The best vegan burger loaded with flavor and suitable for the grill or stovetop. Hearty and satisfying with a delicious texture.
This vegan burger recipe is seriously the best ever.
My mother and her non-vegan partner were here for a visit while we were testing these burgers on the grill and he was raving about them.
He said they were the best burgers he’s had, and this was from a card carrying carnivore my friends! He was also raving about our vegan nacho cheese, basically he was a happy dude with the food offerings around these parts.
Anyway I have to agree, these vegan burgers are amazing.
They are meaty, but don’t worry you would never mistake them for actual meat. But they are nice and fat, super hearty and filling, with a mix of spices that creates that wonderful BBQ flavor.
We did also baste them with vegan BBQ sauce, so there’s that. But I don’t think that’s cheating.
How To Make Vegan Burgers
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add walnuts to the food processor and process until crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add chickpeas, soy sauce and tomato paste to the food processor and process until well mixed. Transfer to the mixing bowl with the chopped walnuts.
- Add vegan mayonnaise, hoisin sauce, dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika and liquid smoke to the mixing bowl.
- Add cooked couscous and vital wheat gluten.
- Stir until slightly mixed and then get in there with your hands and form it into a big ball and knead it 20-30 times so that the vital wheat gluten can activate.
- Divide the burger mix into four sections and form each section into a burger shape. You can form them into a burger shape with your hands or by patting it down into a round cutter to make a flat round patty shape.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and when hot, add the burgers. Brush on vegan BBQ sauce as they cook.
Fry or Grill
We tested them in the pan and on the grill and both ways are super fabulous.
So whatever suits!
If you’re frying them in the pan then fry them in olive oil – and baste them with a bit of vegan BBQ sauce – and they come out wonderfully.
If you’re grilling them on the barbecue then make sure your grill is oiled a little. This ensures that the grill doesn’t stick to your burgers.
As long as you’ve done that, you can get a perfect grilled vegan burger. And you definitely still want to put on some vegan BBQ sauce.
The Perfect Texture
The texture of these burgers comes from walnuts, chickpeas, couscous and some vital wheat gluten to hold it all together.
I decided to use couscous because it’s so easy to make and cooking the couscous doesn’t add any extra time to making these burgers. While you’re preparing your other ingredients, you just have your couscous soaking in some hot water and then it’s ready!
Whereas if you use something like brown rice or quinoa you are going to have to spend some time cooking it first.
However, if you want to try this vegan burger with brown rice or quinoa you could give it a go. I have not tested it like that though so can’t be sure of the results.
How To Make Couscous
The best way I’ve found to make couscous is just to put equal amounts of couscous and boiling water in a bowl. Cover with a cloth and leave for a few minutes. Then fluff with a fork. Done!
What About Gluten Free?
I don’t know how this vegan burger recipe could be adapted to gluten free, it wasn’t my focus with this recipe as I wanted to use vital wheat gluten because of the great texture it creates.
If you want to experiment then a version with quinoa rather than couscous and gluten-free all purpose flour is probably what I would try as a first go, but just know I haven’t tested it like that and it would be a total experiment.
For other burger recipes that could more easily adapt to gluten-free check out our vegan black bean burgers and vegan chickpea burgers.
Serving Suggestions
If you want to serve your burger with some fries then our baked potato fries are a winner.
A side salad like a vegan Greek salad or vegan chickpea salad would also go great, as would our vegan coleslaw.
We’ve topped our burger with some vegan thousand island dressing but other great options are vegan aioli or vegan yum yum sauce.
It’s also wonderful topped with vegan nacho cheese or vegan queso.
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge and can be enjoyed over the next 3-4 days. You can reheat them in the frying pan or in the microwave.
You can freeze them cooked or uncooked for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat, or just cook them directly from frozen.
More Vegan Burger Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Burger
Ingredients
Vegan Burgers:
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g)
- 1 cup Chickpeas (164g) canned, drained well
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 Tablespoon Vegan Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Hoisin Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 1 cup Cooked Couscous (157g) Packed cup
- ½ cup Vital Wheat Gluten (75g)
Basting:
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan BBQ Sauce
Frying:
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Serving:
- Hamburger Buns
- Lettuce
- Sliced Tomato
- Sliced Pickles
- Sliced Avocado
- Sliced Red Onion
- Vegan Thousand Island Dressing Optional
Instructions
- Add the walnuts to the food processor and process until crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add the chickpeas to the food processor with the soy sauce and tomato paste. Process until well mixed in. You might have to stop a couple of times to scrape down the sides and start it up again before it will start to mix properly. Transfer to the mixing bowl with the crushed walnuts.
- Add the vegan mayonnaise, hoisin sauce, dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika and liquid smoke to the mixing bowl .
- Add in the cooked couscous and the vital wheat gluten and stir until slightly mixed. Then get in there with your hands and form it into a big ball and knead it about 20-30 times so that the wheat gluten can activate properly. You don't have to worry about the wheat gluten being over-kneaded and causing them to be too tough because there is not a lot of wheat gluten used, so over-kneading is not too much of a worry here.
- Divide into four sections and then either form each section into a burger shape with your hands or pat it down into a round cutter to make a nice flat patty shape.
- Add the olive oil to a frying pan and then add in the burgers, brushing vegan BBQ sauce onto the tops of the burgers. Fry for 5 minutes on medium high heat and then flip them and brush BBQ sauce onto the other side. For best results don't flip the burgers more than this, burgers hold up best when flipped as little as possible, so ensure the pan isn't so hot that they burn.
- If you're cooking on the grill then make sure the grill is lightly oiled so the burgers won't stick. Brush the burgers with BBQ sauce and then grill on one side for 5 minutes and then the other for 5 minutes. The timing can be a little different on the grill so you can also just play it by ear. They're ready when they are nicely browned on both sides.
- Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, avocado, red onion and vegan thousand island dressing.
Video
Notes
- Couscous. The couscous should be packed into the cup very well, 157g is the standard cup measure for a cup of cooked couscous and this is for a very packed cup. So pack it into the cup, press it down with a spoon and then pack in some more. Or simply weigh it out on a food scale.
- Olive oil. If you’re frying the burgers in a pan then use 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. However, if you’re doing them on the grill then just make sure the grill is lightly greased so it won’t stick to your burgers.
- Storing: Leftovers keep very well in the fridge and can be enjoyed over the next 3-4 days. You can reheat them in the frying pan or in the microwave.
- Freezing: You can freeze them cooked or uncooked for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat, or just cook them directly from frozen.
- Nutritional information is for burger patties only (including olive oil for frying and BBQ sauce for basting) and excludes hamburger buns and everything else that the burgers are served with.
Amanda says
I made this for my meat eater husband and my newly plant based brother. They both really liked it! It grilled very easily and stayed put together. I really liked the ingredients. They were delicious! My brother loved it and my husband really liked it too. The cous cous I wouldn’t have thought of and it works nicely. I noticed your meatball recipe is similar to this. I’m making meatball subs tomorrow. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Amanda! Thanks for the great review. Hope you enjoy the meatballs too. 🙂
Alex says
Could you deep fry these?
Alison Andrews says
I’m not sure! Probably! But it’s not something I’ve tried.
Jilly says
once made up mixture and into patties are they ok to refridgerate/freeze to cook later?
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely!
Maya says
My dad made these for me. They were lovely! Very nice texture and savoury, smokey flavour. Thanks for the recipe.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Maya! 🙂
Marla says
Do you think this could be made into a meatloaf?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Marla, I’m not sure! We do have a vegan meatloaf recipe though if you want to check it out. 🙂
P. J. says
These burgers are fantastic! I cooked garbanzos from dry, substituted pecans for the walnuts (grocery store did not put the walnuts in my bag! Grrr), made my own hoisin sauce (I live in Tokyo and could, no doubt find it, but would’ve had to go further than I wanted to), made my own bbq sauce from a NYT recipe (yum!), and I made my own burger buns (‘cuz Tokyo) from your dinner roll recipe (I doubled the recipe for 6 and got 5 big burger buns–perfect fit for the four burgers in this recipe). Also, my couscous was the medium size kind–about 3mm across when cooked. All in all, given how much work this was for me (having to make hoisin sauce, bbq sauce and buns!), to say it was worth it is about as big a compliment I can think of! Great recipe! The wheat gluten grabbed me because I make a lot of sausages with it and always wanted to try it in a burger. Tokyo is foodie heaven but I’ve yet to have a veggie burger in a restaurant that holds together, like thisone does, without squishing out the sides. Hello Tokyo! Any restaurants listening?
Alison Andrews says
That is the HUGEST compliment, thank you so much! And wow that is a massive amount of effort (you are a kitchen rockstar) and I’m so glad you enjoyed the result. Thanks for the wonderful comment and review! 🙂
Amal says
Alright so I made these the other day with a few minor substitutions based on what I had. Subbed couscous for fine bulgur wheat, subbed the hoisin sauce for vegan worcestershire, slightly increased the liquid smoke (because i didn’t have smoked paprika and i didn’t want to sacrifice that smokiness haha) and I used black beans instead of chickpeas. Overall these were great! My meat-loving dad took a bite and said they’re pretty good and had a little bit of meatiness to them which was what I had hoped for. Love this recipe and I’m planning on making it again for a barbecue this weekend. Hopefully I’ll coax some of my family members to try them out. If not then more for me I guess xD
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Julia says
I’ve been vegetarian for 35 years- these are the best patties/ burgers I’ve ever made. Have been experimenting with sriram spas to reduce the amount of tofu I have, and to increase my protein intake. These are Fabulous. Thank you!
Happy new year
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So happy to hear that. Thanks so much Julia and happy new year to you too!
L Kearney says
These look amazing! Do you think they could be frozen?
Alison Andrews says
Hi, yes these are fine to freeze! You can freeze them ready made and then just reheat them. Or you can prepare them and freeze before you fry them up. Then you can either thaw in the fridge before frying or just fry from frozen. All the best!
Peter says
Tried this recipe last week. Color was good, taste was good, but structure wasn’t. It was more like eating dough than meat. Any tips on improving the firmness?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Peter, sorry to hear the texture wasn’t great! It sounds like it needed to be kneaded more, this is crucial to activating the gluten properly and getting the right chewy (not doughy) texture. If you try them again I would recommend kneading a fair bit more than you did this time. 🙂
Jacqueline D Preston says
Best burger ever
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for the awesome review! 🙂
Sunil De Abrew says
Alison, very happy with the ease of preparation. Sadly I somewhat burnt it a touch (over hasty in the fry pan..!!), so it did effect the Flavour. Maybe the taste would have been a substitute for the lack of liquid smoke and Hoi Sin.Also I think I “over blended” the Walnuts …
However they were still delicious and I will repeat with missing ingredients.
Can I make it crunchier by adding more walnuts and Brown rice??
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Glad you enjoyed them Sunil! You can experiment with leaving the walnuts a bit chunkier for a more crunchy texture. I don’t know if using more brown rice might make them too crumbly though. But worth experimenting if you like! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome rating!
Nik says
I made a lot of changes just based on what I had on hand, and the fact that I had to double the recipe last minute, but the basis for this recipe is amazing! The texture, I am guessing thanks to the seitan, is so much more firm than any bean burger and it tasted so delcious!! Will def be my go to burger recipe from now on.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear this Nik! Thanks for the awesome rating! 🙂
Patricia McKeen says
I made this recipe last night for dinner. The burgers turned out great on the BBQ with a big thumbs up from my husband and son! Thank you so much.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So happy to hear. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Pierrot says
I have done the recipe substituting cooked white rice (that I had leftover) for the couscous and black beans (slightly dried in the oven to lower humidity) for the chickpeas, it was already so delicious and the perfect texture! I’m looking forward to do the original recipe! <3
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! 🙂
Helena says
These sound great! I’ve been wanting to make black bean burgers for a while but I also love the sound of these firm vital wheat gluten-based ones; do you think you could sub black beans for the chick peas?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Helena, I think you could! Let us know how it turns out! 🙂