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, 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 & 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
We are big fans of a frozen burger available that’s made with mushrooms and rice, but they’re expensive so I wanted to try making them myself. I’m so glad I found this recipe. I followed it to a T except I only had long-grained brown rice which worked just fine! These are delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi- could I bake these in the oven instead and if so what temp. and for how long?
Hi Hadley, we haven’t tried an oven version of these, so I can’t say for sure. You could try 400°F for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway. Baked in the oven, the burgers will be drier than they would be off the stove or grill.
Hello. Instead of the brown rice filler, would substituting oatmeal achieve the same consistency?
Rice can really affect someone in my family with diabetes.
Hi Cathy, I don’t think a 1:1 sub with oats would work here. For a rice-free veggie burger, I recommend this black bean burger recipe. Hope this helps!
Do you have Nutrition facts on this burger? Protein content, in particular….
Thanks!
Hi, we don’t calculate nutrition facts for our recipes. To get a nutrition estimate, I recommend plugging the recipe into an online nutrition calculator like MyFitnessPal.
Misleading time. Total of 40 minutes but brown rice takes nearly that amount of time to cook and it says to chill in the fridge for an hour before cooking. What looked to be a quick recipe is turning into an all night session of cooking.
Soooo delicious!! Do you have nutrition info for this one?
Hi Cynthia, unfortunately, we don’t calculate nutrition info for our recipes. Glad you love the burgers!
I am making these now, looking forward to eating them later! Could eggs be subbed for the flax seed in this recipe? If so, how many would you recommend?
Hi Nancy, I know we’re a little late on this, I hope the burgers came out well! We haven’t tested these with eggs instead of flax, but I think 1 egg would be a fine sub.
Made these tonight. They are well worth the effort. These burgers have a perfect look and feel and are delicious! They are so filling due to the flax seed and rice. Will be making these regularly. Doubled the batch and froze many for future meals!
Hi Tracy, I’m so glad you loved the burgers!
Hello! I’m loving your recipes. My cousin said the butternut squash soup I made (thx for recipe!) is better than any restaurant.
How important is it to use a cast iron skillet for the burgers on stove top (ain’t got a grill)?
Thank you.
Hi Taylor, we think cast-iron is best for browning, but another skillet would work in a pinch. So glad you’re loving the recipes!
Dear Pheobe,
Ive been an avid fan of yours for years now, I even have your cook book meal planner I refer to a lot. I just wanted to say hi & thank you for all you do in your kitchen, developing amazing recipes of the yummiest kind. Im so grateful as my partner is vegetarian, stage 4 cancer & eating the food I make from your recipes helps tremendously as good healthy nutricious foods is what its all about & you deliver every time! Happy New Year & look forward to making these vegie burgers, the ingredients are right up our alley! I love receiving your posts to my email as I know there will always be another wonderful recipe. Thanks again. All the best for 2023.
Love Cath xxx
Hi Cathy, Thank you so much for your comment. I’m so glad you and your partner are enjoying the recipes.
what is the best cooking option besides grilling? Pan searing, baking or broiling?
Hi JoAnn, we offer searing instructions in step 7 of the recipe. This method is a great grilling alternative.
Do you recommend or discourage freezing the mixture of uncooked patties?
Hi Susan, We usually freeze these patties after cooking and reheat them from frozen in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven. If you want to freeze them uncooked, I’d form them into patties first. Before cooking them, let them thaw overnight in the fridge. Hope this helps!
I made these for dinner last night and from a taste perspective these are the best veggie burgers I have ever made. However, we found them to be “mushy” after stove top cooking. I’ve read previous comments and see that two others had the same problem. My husband would like a firmer burger; one that doesn’t squish out of the bun as you eat. Do you have any suggestions of slight changes to the recipe that would have this outcome? More rice? More flax? Less liquid? Thanks very much; I love your recipes.
Hi Joanne, these black bean burgers are very firm comparably: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-bean-burger-recipe/
Ours weren’t mushy at all! In fact it was something I noticed while forming the patties and while eating. We grilled them and they stayed so firm. Very nice and firm!Perhaps add a little more rice? Perhaps cook the mushroom mix till it is “drier”? Just some ideas.
This recipe sounds fantastic – is there any substitute I can use for the walnuts? Or could I omit them from the recipe? 🙂
Hi Lucy, pecans would be the next best option.
Or here’s a different veggie burger that’s nut free: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-bean-burger-recipe/
I absolutely love these plant-based burgers! Best recipe I have found since going plant-based. Thank you so much for sharing. Quick question – could I freeze the uncooked burgers or do they have to be cooked first?
Either way – you can freeze the uncooked patties on parchment paper (so they don’t stick together), and then let them thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking them.
Where did you find short grain rice? I can’t locate it.
Hi Danielle, it’s at my regular grocery store or Whole Foods or Trader Joes.
So so good…and this from someone who’s made up to 20 different veggie burgers over the years always trying new recipes and combinations.
Followed your fabulously-detailed instructions to a T and they came out perfect. Tonight is the 2nd time cooking them this time from frozen- then thawed. The 1st cook I don’t think I had the bbque hot enough and they struck a tiny bit when being flipped. I went back and read the comments and this time perfect. I did not press them down this time, and they still got gorgeous grill marks and I did use both the oil and and cooking spray…did not stick and look divine.
Served on your perfect homemade burger buns recipe, that I baked this morning and with all the fixings – just delicious.
What a great dinner while watching the Woman’s US Open final tennis match.
Losing track of how many of your recipes I’ve made now.
Best
Lainey.
I’m so glad you loved them (and also the hamburger buns!)
This truly is the best veggie burger ever!! I have made this recipe several times now and it’s always delicious. My vegetarian husband loves them and so do I and my meat eating friends!
These veggie burgers are absolutely perfect. I followed the recipe exactly (almost **) and we grilled them over charcoal along with corn on the cob.
**I did not have any short-grain rice and our grocery store did not either. I used a medium-grain basmati rice and followed these instructions for cooking it so that is was stickier than usual, including soaking it before cooking, adding a bit more water and cooking a bit longer. The instructions I used are below. I also made sure to process the mixture in the food processor until it held together extremely well. Next time I made these (and there will most definitely be a next time), I will plan ahead and get short grain rice.
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sticky-Rice-Using-Regular-Rice