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
Can you make these into Patties and freez e them prior to cooking them ?
Hi Julie, yes, I freeze them on a parchment lined tray so they don’t stick together. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then follow the cooking instructions as written. I hope you enjoy!
I made this last night for my family and EVERYONE loved it (including my very picky 6 and 9 year olds)! I’ve been looking for a solid veggie burger recipe and this one hit all of the right spots. I did not have the time to refrigerate it but it still kept its shape when we made it on the cast iron skillet. Thank you so much for sharing another amazing recipe! It made me feel so good feeding my family such a nutritious, wholesome meal!
Hi Debbie, I’m so glad they were such a hit!
Do you think it would be possible to sub the walnuts with sunflower seeds or just leave them out and add more Panko or rice?
I saw your black bean burger recipe too, but I’m tomato intolerant and can’t use adobo sauce. Food allergies can be a pain in the you-know-what haha.
Hi Leah, oh man, I was going to direct you to the black bean burger instead… I’m not sure if sunflower seeds will work (I think they might?). I haven’t tried.
No worries! I’ll just experiment a bit and if I find something that works, I’ll let ya know!
Hi,
I’m hoping to make these burgers tomorrow but I’m not sure about the rice. The recipe calls for “2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice” but I’m not sure if this means, cook 2 cups of uncooked rice or use 2 cups of already cooked rice. If it’s the latter, how much uncooked rice will make 2 cups of cooked?
Sorry, I’m a newbie 🙂
Hi Bob, 2 cups of the rice that is already cooked. 1 cup uncooked rice yields about 3 cups cooked rice.
YES! I started with one and couldn’t resist another. I used medium grain brown rice because I had quite a difficult time finding short grain brown rice but still turned out great. I topped them off with the love and lemons pickled jalapenos recipe and my own homemade pickles. Will most definitely be making these again.
I love this recipe and have made it a bunch of times – I’ve got some frozen burgers leftover in the freezer, do you think I could defrost them and use the mix as a filling for a vegan Wellington?
Random question I know!
Hmm, I really don’t know, but let me know how it goes, sounds interesting!
I made the wellington yesterday and it was fantastic!! I mean, I live in a hot country and my pastry skills are shockingly bad, but it worked out really, really well.
I added in some additional panko to the mix as it was a little wet after being defrosted, rolled out some puff pastry sheets and wrapped the mix – hot oven for 35 minutes or so – tasted great!
I’m so glad it worked out!
WOW…These turned out great, not what I was expecting. The burgers were a mild flavor and not over-powering of one specific ingredient. The Worcestershire sauce at the end before serving was the “icing on the cake”. I would make these again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Just wanted to say I loved these.. and I don’t even like mushrooms. I like trying out lots of vegan burger recipes and this one had it all: texture, taste, they held together really well, etc. I went ahead and baked these at 375 for about 20 min (flipping them half way). I didn’t find them to be drying at all, but I brushed the tops of the patties with olive oil before baking– when I flipped them, I brushed the other side with worcestershire. Very tasty! Thank you 😊
Hi Rachel, I’m so glad you loved them!
These are doing their 1 hour in the fridge now. The mixture tastes great. Any thoughts on baking or air frying these.
Hi Shellie, they dry out too much in the oven – we liked the texture best on a grill or the stove. I haven’t tried air frying – I think it could work if you drizzle the patties with oil first.
These were great. I will definitely be making these again. I did end up baking them without using oil. I think brushing the worcestershire on them helped keep them moist. Thanks.
I’ve baked them them as well! I try to cook without oil. I found they work well as long as I leave them on the first side long enough to get them off the silpad.
This recipe sounds great.. Would it be okay to use a white/cremini combo instead of the shiitake/portobello? And when you say dice the mushrooms can I roughly chop the slices in the food processor?
Hi Alocasia, you can use white/cremini – I would chop them up with a knife, you don’t want them to get too fine or they’ll become too mushy.
Hi can I replace the short brown rice by couscous or polenta ?
Thank you
Hi Fiona, no, the rice is sticky and that’s what holds the patties together.
Is it possible to use long grain brown rice instead of short grain?
Hi Bill, no short grain brown rice is more sticky which helps these hold together.
Is it possible to get the nutrition info
I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition info but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
These are so fantastic! I have always hated store bought and restaurant veggie burgers. Too processed, no flavor, bad texture. These are perfect. I made them exactly to recipe and had no issues with mushiness. Though I made sure my patties were not too thick. I have a friend who would love to try these but can’t have gluten. Clips nutritional yeast or oat flour or something be subbed for the panko?
My first try in subbing for panko would be a coarsely-ground almond flour, but I haven’t tried that, here.
I used a gluten free panko from Walmart. I got my mushrooms too fine and they were mushy due to that. The recipe was amazing and really hit the spot!!
Was curious what you suggest as a walnut replacement for a tree nuts allergy?
Hi Angela, check out our black bean burger recipe, it’s so good and it’s nut free: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-bean-burger-recipe/
Nut allergy here – I recommend adding more cooked rice! You need about 1/2 cup more dry rice than the recipe calls for and it turns out great.
Followed exactly (no extra sriracha). I’m a revisiting vegetarian serving this to my carnivore husband. We both loved these! I cooked them over medium gas heat with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They held together remarkably I just love this recipe. Served with vegan mayo lettuce tomato red onion and homemade bun
I’m so glad you loved them!
This recipe is delicious, thankyou! Have made them twice to much praise. Totally delicious.
What can i substitute the mushrooms with? Hate mushrooms!
Hi Robin, I recommend making these black bean burgers instead: https://www.loveandlemons.com/black-bean-burger-recipe/
Really loved the taste. The complex flavors and texture was what made it delicious. I cooked in a cast iron skillet, but the inside was mushy, while the outside was charred. I had the flame on medium-low and still couldn’t control it. Any tips on how to cook so the inside isn’t mushy?
Do you know the calorie count in each burger?
Delicious- great flavor and nutty texture. We loved these burgers and made the recipe as is. Really good!