5 Veggie Burgers to Love

Between outbreaks of sickening beef, the staggering environmental impact of meat production, the link between red meat and cancer, the cruelty inherent in factory farming, and a general love of animals–I’ll be spending another July 4th skipping the hamburgers. I won’t miss a messy, meaty burger–but there is the BBQ ritual and all the fixings that make having some great meatless facsimiles kind of nice.

I have never been a fan of any supermarket veggie burgers out there–they all seem a bit anemic and lacking in personality to me (although if you have a favorite brand, tell us in the comments–I’ve love for someone to change my mind!). Making them at home is a great and surprisingly simple option, and this way you can skip the methylcellulose, disodium inosinate, and other mysterious ingredients that may be lurking in your commercial veggie burgers (see What’s Inside Your Veggie Burger). Here are my five favorites:

Millet Burger with Chive Pesto
Rejuvenate Your Body blogger Delia Quigley posted this recipe last summer–the use of millet makes it a great gluten-free options, and the mashed cauliflower makes it super awesome. You can read the whole post and get the chive pesto recipe here: Millet Burger with Chive Pesto.

1 cup millet, washed and soaked 8-12 hours, drained
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 tbs. butter or sesame butter
1 egg (optional)
sesame seeds

1. In a medium saucepan combine the millet, water, salt, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 30 minutes.
2. When done add the butter, stirring well.
At this point you can mash the millet with a potato masher and serve as a side dish.
3. Otherwise, allow to cool, then break and egg into the mixture and mix it into the millet thoroughly.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
5. Spray a baking pan with oil and place each burger on the pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
6. When done remove from oven and divide onto individual serving plates. Top with pesto and serve.

1 of 5

Read more: All recipes, Diet & Nutrition, Entrees, Food, Vegan, veggie burger

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Melinda offline K.

3:30AM PST on Nov 19, 2011

some great ideas here, thanks, very different to the usual ones.

send a green star

Chris J.

5:18AM PST on Nov 18, 2011

Wonderful!!! Thank you!

Jennifer M.

8:30PM PST on Nov 17, 2011

Yum-I must make these! Thank you for sharing.

Diane S.

3:48PM PDT on Sep 21, 2011

Lovely collection of vegie burger recipes !

Therese J.

12:04PM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

Wow, does this sound delicious! I'm going to try these soon.
Thanks!

Kathy K.

10:47AM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

Wow, yum.

D.J. M.

I'll definitely try the black bean & sweet potato burger. Thanks!

Marc B.

12:21AM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

I will try this - hope the kids will like it.

Robin R.

1:04PM PDT on Jun 10, 2011

I think it's too bad that so many recipes have bread as an ingredient, when you eat a veggie burger on more bread. I like the sounds of boththe lentil burger and the sweet potato one - thanks! I'm looking forward to trying them!

Jennifer C.

5:31PM PDT on May 19, 2011

Fantastic Veggies Burgers. I love all these Yummy recipes. Thanks for posting.