If you make one veggie burger recipe, it has to be this one. These burgers have a wonderful savory flavor and hearty texture. They're grillable, too!
Say hello to the BEST veggie burger recipe! Of course, that’s just my opinion, but once you try it, I think you’ll agree. For one, these patties are grill-able! And if you’d rather be spending time in the sun than in the kitchen, you can even make them a day or two in advance.
But that’s not all. This veggie burger has an amazing meaty texture and savory, smoky flavor. It’ll keep its shape when it’s stuffed inside a bun, and it’s delicious with fancy fixings or with good old ketchup and mustard. Unlike many packaged veggie burgers, its incredible texture and flavor come from simple, plant-based ingredients, so it doesn’t just taste good – it’s good for you, too!
So many readers have made and loved this veggie burger recipe over the last few years. If it’s not already obvious, we’re also pretty obsessed with it. Jack and I are making it this weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer, and I hope you will too. Hearty, flavorful, and really darn fun, it’s not a recipe you want to miss!
Veggie Burger Recipe Ingredients
Instead of making a bean-based burger, I make this recipe with shiitake and portobello mushrooms! They give these meatless burgers a wonderful hearty texture and umami-rich flavor. Then, I round them out with these key ingredients:
- Tamari, balsamic vinegar, and mirin bring out the savory flavor of the mushrooms.
- Smoked paprika and sriracha make these burgers smoky and spicy.
- Finely chopped garlic and shallots add depth of flavor.
- Crushed walnuts give them a meaty bite.
- Short grain brown rice, panko bread crumbs, and ground flaxseed help these burgers hold together. DON’T use long-grain brown rice here. It’s not as sticky as short grain rice, so it doesn’t yield cohesive patties.
Even if you’re not a mushroom person, I think you’ll love this recipe. Smoky, savory, and meaty, it makes a darn good veggie burger.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Best Veggie Burger Recipe Tips
- Use rice that’s hot off the stove. The rice has to be sticky in order to bind these patties together. As a result, your rice must be freshly cooked, as leftover rice dries out in the fridge.
- Brush them with vegan Worcestershire sauce after cooking. These veggie burgers aren’t intended to imitate a beef burger by any means, but they do have a wonderful meaty texture and flavor. To add even more flavor and to make them slightly juicy, brush them with vegan Worcestershire sauce (I like Annie’s brand) when they come off the grill.
- Get ahead. You have a few options for prepping this veggie burger recipe ahead of time. The patties can be made up to a day in advance and stored on baking sheets in the fridge until ready to grill. You can also grill them in advance and store them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days – they reheat surprisingly well! If you have leftovers, freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Veggie Burger Serving Suggestions
Buns out (suns out)! Load your veggie burger up however you like – I like mine with avocado or guacamole, sliced red onion or pickled red onions, mustard, Sir Kensington’s Avocado Mayo (not vegan) or Fabanaise (vegan), sprouts, and a squirt of sriracha or chipotle sauce on a homemade bun. When I’m in the mood for extra heat, I’ll even add a few pickled jalapeños. If you simply like ketchup, mustard, and dill pickles, that’s fine too!
Since you’ll already have the grill going, I recommend serving these with grilled vegetables, grilled zucchini, or corn on the cob. They’d also be fantastic with sweet potato fries or any of these salad recipes:
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Greek Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Watermelon Salad with Feta
- Cucumber Salad
For more salad ideas, check out these 37 best salad recipes!
More Favorite Cookout Recipes
If you love this veggie burger recipe, try one of these fun cookout recipes next:
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- Black Bean Burger
- Crispy Cauliflower Po’ Boy Sandwiches
- Easy Fajitas
- Vegetarian Tacos
Then, find 85 more delicious vegan recipes here!
Best Veggie Burger
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 shallots, chopped (⅔ cup)
- 16 ounces mushrooms, mix of shiitake + portobello, stemmed and diced
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mirin, or ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, more if desired
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- 2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice, freshly cooked so that it’s sticky*
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce, for brushing
- Nonstick cooking spray, for grilling
- Hamburger buns and desired burger fixings
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft, 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt, and sauté until soft and browned, 6 to 9 minutes, turning down the heat slightly, as needed.
- Stir in the tamari, vinegar, and mirin. Stir, reduce the heat, then add the garlic, smoked paprika, and sriracha. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly.
- In a food processor, combine the sautéed mushrooms, walnuts, flaxseed, brown rice, and ½ cup of the panko. Pulse until just combined. The mixture should hold together when pinched, but it should still have some texture.
- Transfer to a large bowl and fold in the remaining panko.
- Form into 8 patties, place them on a large plate and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- If you're grilling the patties, preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Brush the patties with olive oil and spray the grill with cooking spray. Place the patties on the grill and use a spatula to press down lightly. Grill for 7 minutes on the first side, flip, and grill for 6 to 7 minutes on the second side, or until well-charred and cooked through.
- Alternately, cook the patties on the stove. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Coat the bottom of the skillet with oil and cook the patties for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until well-charred and cooked through.
- Remove from the heat, brush with Worcestershire sauce, and serve with desired fixings.
Notes
I made these tonight and they were great! My four year old loved them too. Thanks for all of your delicious, creative recipes. Lots of new favorites at our house from your blog lately!
Hi Jean, I’m so glad you all loved them, and I’m especially happy to hear that they’re 4 year old approved!!
My four year old loved then too! I made mini sliders, he asked for a second 🙂
I am hoping to make these gluten free. Do you think I could use all rice and skip the panko? thanks!
Gluten free panko would be the best sub (I think the ian’s brand is pretty good), it brings a nice texture to these, I think it might be mushy with rice alone. Hope that helps!
Rice contains no gluten, even short grain rice. There are gluten free panko available, Publix carries them.
These are awesome. I didn’t have the flaxseed and they were still really lovely.
rds- If you can’t find gluten free panko, try using crushed rice chex cereal.
My husband and I have been trying different veg burger recipes for years and this one absolutely takes the cake. Thanks so much! I can’t wait to serve it to meat eaters and not have to worry about the texture/flavor/falling-apartness.
Hi Anne, I’m SO glad to hear that these were a hit for you guys! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Hi Jeanine! I’m planning to make these tonight, but don’t have a grill — do you think searing them in a cast iron skillet would be okay? It’s 100* in NYC today, so turning on the oven is not gonna happen. 😉
Hi Amanda,
Ha, yep, I think a hot cast iron pan will be fine 🙂
This was, indeed, the BEST veggie burger ever. The flavor was so incredible and I loved the texture. Thank you for my new obsession! x
yay, thank you for coming back to let me know! So glad they worked well in the cast iron pan too!
I’m 90 years old and I have been a vegetarian 55 years. I don’t miss meat even a little. But I’m going to try your recipe.
Omg, this really is the BEST burger I’ve ever eaten. I paired it with pesto as my burger spread and it was phenomenal!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Theses were delicious! Thank you!
Hi Diana – I’m so happy to hear! xo
Hi! I’m actually making these as we speak. Question… I’ve gotten a lot of water output from the mushrooms and I don’t want to sauté them too much. What to do? Did you add or drain? (I’m going to drain for now but would love to hear your feedback!!!)
I’d cook it on low heat for a little longer (a couple of minutes) and it’ll cook off a bit. It’ll be ok once everything is mixed together (the rice, panko, etc).
If it’s crazy wet when you try to form them, you could add a little more panko, but I’ve never found that necessary.
Hope that helps!
You have to saute’ the mushrooms on a high enough heat that the moisture evaporates, this is necesary to brown them.
also, let me clarify – it’s ok to fully saute the mushrooms. That’s what you want – browned, sauce-y and cooked, like that photo up there in the food processor.
Looks pretty amazing! Can eat all of ’em. Love to eat this veggie burger.
These are crazy good. I’m so excited to have a grillable veggie burger recipe! They are the perfect consistency. They don’t even stick to your hands when you shape them into patties. Seriously the best!!
Hi Beth, I’m so glad you loved them! Thanks for coming back to let me know that they were a hit!
Yes. These burgers are fantastic. I have tried many commercial brands including the newer pea protein type and this recipe wins. Hands down. The grill creates a perfect crunch and the interior texture is perfect. Adding Worcestershire after they cook and then the fixin’s is perfect.
Yay, I’m so glad you loved these as much as we do! Thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂
They look amazing and sound like total game changer!
How do you think these would freeze? Would you freeze them before or after grilling?
I think it’ll work, I have some in my freezer right now, I’ll report back about thawing and cook time once I make them!
I am also going to try freezing a few of these prior to cooking. Has anyone tried, and if so did you cook them from frozen or let them thaw before cooking? Thanks!
I was obsessed with finding a delicious veggie burger recipe and you have hit the nail on the head. These are so flavorful and I find I can sneak additional pantry veggies in the recipe without altering the overall tasty results. I do have some issue finding short grain brown rice and therefore, have had to deal with the sticky globs of burger. It is still worth it in the end. Thanks for discovering a rich, flavorful, aromatic grillable veggie burger.
Hi Jeanine,
Just wondering how you went with the frozen burgers?
I’ve frozen mine! I’ve cooked them both from frozen and thawed and then cooked. Both ways worked great. I’ve also cooked on the grill and in the oven. So far, I haven’t found a way to screw these up! Delicious!
amazing! So happy to hear that they’ve been so versatile 🙂
Do you think these can be broiled in the oven?
Hi Karen, I think it will work although I haven’t tried them in the oven yet. I’d either try 425° for about 9 minutes per side, or broiled for 5-7 minutes per side. Every broiler is different, so I’d just check them and add more time if necessary. Hope that helps!
holy schnikes these look amazing! You just know veggie burgers are gonna be good when they’ve got sauteed mushrooms in them. Yummo
That looks amazing! Im not totally sold on the mushy inside idea though bc most veggie burgers just do that but i’ll give it a whirl this weekend anyway!! 🙂
It’s not as firm as a meat burger, but I personally think these have a better texture than other veggie burgers I’ve eaten 🙂
The soft inside was not my favorite. Enjoyed the crunchy outside!
Hi Katie, it sounds like they could have cooked a bit longer.
Don’t process them until they are mush. I give them several pulses, leaving some chunky bits. I have not loved them when they were whizzed to paste.
These freeze great, too! I freeze them in pairs – along with a couple of store-bought whole wheat buns – and it’s the easiest dinner to whip up in the evening.
Hi Marietta, I’m so glad you enjoyed the burgers!
These are perfect!
Convinced my carnivorous husband to try these tonight, and he liked them. Maybe not as much as I did, but still….progress! I had some homemade muhamarra on hand, so used that instead of ketchup. Served with your fennel pear salad. Delicious :-).
I’m so impressed at how well these hold up grilling!!
Can I substitute the mushrooms with something else
Hi Deb, not this time, mushrooms are the base of these.
Could they be made nut-free with sunflower seeds instead of walnuts?
Hi Carolyn, I haven’t tried so I’m not sure. (I’ll update you if I do!)
I would also like to know if anyone ever tried this without walnuts, as I am deathly allergic.
I used hemp seed in lieu of walnuts (not my own allergies), and I have to say- I was impressed with how they turned out. Flavour and texture wise they were fairly comparable to the original recipe.
I used salted sunflower seeds and it creates a lovely texture. I love this recipe and the firmness of the burger for grilling!
Hi Jeanine,
Yay for grillable! Those char marks look fantastic. I’m with you on the “best ever!” “greatest!” thing — like I don’t want to cry wolf and I think it means more when you save it for the legit “best ever” recipe 🙂 I’m going to check out the Almond Butter Brown Rice Krispie treats too and make it a meal!