Tired of those vegetarian burgers from the supermarket? Do you also find them too salty and too much like junk food? It is very easy to make your own vegetarian burger and there are endless possibilities!
The article discusses three basic recipes. You can omit or add certain herbs at will. All three meat substitutes mentioned in the article have a different basic ingredient:
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The bean burger is based on any kind of beans.
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The tofu burger is based on tofu.
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The Challidas are based on lentils.
Bean burger
Necessities
- 250 grams of cooked (or a 400 gram can) beans of your choice (white, brown or black beans, lentils or chickpeas)
- 1 onion
- 40 grams of oatmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (or other spices)
- salt and pepper to taste
- some cooking liquid from the beans (if the beans come from a can, you can also use water or milk)
Preparation method
- Puree the beans, onion, oatmeal, egg and herbs in a blender or hand blender until smooth. If the mixture is very dry, you can add some moisture. Please note, the mixture should not become watery!
- Put the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
- Then shape it into burgers.
- Return the burgers to a bowl and let them rest in the refrigerator for a few more minutes.
- Meanwhile, put some oil in a frying pan.
- Bake the burgers for about 5 minutes and then turn them. The bottom of the burger should be nicely brown. Brown the other side too.
- Serve, for example, on a sandwich with lettuce and tomato.
- You can also prepare the burgers a day in advance. Then put them in a covered dish in the refrigerator and bake them the day they are eaten.
The above recipe is a basic recipe of which many variations can be made. Vegetables can be grated, some olives and / or grated cheese mixed in. You can also vary the herbs and spices, so you can also add some sambal or soy sauce.
Tofu burger
Necessities
- 450 grams tofu (drained)
- 2 eggs
- 55 grams of crumbled rusk
- 55 grams of cashew nuts
- 55 grams of sunflower seeds
- 55 grams of mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
Preparation method
- Cut the tofu into cubes and the mushrooms into slices, chop the cashew nuts and sunflower seeds.
- Put all ingredients except the olive oil in the blender (or mix with a hand blender) and puree.
- Add some extra rusk crumbs if the tofu mixture remains a bit soft and unbound.
- Divide (with your hands) the mixture into 8 burgers.
- Put the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the burgers for about 10 minutes.
- Make sure that the pan is not too hot, the burgers must also cook well on the inside and if the pan is too hot burn the outside.
Chilladas
Necessities
- 450 grams of lentils
- 2 carrots
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 green pepper
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon of mace powder
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of parsley
- 4 teaspoons of tomato paste
- Pepper and salt to taste
- 2 eggs
- 110 grams of breadcrumbs (or rusk crumbs)
- Oil
Preparation method
- Boil the lentils in 1.2 liters of water for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop the carrots and onions into small cubes. Also cut the bell pepper into small strips and crush the garlic.
- Saute the onions, garlic and carrots for five minutes.
- Add the bell pepper and cook for another five to ten minutes.
- Season the lentils with the cayenne pepper, mace, thyme and parsley.
- Mash the lentils with a pestle.
- Then mix in the vegetables and the tomato puree.
- Let the lentils cool.
- When the lentils are cold, roll 24 balls.
- Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk briefly.
- Crumble the bread on a plate.
- Roll each ball through the egg first and then through the breadcrumbs.
- Put a layer of 5 millimeters of oil in a pan. Fry the balls in this, hold for one minute per side.