Beet, Tempeh & Chickpea Burger - Way Beyond The Way Beyond 'Meat' Burger

I do love it that veggie burgers have become so mainstream, you know the ones I am talking about. They taste like meat, they look like meat, they have marbling and they bleed. They claim to do everything but moo…I have tried them and they do kind of taste like meat, especially when eaten in a bun and topped with ketchup.

I am sure that these new ‘meatless’ burgers are marketed towards meat eaters who want to eat less meat, nothing wrong with that. But I am not looking for something that mimics meat in my plant-based burger. So the question for me is do you want a high tech burger made in a lab? Or you can try this plant-based version made in your own kitchen, you decide.

You can find more veggie burger recipes here.
For some good advice on How To Shop for Veggie Burgers check out this post on Nutrilicious.

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Beet, Tempeh and Chickpea Burger, Way Beyond the Way Beyond ‘Meat ‘ Burger
These ‘Beyond Meat” Burgers are adapted from The Upbeat Kitchen
This recipe makes 8 burgers

Ingredients

1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
1/2 cup walnut halves
8 oz tempeh, cubed
1 1/2 1 14-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 medium beet, finely chopped
3 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Start by making the flax egg by mixing together the flax and water in a small dish and set aside to thicken, this should take about 10 minutes.
3. Place the walnuts in a food processor and process until ground into a meal. Empty walnuts into a large mixing bowl.
4. Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
5. Place the steamed tempeh and chickpeas in the food processor and pulse until crumbly. Do not over-process: you want the burgers to have some texture. Add the tempeh and chickpeas to the bowl with the walnuts. Add in the flax egg, onion, and garlic.
6. Place the chopped beet, barbecue sauce, Dijon mustard, tamari or soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce in the food processor. Process until just about smooth. Add to the other ingredients in the bowl, along with the cumin, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper Process again until combined.
7. Using a 1/2-cup measuring cup, divide the mixture into equal patties.
8. In a medium sized pan and a few tablespoons of oil, when the oil is hot add a few burgers at a time and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Then place burgers on the baking sheet and place in the over and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until crispy around the edges.
9. Serve on buns with your favourite toppings.

For serving:
Vegan cheese of choice
Pickles
Sliced tomato
Avocado
Lettuce
Mustard
Barbecue sauce

Cooks Notes
Burgers can be frozen.

The Better Bean Burger

Many of my best cooking ideas come when I am walking along the Beltline Trail. I first started walking/jogging along the Beltline with my father in the 1980's, in those days you could still see the wooden tracks of the rail road. Later I walked with my children in strollers, tricycles and two-wheelers and now I walk with Gordy, friends or alone.  The tracks are gone, my kids grown and my father passed, but walking along the trail I sometimes think I can still feel the outline of the tracks, hear the train whistle or see my father with his long legs always walking two steps ahead.

These burgers are perfect in a bun or on their own.  I have been using parsnip in lots of recipes lately, in muffins, loaves or roasted in the oven, I can't seem to get enough of this root vegetable and find that I am shredding it raw into salads and adding it in soups.  Where does your cooking inspiration come from?

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Kidney Bean and Oat Vegan Burgers

This recipe makes 10 mini burgers.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp tamari (can use soy sauce instead, but tamari is usually low sodium)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1½ cups quick-cooking oats (I had regular rolled oats which I ran in the food processor for a minute)
• 1 - 19 ounce tin of kidney beans
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1½ tsp chili powder
• 1 cup carrot, grated
• 1 cup parsnip, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• coconut or olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse beans well and let drain.
3.  Sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
4. Add the carrot, all the spices and cook a couple minutes or until carrot is tender. Turn off the heat and set aside.
5. Mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the carrot mixture, mustard, ketchup, tamari and oats.
6. Mix well and then shape the mixture into patties. I like to make mine mini but you can make them any size you like.
7. Heat the same pan you used to sauté the onions and add a bit of oil.
8. Cook patties over medium heat for four to five minutes on each side, or until golden brown. 
9. I like to finish my burgers off in the oven for about five minutes per side to make them crispy on the outside.
10. Serve with a bun and all the toppings or on top of your favourite greens.

Quinoa and Sweet potato veggie burger

Next time I will try these grilled on the Weber - Gordy.

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Dinner at my maternal grandmother Jenny's, (we called her 'Nanny') always included a platter of well cooked burgers. As soon as you stepped off the elevator (The Marquesa Apartments on Bathurst Street) you could smell onions frying.  Her burgers were well seasoned with salt,  pepper, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, and eggs and always cooked in an electric frying pan drowned in shmaltz (chicken fat) and mound of fried onions. She made enough burgers for a small army, (my mother would say) and we each had to eat at least two, my father was expected to eat three, (out of sight he called them hockey pucks).  When we left we took home leftovers and the scent of the frying onions clinging to our clothes.  I never forgot those burgers.

I think my Nanny would like these veggie burgers, mine were cooked on a cast iron skillet.

This recipe makes 6 burgers that your Granny would love.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced, (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup uncooked red or white quinoa
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 small zucchini, grated (1 cup)
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 6 Tbs. hemp harts or flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:

1.  Bring water, sweet potato, and quinoa to a boil in saucepan over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked. Transfer to bowl to cool.
2.  Stir chickpeas, grated zucchini, seeds, hemp hearts or flaxseeds, parsley salt, pepper, chili powder, and thyme into the quinoa mixture.
3. Mix well, mashing the chickpeas and sweet potato but leaving some chunks. I used my potato masher.
4. Shape mixture into patties.
5.  Preheat oven to 400°F.
6.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook patties about 3 minutes per side, or until lightly golden brown. Remove from heat, and place on baking sheet. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until crispy.
8. Serve with your favourite toppings.

BEET AND CARROT VEGGIE BURGERS

Why are beets so amazing? They are jam packed with potassium and antioxidants, low in calories, and purple too. Beets make these burgers juicy and sweet and are full of good healthy stuff like veggies, beans, fresh herbs, oats and flax.  These burgers may be gluten free, dairy free and egg free but  filled with so much goodness that I can promise you that this tasty little burger is just that – amazing.

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This recipe makes 8 burgers.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup cooked black beans, (if using canned drain well)
• 2 cups shredded beets
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed*** + 4 tbsp water
• Olive oil or coconut oil for sautéing

Toppings:
lettuce
mango
avocado
tomatoes
onions
sprouts

Directions:

1. Soak the 1 tbsp ground flaxseed in 4 tbsp water for 15 minutes.
2. Clean beets and carrots and shred with the shredder attachment of your food processor, then set aside.
3. Change the attachment to a metal blade and add the beans, carrots and beets. Pulse about 10 to 15 times until the mixture blends together making sure not to over process, the beans should still have some texture.
4. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients.
5.  Using your hands mix very well. Everything should be well incorporated.
6. Place the mixture in the fridge for a half hour to chill.
7. Form patties, shape with your hands into burgers.
8. Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
9. Pour a thin layer of oil into the pan and cook patties for about 5 minutes on each side.  Depending on the size of you pan you should cook 3 or 4 burgers at a time.
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place burgers on parchment lined cookie sheet.  You can prepare ahead at this point and either keep in the fridge until ready to bake in the oven or put them directly into a preheated oven.
11.  Cook the burgers in the oven for 30 minutes until heated through. Check the burgers after 15 minutes and flip the burgers, this will make them crispy on both sides.
12. Serve with your favourite toppings.

Cooks Note:

•  I like to serve this burger with some honey mustard that I make by adding some honey to dijon mustard, add a pinch of cayenne pepper and stir well.  Serve as a dipping sauce or on the side.

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Nutritional information for this recipe can be found at Meal Garden.

MIXED BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS WITH CARROTS AND PARSNIP

Everyone has that familiar tin of mixed beans in the cupboard that stare you in the face every time you open the door.  What to do with them…?  No mixed bean salad here, just a delicious recipe for a veggie burger. No promises that everyone in your household are going to enjoy these or even taste one (you know who I am talking about…Gordy) but Yale and I had them for dinner last night with purple potatoes and a dollop of honey mustard that I made by mixing dijon, some buckwheat honey and a dash of cayenne pepper and all of a sudden your can of mixed beans is not ordinary any more.

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This recipe makes 8 patties.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 -19 ounce tin of mixed beans
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 medium parsnip, grated
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• Coconut oil or olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse beans well in colander under cold running water.
3. Heat a skillet and saute the onion and garlic until translucent.
4. Add the carrot, parsnip, chili powder, cumin, salt and cook until the carrot and parsnip is tender. Turn off the heat and set aside.
5. Mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the carrot and parsnip mixture, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce and oats.
6. Mix well and then shape the mixture into eight patties.
7. Place patties in the fridge for 15 minutes so they become firm.
8. Heat a nonstick  skillet and coat with coconut oil.
9. Cook patties over medium heat for four to five minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
10. Place patties on parchment lined cookie sheet, (You can prepare up to this point in advance).
11.  Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until hot.
12. Serve with your favourite toppings.

These veggie burgers freeze well.

MINI BLACK BEAN BURGERS

I have made vegetarian burgers before but never thought to make them mini and since Gordy loves anythingburger I thought I could pass these mini burger off without questions.  Boy was I wrong.  Before he even tasted one the competition was on. Gordy made his with wagu beef, American cheese, ketchup and pickles. Mine are made with black beans, oatmeal, organic ketchup and a dollop of dijon. Surprise, surprise, Gordy told me he really liked the black bean burgers, but ate all the the wagu burgers! I tried.

Mini anything is fun! You just need to know when to stop eating them!

My mini black bean burgers.

 This is Gordy’s mini made with wagu beef.

Ingredients:

This recipe make about 12 mini burgers.

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 10 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 -1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon organic ketchup
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 mini hamburger buns (optional)
• 8 lettuce leaves (optional)

Directions:

• In a large saute pan and a bit of oil and saute onions in oil for 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the carrot, chili powder and cumin; cook 2 minutes longer or until carrot is tender. Remove from the heat; set aside.
• In a food processor add the  black beans, oats, mustard, soy sauce, ketchup, pepper and carrot mixture; process until all ingredients are well blended.
• Shape into mini patties.
• Add a bit of oil to your saute pan and add patties and cook of each side until lightly browned.
• Then place on cookies sheet and heat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are slightly crispy on the outside and soft in the inside.
•  Serve on buns with lettuce and dijon mustard or whatever topping you enjoy.

MILLET BURGERS

After the long weekend of eating BBQ it is time to shake things up with some veggie burgers!

I think that homemade veggie burgers are always better than store-bought and these are easy to make, just remember that for this recipe you need to soak the millet overnight.

Oh, and in case you were just wondering Gordy did not eat these burgers, he had shrimp.

This recipe was adapted from my new book that Yale gave me  for Mother’s Day, The Beauty Detox Solution.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ cup dry millet
• ¼ cup water
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 large onion, finely minced
• 3 cups swiss chard, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, finely minced
• 2 small carrots, minced
• sea salt
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup amaranth flour
• 1 Tbsp oil, for pan cooking ( I like coconut or grapeseed oil)

Directions:

1. Rinse and soak the millet in water overnight before preparing the burgers.
2. When you are ready to make the burgers add the millet to boiling water, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the millet is soft.
3. When millet is ready let cool.
4. Sauté the garlic and onion in 1 tbsp of oil until the onions are translucent.
5. Add the swiss chard, celery, and carrots and cook for a few minutes, then mix in the sea salt and additional seasonings.
6. Add the cooked millet and stir well.
7. Take pan off the heat and add the amaranth flour to the mixture.
8. Mix well.
9. When the mixture has cooled form into small round burgers.
10. When ready to eat heat a large pan and add oil.
11. Cook each burger on both side until golden brown.

Good with dijon mustard.

BLACK BEAN AND QUINOA BURGERS

I am married to a burger lover  – I did try to pass these off one night for dinner but I have to be honest they did not go over well , but what can I say I Ioved these burgers and will be making them again.

Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 1/2 cup of corn meal (I sometimes use quick cooking oats)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• dash of hot sauce
• Dash of salt

Directions:
1. In a small sauce pan, toast the quinoa in olive oil for a few minutes. Add a cup of water and a pinch of salt, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes).

2. Put the black beans, cooked quinoa, corn meal or oats, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, tomato paste and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix everything together with your hands until it’s evenly mixed. 

3.Divide the burger mixture into four equal pieces. Use your hands to form the burgers.

4. Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Pour some olive oil into the pan. Cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side, until they are a deep brown.