This vegan butter burger is absolutely delicious. It can be made as greasy, gooey, cheesy comfort food … there’s also a healthier option without butter or oil and it’s still delicious. Both versions are simple to make using commonly available ingredients.
First, cook the rice. Short grain rice is what helps this burger stick together and stay firm in the center. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice to use in the recipe.
After the rice, the rest of the ingredients are also super simple, staring with sauteed mushrooms. I didn’t use oil at this point because I wanted the mushrooms kind of dry for the burger mixture and this step releases and evaporates most of the moisture.
The other major ingredient is black beans. They add protein, flavor, and some texture. I use canned and drain and then rinse them and pat quite a bit of the moisture off with a paper towel.
Pulse the rice, mushrooms, and black beans together, along with oats and yummy spices in a food processor until incorporated but not overprocessed. Then form into patties and let sit for about 20 minutes.
Now …
… this brings us to the fork in the road. You can continue as we have and saute the burger without oil or even bake them in the oven. It turns out delicious and can be topped with lots of onions and vegan cheese.
Or … if you chose the other road you take the way that leads to a tasty plant-based burger that’s also a bit of a calorie bomb.
We can cook it all in a mound of vegan butter. This makes it greasy and delectable. I use Earth Balance and first sauteed about 2 cups chopped onions with 2 tablespoons Earth Balance. It will look like a lot of onions, but they sautee down to less than half that.
Saute the onions in the vegan butter for several minutes over medium heat, until they’re brown and tender. Remove from the pan. There should be quite a bit of butter left, but if not add a little more.
Saute the burgers in the butter over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side.
Add cheese on top of the burgers and, optionally, butter your buns and steam them for a minute or two with the pan lid on while the cheese melts.
Top with the reserved buttery onions.
Yum.
It goes great with Easy Southern Potato Salad!
Here’s the Vegan Butter Burger Recipe VIDEO:
4.72 from 32 votes
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Vegan Butter Burger
This vegan butter burger is absolutely delicious. It can be made as greasy, gooey, cheesy comfort food ... there's also a healthier option without butter or oil and it's still delicious. Both versions are simple to make using commonly available ingredients.
CourseMain Course
CuisineVegan
Keywordburger
Prep Time5minutes
Cook Time30minutes
Resting Time20minutes
Calories275kcal
Ingredients
1 1/2cupcooked short-grain white or brown ricecooked according to package
Cook the rice according to directions and set aside 1 1/2 cups to use in the recipe.
Saute the mushrooms in a dry pan to brown and remove most of the moisture. Optionally, use a bit of butter for this step, if desired.
Drain the beans well, rinse them, and pat as dry as possible with paper towels.
Add the rice, mushrooms, beans, oats, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a food processor. Pulse several times to mince and combine the ingredients. Don't overprocess.
Let the burger mixture rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the onions in a large skillet with 2 tbsp vegan butter over medium heat until brown and tender.
*(Optionally, this burger mix can easily be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge overnight which allows everything to really meld together)
Remove the onions and set aside. Fry the burgers in the remaining vegan butter, adding more if necessary. Cook about 4 minutes over medium heat on each side. Turn once.
Add a slice of your favorite vegan cheese to the tops, if you like. Steam some buttered vegan buns in the pan with the lid on for a minute or two while melting the cheese.
Serve on the buns topped with the buttery onions.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Butter Burger
Amount Per Serving
Calories 275
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
XO Lisa
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Lisa Viger Gotte
Hello! I’m Lisa, a vegan artist, photographer, author, Vegan Life Coach Educator, and RYT 200 yoga teacher. I love showing others how simple and delicious a plant-based diet can be. I draw and paint, cook, write, take lots of pics, eat lots of chocolate, and practice gratitude daily.
Ground Flax – for binding, like a vegan egg! Flour – also for binding, but use GF flour if you wish. Breadcrumbs – another binder! Or use oats for gluten free! Start with about 1 cups worth and add more until the mixture comes together.
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. These are dry ingredients, though the recipe's other ingredients often add just enough moisture to make a sufficient binder.
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.)
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. These ingredients help hold everything together and prevent your burger from crumbling.
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.
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.
In my experience, the best way to prevent your burger patties from falling apart during cooking is to use both egg and breadcrumbs to make them. You can add eggs to the mixture and then, coat them with breadcrumbs before shaping them into burger patties.
If you want to use a binder in your meat, but don't want to use egg, other alternatives are flour such as wheat flour, cracker crumbs, or even oatmeal. I do not use anything to bind ground meat for burgers. They are moist enough to stick together on their own.
One of the most popular egg substitutes in vegan baking is a flax egg. This is made by combining ground (not whole) flax seeds with water and leaving to sit for 15 minutes until the mixture becomes thick, almost the same consistency as a regular egg.
Combine a tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, stir to combine, and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Ground flaxseed emulates eggs' binding qualities in breads, cakes, muffins, cookies, burgers, and vegan meatballs.
One of the most common substitutes is breadcrumbs, but sometimes the breadcrumbs can fall off when the burgers are cooking if there are too many or they are too dry. Other popular substitutions for eggs include cornstarch, flour, ketchup, porridge oats, cracker crumbs, and ground flaxseed.
Spices and tomato paste: Smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper combine to make these burgers a little smoky and incredibly delicious. Tomato paste adds color, sweetness, and an umami flavor to the burgers (highly recommended!). Cooked rice: Adds more texture to the veggie burgers.
Researchers at Impossible Foods discovered that by adding heme to their plant-based burgers, they could capture a lot of the aromas we associate with meat. They call it their "magic ingredient," and, combined with yeast extract, it does seem to do a pretty good job.
McPlant® A vegan burger made with a juicy plant-based patty co-developed with Beyond Meat® featuring vegan sandwich sauce, ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and a vegan alternative to cheese in a sesame seed bun.
Chia seeds are a popular vegan egg substitute for baking. To replace one large egg in a recipe, simply combine one tablespoon of chia seeds with two and a half tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit until it forms a jello-like texture. That's it!
Combine a tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, stir to combine, and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Ground flaxseed emulates eggs' binding qualities in breads, cakes, muffins, cookies, burgers, and vegan meatballs.
Because of its powerful ability to soak up moisture and bind ingredients together, it's no wonder that it makes the perfect ingredient to help keep your veggie burger from falling apart. If you're a big taste-as-you-go cook, then refrain from adding chickpea flour until the last minute.
Hobby: LARPing, Kitesurfing, Sewing, Digital arts, Sand art, Gardening, Dance
Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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