Rainbow Veggie Burger from Scratch. Vegan, GF Recipe. – Crazy Cucumber (2024)

FAQs

What is a vegan binder for veggie burgers? ›

The binding agents are essential for ensuring your veggie burger stays intact during cooking. Common binding agents include flax eggs (a mixture of ground flaxseed and water), chia seeds, mashed potatoes, tapioca flour, or even your favorite nut butter.

Adding flour or oats can help the burgers stick together, without using eggs. Mash everything together well. The more pulverized the veggie burger mixture gets, the better the patties will stick together. (But don't puree them, or the final texture will be off.)

Eggs are the most common and effective binder, and egg replacers are an excellent alternative for vegan burgers. Other common binders include wheat germ, bread crumbs, oats, and ground flaxseeds.

Best: Hilary's Fiesta Black Bean Veggie Burgers

The main ingredients are black beans and whole-grain millet, but this burger also has sweet potatoes, red pepper, kale, and other nutritious ingredients. The combo of high fiber and protein is sure to make this a satisfying option for a plant-forward meal.

If you're vegan, there's a great alternative: flaxseed meal. This substitution often appears in vegan baking recipes but works just as much magic here. To replicate 1 large egg, mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed with 2 to 3 tablespoons water and let sit for a few minutes. Add to the veggie burger mix just as you would an egg.

Tapioca starch is used as a binding or thickening agent for sauces, puddings, and condiments. Use 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch, blended with 3 teaspoons of water, to replace one egg.

The most common burger binding agent is egg.

Bind the patty together

If you're going for a leaner meat or adding bulky ingredients (eg spring onions, onions, chillies), add an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs to bind the burgers.

Rice. While cooked rice won't work for fried foods since it can't get crispy, both cooked and uncooked rice is great as a binding agent for things like meatloaf, meatballs, or veggie burgers.

What are the binding agents in veggie burgers? ›

If you want a veggie burger that holds together, use binding agents like cooked grains (rice, quinoa, millet), eggs, flax eggs, bread crumbs, oats, flour or nut/seed flours like almond flour. The amount of grains or flour will depend on the recipe, but it's usually anywhere from ¼ to 1 cup.

If you're making your own hamburger patties, adding egg to hamburger meat can help hold the meat together for easier cooking. Without the proper binder, the burgers may fall apart in the pan or on the grill.

Downsides of plant-based meat alternatives

Some highly processed products, such as those from Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger, are just as high in total and saturated fat as their meat counterparts. The burgers even contain more sodium than a single beef patty, which may not support heart health ( 12 , 18 , 19 ).

Dr. Praeger's makes a variety of veggie burgers, and over a dozen flavors are gluten-free, including: Mushroom Risotto, Heirloom Bean, Black Bean Quinoa, California Veggie, Kale Veggie, and Super Greens.

Plant-based burgers don't contain the same type of fresh vegetables as veggie burgers. They are made in labs and contain highly processed ingredients such as soy protein concentrate. If you've ever seen the word “Impossible” before the word burger on a restaurant's menu, you're looking at a plant-based burger.

Mashed Avocado Makes the Best Veggie Burger Binder

Avocado is also a great choice for vegan burgers, when using an egg as a binder isn't an option, as well as gluten-free burgers. And because of its mild flavor, you won't actually taste the avocado, you'll simply be taking advantage of its great binding abilities.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 egg, and a generous amount of salt and pepper to season (half tsp each). Egg is a burger binding agent for the ground beef patty.

Beans. Perhaps the most common way to bind a vegan burger is by using good old beans. Beans are starchy, and become thick and sticky when mashed. While black bean burgers are quite common, we encourage you to expand your horizons and experiment with the variety that nature has to offer.