Field Food

The World's Most Versatile Veggie Burger Recipe
Written by Matt Frazier
After seeing how useful (and how popular) the Perfect Smoothie Formula and the Ultimate Energy Bar Formula were, my sister Christine and I set out to see what other foods could benefit from a good formula-izing. That's a real word.

In case you haven't seen our other formulas, the idea is simple: instead of creating just one recipe, to make just one smoothie or one energy bar (that your taste buds will surely tire of by next week), we come up with a template that can be used to create virtually limitless variations, leaving room for your ideas in the process.

Smoothies and energy bars were natural choices for formulas. These are foods we eat all the time, so we need endless variations. But what else would lend itself well to a formula?

Enter the veggie burger formula
It's not that we eat veggie burgers every single day. Or even every week.

But what's great about veggie burgers is that if you've got just a few standby recipes, on any given weeknight you've almost certainly got everything you need in your pantry or fridge to throw something edible together in 20 or 30 minutes.

They're super healthy and a good protein source too. And most importantly, they're substitution-friendly, making them a perfect fit for a formula — if you've got a can of beans and a few random veggies in the fridge, chances are you've got what you need.

About the formula
And so Christine got to work creating a new formula. What's really interesting is that she started with the energy bar formula as the backbone, since the bars are based on beans as well and have a texture that's befitting of a burger. Of course, she replaced sweet flavors with savory ones, and designed the burgers to be fried, not baked like the bars are.

These burgers work great for a weeknight meal, and they're perfect for tucking into a pita for a lunch on the go. We like to make them slider-style, since smaller burgers tend to stay together better than large ones and have a better texture. You can also make a large batch on the weekend and freeze ahead of time, but keep in mind that they tend to defrost better in the refrigerator than in the microwave.

Alright, here we go! The master formula is below, and we've listed several options for each broad type of ingredient, which you can mix and match to come up with your perfect burger. We've also included, at the bottom, three of our favorite combinations in case you're not in a creating mood.

Enjoy!

The veggie burger formula
Ingredients:

1  pound can of beans, drained and rinsed, or 1.5 cups cooked beans (suggestions: your favorite bean!)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups diced veggies (suggestions: carrots, celery, mushrooms, chopped spinach, chopped kale, corn, chopped artichokes, zucchini, squash, sweet potato)
2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons oil for frying (suggestions: olive, coconut, grapeseed)
3 tablespoons liquid flavor (mix and match suggestions: mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, vegan worcestershire, buffalo sauce, balsamic vinegar, salsa, pasta sauce, marsala, water)
4 teaspoons spice (we recommend combining at least two: smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, montreal steak seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, fennel, oregano, curry powder)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (omit or reduce if your liquid or spices contain salt)
1 cup dry base ingredient (suggestions: buckwheat, unsweetened protein powder, bread crumbs, cornmeal, oatmeal)
1/2 cup texture ingredient (suggestions: chopped walnuts, olives, avocado, sundried tomatoes, leftover cooked rice/quinoa/bulgur, parsley, cilantro, basil)
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the onion, veggies, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor and pulse with beans, liquid flavor, spice, salt until combined but still chunky. Pulse in the dry base and texture ingredient.

Form into golf ball size balls and flatten into patties.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Fry patties 2-3 minutes per side until browned and heated through.

Makes about 18 small patties.

Our favorite variations
Mexican Sliders

1 can pinto beans
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic
2 cups of veggies: 1 cup canned yellow corn, 2/3 cup sweet red pepper, 1/3 cup packed spinach
3 tablespoons liquid: 1 tablespoon lime juice (1/2 a lime), 2 tablespoons red prepared salsa
4 teaspoons spice: 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dry ingredient: cornmeal
1/2 cup texture ingredients: 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup white rice
Classic Sliders

1 can black beans
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic
2 cups of veggies: 1 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 cup green pepper
3 tablespoons liquid: 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, 2 teaspoons soy sauce or vegan worcershire
4 teaspoons spice: 3 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt (omit salt)
1 cup dry ingredient: panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup texture ingredients: 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Indian Patties

1 can chickpeas
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic
2 cups of veggies: 1 cup sweet potato, chopped fine, 1/2 cup sweet red pepper, 1/2 cup yellow corn
3 tablespoons liquid: 1 tablespoon lime juice (1/2 a lime), 2 tablespoons coconut milk
4 teaspoons spice: 3 tsp curry, 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dry ingredient: oats
1/2 cup texture ingredient: 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup chopped cashews
 
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