suggestions for substitutions for paste/ketchup?
Thanks!
Dreena says
Thanks Myr. You can omit the ketchup/tomato paste, it’s just 1 tbsp. If you have a product that you typically use (like a tomato-free BBQ sauce) you could add a tbsp of that. Enjoy!
Myr says
Thanks! Making this today!
Myr says
This was delicious! A bit dry without the tomato but great flavor, and I think a bit of oil would fix the dry. The kids loved it too! Thanks!
Myr says
Just coming back to say I’ve now made this 5 or 6 times and it is SO good and SO easy and everyone in my family likes it. My husband bought Beyond Meat burgers for our barbecue and I made your recipe, and yours were by far the fave. Thanks again!
Dreena says
Wonderful! Thanks so much Myr.
Marie says
Dreena!! OMG! These burgers are sooo amazing! My whole family was beyond impressed, including me! I am throwing out all my other vegan burger recipes, this one is easy, quick and delicious! You should box and sell these, I wish I had time and passion for this or I would 🙂
Anyone sitting on the fence about trying this recipe, get off the fence and get in your kitchen! They come together so nicely, the flavour is perfect. I added a bit of bbq sauce on both sides at the end of frying them. This is our all new fav burger. Thank you for sharing your recipes so freely! xoxo
Dreena says
Thank you Marie! You made my day with this feedback, and I love knowing it’s a recipe you’ll return to again and again. Blessings to you and your family.
Sandra says
How many burgers does it make? What size are they e.g. 1/2 cup or 1 cup?
Dreena says
Hi Sandra, this makes 5-6 patties, I’d say about 3/4 cup.
Yvette Ratson says
I am allergic to walnuts and pecans, they blister my mouth, so very uncomfortable any suggestions for substitutions this looks like a great recipe to try
Dreena says
Hi Yvette, you can definitely use a substitute for the pecans/walnuts. I cannot eat too many walnuts myself, and have a similar reaction (though not as severe). I’d go with a combo of pistachios and pumpkin seeds, I think that would taste great. You can also use just pumpkin seeds, but I’d use a little less since they aren’t nearly as large. Hope that helps!
Bridget says
Dreena! I made these burgers for my Meat-loving dad yesterday – SCORE!!! I also made the spinach & artichoke dip (I soaked the cashews – oops!) And used canned artichokes so it was a bit thinner mayber but delicious!!!
Thank you!!!
Bridget
lizzy22 says
these burgers are phenomenal!
Jacque says
I have made these before and they are wonderful! I was hoping to make them tonight but I don’t have zucchini, any suggestions?
Dreena says
Glad you’ve been enjoying them! You can sub more carrot, or a little red pepper, or just omit and reduce the oats, maybe by about 3-4 tbsp 🙂
Jodie Newton-Drouin says
I’m going to make this tomorrow, but in a steak form. I stayed for 2wks in a small village in Wales a number of years ago and found this small stable that was converted into a pub. The owner made vegetarian nut steaks and they had a dollop of sour cream on top. They were amazing!!! I’m now vegan and I’ve been wanting those steaks and could never find anything close to them…and I think this might just be the closest thing to it!!!!! (I tried getting the recipe for the guy but he wouldnt budge 🙁 I also found a vegan sour cream recipe to use with this. Oh I can’t wait! Thank you!
Karin says
Hi Dreena, I made these last night for dinner, and my husband, I, and two teenage boys who love meat loved the taste! I was just packing one for my lunch today and broke off a piece and it really tasted like a hamburger. The only question I have is how to make them more moist. They were a big crumbly. I used only 1/2 cup of oatmeal, but my processor had trouble incorporating even that because it was already a bit dry, and they crumbled a bit in the pan. Would more ketchup do the trick?
Deborah Carlson says
OMG!! My daughter and I made these for my husband for Father’s Day today and these are the absolutely BEST veggie burgers that we have tried so far. This will be a weekly or every other week staple for sure! Thank you so much for sharing. You are amazing!
veganlinda says
Just made these this week. LOVE THEM! Great post.
Dreena says
hurray!!! Thanks Linda!
Emily Cole says
This looks yummy, and I am tempted to try it with my family this weekend. I wonder though, how would it hold up on a grill? I’m really looking for a burger patty I can make ahead (maybe freeze?) and take with me to my parent’s lake house to grill when they’re grilling chicken or burgers so I won’t be tempted to just eat one of theirs. Any Suggestions?
Dreena says
Emily, they should be fine on the grill. I would make sure there is either (2) a good oiling on the grill plates to keep the patties from sticking, or (2) you use a grill pan to put the burger on. They are a good, firm, burger so should hold up well – and taste far better than chicken or burgers (and you’ll feel better for it)!
Eva says
I made the burgers this weekend – they do hold up and my husband really enjoyed them. I made the almonaise too – that certainly helped 🙂 I added a little garlic to make it more like a garlic aioli. Later I made roasted taro wedges (really good stuff) and used the almonaise base to make a dip (added in lime juice and little chipotle paste). Anyways, I am on my way to try out all the burger recipes 🙂 BTW – I love the Nicoise Salad!
Arlette says
Hi Dreena, one of my husbands faves is your Spicoli burger. Really love your new cooking book; very inspiring, thank you for all the work, love and effort!
Janae @ Bring-Joy says
Dreena, good luck at the Vegetarian Summerfest. I would love to go, if I could! Hope you enjoy some time away, look forward to hearing about your adventures when you get back into posting again.
(that burger looks soo good–I’m definitely a more hearty-type myself!)
Sarah says
Hi Dreena,
I actually have a question about your granola recipes… I have trouble getting brown rice syrup and there have also been some scares about it recently (contains arsenic)… I was wondering what I could replace it with. Could I use maple syrup or should I use something more neutral such as agave? Any other suggestions? I don’t want to change the taste to much or the perfect texture of your granola…
Dreena says
Hi Sarah, you can use barley malt as an alternative (though it’s not gluten-free if that’s an issue). Here’s a link about br rice syrup and the arsenic issue, I think there has been a lot of scare reports circulating. This might help, and if not I’d opt for barley malt as it has the same texture as br rice syrup – agave is much thinner (and also sweeter). 🙂
http://www.christinacooks.com/_blog/Living_the_WELL_Life/post/Brown_Rice_Syrup_and_ArsenicThe_Truth_I_Discovered_-_by_Christina_Pirello/
meg says
I use hight quality grade A maple syrup to make granola. It’s has a very mild maple flavor. You wouldn’t be able to tell it was used in the recipe. Give it a try and see what you think…
Gail says
I live in your ‘hood & had pretty much the same experience as you & your hubby at that raw restaurant, so got a chuckle over your comments. I much prefer Gorilla Foods downtown.
Love your new cookbook; haven’t made that many recipes as yet, but everything I’ve tried so far has been great………..actually I have most of your books!
Happy Dad’s Day to you & your family……
Molly says
Hi Dreena,
I have all your cookbooks and read your blog frequently but never post. Tonight I made dinner for my dad and husband for father’s day. It was an entirely “Dreena” dinner–I made sun-dried tomato pesto pasta, salad with “honey” mustard dressing and polenta croutons, and steamed broccoli. It was yummy!
My very favorite pesto recipe is the Brazil Nut Pesto from your newest book. That is just a gorgeous-tasting dish!
Keep up the awesome work!
By the way, do you know of any vegetarian or vegan baby food cookbooks? I have an 8 month old and don’t know what to make him. It’s intimidated me so much so far that I’ve actually been buying earth’s best jarred baby food so far…
Thanks!
Molly
Dreena says
Hi Molly! Well I’m glad you decided to comment today. 🙂 How fabulous to know you are enjoying my books and so many recipes!! I love that Brazil Nut Pesto too, waiting for basil season… WAITING! 😉 Do you have my cookbook “Vive le Vegan”? It has an entire section on feeding babies and toddlers. I think it will give you a lot of information since he is still young and you are in that first stage of food introduction. It’s at the back of the book. Also, I do reference feeding babies in LTEV – to a lesser degree, but you will find some tips in there. There are a few vegetarian baby books on the market, but not sure if there’s been anything new in recent years. Making your own baby food is not hard, and is FAR cheaper (and tastes/smells better – before and, er, after). You can use a food processor or high-powered blender and make it in large batches. Def go to the section in Vive for ideas at your boy’s stage – and beyond. You’ll get the hang of it quickly… think baked sweet potatoes blended with zucchini, and later potatoes and avocadoes mixed with beans or quinoa… it just takes an hour twice a week to make a couple of batches for fridge/freezer. Hope that helps!
Molly says
Thank you Dreena! I do have Vive Le Vegan, and LTEV too–all of them, actually. I really appreciate that whole section on feeding babies and toddlers in Vive! I think I’m just over-thinking the situation. I just need to jump in and just start making stuff for him and it will become less intimidating for me…
Daisy says
What if your food processor died recently and you have a non-high-speed blender? My husband’s ready to start making the switch (I never thought it would happen!) and burgers are always a big deal, but just wondering how the recipe might fare with the resources I have at the moment!
Dreena says
Daisy, I wouldn’t do it in a blender, just won’t work through the nuts well w/o any liquid. Do you have a mini-processor or anything else to first grind the nuts? Trying to think of options here, the main thing is getting the nuts processed down… I would get a food processor in your hands if I could!!! I wouldn’t want to be w/o mine!! 🙂
Daisy says
Thanks, Dreena! Yeah, I need to replace the food processor; just not sure when nor which one I want. I think I only had it 2 years, so I’m not impressed that it died already. (It literally BROKE, plastic breaking, while I was using it.)
Dreena says
Oh, that’s WRONG!! That irritates me with appliances, they should have a life of 10 years I think. I had an electric kettle that lasted only 1 1/2 yrs, I was so ticked!! Well, if you’re going to make the leap for a new one, I’d suggest at least a 12-cup processor (if you didn’t have one before) – it will give you room for double-batching recipes, etc. Here are some on amazon, just fyi: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=12-cup+food+processor
good luck!
Mauree says
Dreena do you soak the nuts first?
Dreena says
Hi Mauree, nope, just add them to the processor and go! 🙂
Ricki says
That description sounds just like my HH!! Too funny. But those burgers. . . well, those just sound spectacular. 😀 Hope you have a great Father’s Day. And thanks for linking up to Wellness Weekend this week! 😀
Dreena says
Rebekah, what a lovely sentiment for your husband and you dad. Enjoy your Mexican meal together as an extended family – wonderful! 🙂
The Lovely Laura says
Thank you soooo much for making a bean free soy free option!!! We will try this tomorrow! Yay!!!
Dreena says
My pleasure, Laura – I rarely think of beans as an allergy issue, so I’m glad these are suitable for you!
Rebecca W. says
My husband is the same way! Sometimes when we are tryig out a new restaurant, after the meal he will say, “I could’ve eaten five of these.” I’m glad that there are others out there with his appetite. 😉 He’s not a father (unless the dogs count), but I will make these for him on Father’s Day! Thank you for the great recipe, Dreena! I can’t wait to pick up your new book.
Dreena says
And I’m glad I’m not alone on that too Rebecca – hubby is rarely pleased at a restaurant (he’s probably got it too good at home). 😉
Rebekah says
I love your nutty veggie burgers!!
I am lucky to have a husband who is an amazing father to our three boys, plus a dad who was so kind, patient, and involved in everything as I grew up, and is equally loving to his grandchildren now! So for father’s day we are all meeting up at a local Mexican restaurant that makes the most amazing portobello mushroom fajitas I’ve ever tasted. They are so hearty and delicious, even the omnivores at the table often order them!
Hope your family has a wonderful father’s day!