Vegan Beet Veggie Burgers Made with Aquafaba!
One of the biggest challenges that I’ve had with making vegan veggie burgers from scratch has been getting them to hold together. If you’ve made them you know what I mean. Flax “eggs” work okay, but they don’t really bind as well as real eggs. You have to be extra careful when flipping them so they don’t crack in half and crumble, and grilling can be difficult. Until now.
The other day I was in the mood for a veggie burger made with leftover beets from the night before. I wanted to add protein so I included a can of chickpeas. As I was draining the brine, aka aquafaba, it occurred to me that I should try and use it as the binder for my burgers. I’m so happy that I did because I finally mastered a veggie burger that sticks together as well as the ones that I used to make with eggs.
Aquafaba is really cool. I don’t understand the chemistry of the stuff, but I’ve read that it’s similar to egg whites, that’s why you can whip it into meringue, like this.
Magic, right?
The minute I added it to the beet burger mixture I knew that I had finally uncovered the holy grail of making veggie burgers that will survive grilling. You don’t have to handle these burgers with care, they’re staying together until you sink your teeth into them.
Just look at the texture of this delicious vegan beet burger.
It was juicy, and chewy, and spicy. So delicious and satisfying.
My husband was actually a bit freaked out by the color and texture because it reminded him of a beef patty. You could serve this to your omnivore friends and they wouldn’t miss the meat. What a great way to prove to them that they can give up eating animals and still eat a thick and juicy burger.
How to Make a Vegan Veggie Burger with Beets and Chickpeas
All you’ll need to make these beautiful and healthy patties is a food processor
and the following ingredients:
Whole oats
Breadcrumbs – gluten-free if desired
Roasted Beets
Chickpeas
Aquafaba
Salt and Pepper if desired
This is as simple as it gets. Grind the oats in the processor until it looks like course flour, then add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until it forms a stiff ball. Roll the batter into patties and pan fry or grill them. You’ll want to brush them with a bit of oil to prevent them from sticking.
Vegan Beet Burgers that Won't Fall Apart on the Grill
Ingredients
- 1 cup of whole oats ground into a course flour
- ½ cup of breadcrumbs – gluten-free is desired
- 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas drained and rinsed– reserve the bean juice aquafaba
- 2 medium roasted beets
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning – use as much or little as you like. It’s spicy.
- ⅓ cup of aquafaba
- Ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grind the oats into a course flour in the food processor. Add the breadcrumbs, chickpeas, beets, Cajun seasoning, aquafaba, and salt and pepper to the processor and pulse until the ingredients form a stiff ball.
- Carefully remove the blade from the bowl and form the mixture into patties. I made five large patties, you can make them smaller or larger if you like.
- Heat them all the way through (approximately 8 minutes) on a skillet or on the grill on medium heat, flipping every two minutes. Brush them with a thin layer of oil to prevent sticking. Don’t overcook or they’ll dry out.
- You can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for one month.
- Enjoy!
Susie says
I am making these today. I live alone. Should I Cook ahead before freezing or freeze than cook from frozen?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Susie, you can make the patties and freeze the extra before cooking. Thaw them in the refrigerator and cook. Enjoy and stay well!
Sabino says
Dear Linda & Alex –
Thanks and compliments on this article.
I came across you site and the page on Beet Burgers during some online searching & reading for solutions to the “crumbling burger dilemma”. I read about other solutions for binders (egg white substitute, corn starch, flaxseed, more bread crumbs, etc) but I am most enthusiastic about the solution you shared. Plus, aquafaba seems a versatile solution for a number of other uses. Have not tried it yet, but wanted to pose a couple of questions, if you don’t mind taking time to help me.
…
I have a beet burger recipe that I **really** like.
Except for the issue of brittleness and crumbling, it has good texture and "mouth feel" AND a great, very bright, fresh flavor.
There is a good deal of overlap of ingredients in our recipes, but ... some marked differences too.
I use cooked bulgur, shredded *raw* beets and panko. I also use some walnuts and fresh basil,
In contrast, your recipe uses whole oats, roasted beets and bread crumbs.
Also, I pulse the mixture to "finely chopped", whereas you process to “form a stiff ball” so our starting textures are likely different.
…
Questions & Comments
By “whole oats” are you referring to groats or whole rolled oats ?
What bread crumbs have you used -and- how fine is the crumb ?
What differences do you think using panko makes ?
Would welcome your thoughts and ideas.
Thank you.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Sabino! Thank you for your great questions. We're happy to answer them for you. We use rolled oats and plain regular breadcrumbs. Panko would work quiet well, too.
We love the idea of using shredded beets, like you do. We'll definitely try that. We also love that you add fresh basil, we're always excited about using fresh herbs to cook. Thanks for the great ideas!