September 2, 2023

Homemade Veggie Burgers

Due to staying at home to mother rather than working outside the house, I've been trying to minimize spending while maximizing our savings. So when it comes to buying pre-made foods or making my own, you can guess what I try to do.

Yesterday for our picnic lunch (held in the kitchen due to little Mr. Disagreeable) I cooked up some homemade veggie burgers. I didn't exactly have a recipe, and had no eggs to use as a binder, but that didn't stop me.

One of my proudest skills as a cook is my ability to be resourceful in the kitchen. I can take a seemingly empty pantry and whip up a really good vegetarian meal. Case in point: last week's Miso Noodle soup with dried shitakes, kelp and carrots. The key is to keep your pantry and freezer stocked, but all of you cooks probably know that already.

Some of my always-on-hand pantry items:
canned tomatoes
noodles
dried mushrooms
sun dried tomatoes
jars of roasted red peppers
salsa
steel-cut oats
couscous (great for a quick meal)
cans and cans of beans (black, red, butter, garbanzo, etc.)
lentils and split peas

fridge and freezer items:
miso paste (found in Asian markets)
carrots (they last a while)
variety of vinegars (rice, balsamic, cider)
soy sauce (don't scrimp on this. San-J organic is my fave)
frozen peas, carrots, spinach
frozen won-ton wrappers (for raviolis and dumplings)

Those are just a few of the items. What do you keep in your pantry at all times?

Here is my veggie burger recipe, if I can remember the plethora of things that I tossed into it.
1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein...found in health food stores)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 can of butter beans, mashed
1/4 cup crumbled dried shitake mushrooms
1/4 cup mashed potato flakes
1 shredded carrot
1 small finely diced red pepper
1 finely diced small onion
some leftover corn
oregano, thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 beaten egg (I didn't have this yesterday)
olive oil for frying
boiling water (enough to wet the ingredients but not make them too soggy. Consistency should be of stiff oatmeal, so you can form patties out of it).

I mix everything together in a bowl and incorporate the egg well. Without the egg, the burgers will just want to fall apart, even though you can get away without it and call it a vegan burger. Add the hot water a little at a time, making sure not to get the mix too wet and runny. Form into patties (about 1/2 inch thick) and fry in olive oil in a pan. Once the first side is crisp, carefully flip the burgers over to fry the other side. A good crust will help prevent them from crumbling apart. Eat it on a bun, homemade bread (like we did) or plain with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

After frying, I bake them in the oven for 20 minutes or so at 350 degrees.

9 comments:

  1. I have been trying several recipies for home made veggie burgers! Maybe I will share some day if I feel energetic.

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  2. Oh thankyou for this post, my girls love garden burgers but I would love to make them for them instead of buying them at Costoc. I will try this soon!

    Ok things I keep in my pantry....

    lots of stocks (I need to start making my own of this too)
    chocolate---all different types :)
    coconut milk, massaman curry paste (one of our weekly veg meals), lets see chutneys, jams, jellies, relishes, lots of different cheeses and whole grain crackers, flax seed, lots of dried fruit, nuts, whole grain pasta (we have finally switched over to this and don't miss the old stuff), whole grain flour and reg flour, couscous (my girls cannot get enough of that! amazon sells a great whole grain couscous), buckwheat, honey, kosher salt, lots of different oils and vinegars, tons and tons of spices, and I love using my fresh herbs.

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  3. My add is the sundried tomatoes. You can do so much with them, espcially when tomatoes are not in season! Great post!

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  4. Hey Katydid! Thank you so much for coming to my carnival. This is an amazing post and an amazing blog! I can't wait to try this recipe. I, like you, love to come up with great meals just by digging in my pantry. You're an inspiration! Hope to see you again next week!

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  5. Yum yum, they look tasty! I love making homemade veggie burgers. :)

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  6. oh, yum. need to try that one of these days... i bet jasper would like it!

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  7. Hey Kathlene. Have you been to my blog recently? You might want to check it out! And if you want, feel free to take the "I was featured" button! Thanks again for the great post!

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  8. This is great...I can see that they are 'stickers' sometimes I have made them (in the past) and they crumble. Thanks for the pictures and the recipe...you are a sweetie.

    Kimmie
    mama to 6
    one homemade and 5 adopted

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