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This mouthwatering veggie burger recipe is slathered with barbecue sauce and doesn’t fall apart on the grill! It’s truly the best you’ll find.
This veggie burger recipe was created in partnership with Kroger. All opinions are our own.
Are you ready for our best veggie burger recipe? Alex and I have seen so many veggie burgers fall apart on the grill over the past 10 years. So we are beyond excited to share this recipe with you: a grilled veggie burger that doesn’t fall apart and tastes amazing, too. This recipe is part of our 6-episode Summer Barbecue Series hosted by Alex, me and baking expert Tessa from Handle the Heat. Scroll down to watch us make it in our kitchen!
Another great burger (that’s vegan too)? Try our Best Chickpea Burgers.
Video: how to make our BEST veggie burger
Why to make this veggie burger
Alex and I eat vegetarian about 90% of the time, so our website is full of our everyday healthy vegetarian recipes. We call it flexitarian! When we fire up the grill for summer entertaining, often Alex will just eat a real burger. However, I eat vegetarian even more than he does, so typically I’d prefer something meatless. There are lots of summer vegetarian recipes and vegetarian grill recipes that are outside of a bun (like these grilled nachos). But sometimes you just want a big burger, right?
So we present: our best veggie burger recipe! And we promise, cross our hearts, that this grilled veggie burger recipe doesn’t fall apart into a mush on your bun. It’s got a sturdy texture and big, big flavor. In this recipe, we’ve featured Simple Truth Organic Garbanzo Beans and Kingsford charcoal for the grill.
How to make a great veggie burger
It’s a little embarrassing how many times Alex and I have made a grilled veggie burger recipe that flopped. The reason that it’s so difficult to make a veggie burger recipe that doesn’t fall apart on the grill is that, well, newsflash: it’s not a meat burger! Molding together a bunch of vegetables and grains does not necessarily equal the consistency of a burger.
Problems with grilled veggie burger recipes are that they’re too dry and crumble on the grill, or they’re too mushy. And there’s nothing worse than biting into a burger with the consistency of mashed potatoes! After 10 years of experimenting, here are all our secrets to our best veggie burger recipe that doesn’t fall apart on the grill:
- Rice & walnuts: Rice makes a firm texture and helps the visual appeal. Walnuts create a firm texture and add protein.
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas are main veggie here; we mash them with a fork to keep some of their texture as well.
- Flour: The flour acts as a binder to hold everything together. You can use any type of flour, including gluten free flour if desired.
- Egg White: We tried to make this burger recipe vegan, but unfortunately it needed another binder to hold it all together! Egg white is the final secret ingredient to keep everything held together. (Feel free to try a flax egg — and let us know how it goes!)
- Barbecue sauce: We painted these burgers with barbecue sauce to get a color and shine that looks similar to a beef burger. Try our Homemade BBQ Sauce that you can make in just 10 minutes!
And how does it taste?
To us, this is the best veggie burger recipe we’ve ever made. And we still can’t believe how beautiful it turned out! It doesn’t taste exactly like meat, but the experience feels just like eating a burger and is incredibly tasty in its own way. Even better, it’s truly a burger recipe that doesn’t fall apart on the grill. How about you: would you try this grilled veggie burger recipe? Tell us in the comments below.
Can you bake this veggie burger recipe in the oven?
Yes! If desired, you can also bake this veggie burger recipe if it’s not grilling season! Preheat an oven to 375F, then bake for 30 to 40 minutes until evenly browned on both sides, flipping once. Brush both sides with barbecue sauce, then return to the oven for 2 minutes.
This recipe is…
This recipe is vegetarian. For gluten free, use gluten free flour and gluten free buns.
*For vegan and plant-based, you could try a flax egg replacement for the egg — we haven’t tested it but let us know if it works!
Print
Best Veggie Burger Recipe (Grilled or Baked!)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This mouthwatering veggie burger recipe is slathered with barbecue sauce and doesn’t fall apart on the grill! It’s truly the best you’ll find.
Ingredients
For the burger
- 2 cups cooked white rice (1 cup uncooked)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 15-ounce can Simple Truth Organic Garbanzo Beans
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour (or gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg white**
- Barbecue sauce
To serve
- Guacamole, Special Burger Sauce, or other creamy sauce
- 1 tomato
- Lettuce leaves
- 6 hamburger buns (gluten free if desired)
Instructions
- Make the rice according to the package instructions or use our Instant Pot method. If making the rice directly before grilling, quickly cool it by spreading the rice into a single layer on a sheet pan and placing it in the freezer for 2 minutes until it cools. Otherwise, you can make the rice in advance and refrigerate until using.
- Preheat a grill to medium heat.*
- Mince the garlic and onion. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the the onion and saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute for for 2 more minutes until golden and translucent. Remove from the heat.
- Roll over the walnuts with a rolling pin until they are fine and crumbly.
- Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Place them in the bottom of a large bowl and mash them with a fork. Mash until about 90% of the garbanzo beans are mashed; a few can remain whole.
- Measure out 2 cups of the rice and add it to the bowl with the garbanzo beans. Then add the onion and garlic mixture, 2 tablespoons olive oil, walnuts, flour, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper. Mix together, smashing any rice clumps so that everything mixes evenly. Stir in 1 egg white, then mix until everything comes together into a sticky dough.
- Using your hands, form five or six 1-inch thick patties by firmly patting and squeezing the dough together (making 5 results in a very thick burger; making 6 makes moderate-sized burgers). Set the patties on a baking sheet or plate for grilling. Brush both sides of the burgers with olive oil.
- Place the burgers on a grill and grill for 10 to 12 minutes on one side, until firm and grill marks appear. Gently flip the burgers and brush them with barbecue sauce. Grill for an additional 10 to 12 minutes on the other side, then serve immediately.
- To serve, place the burgers on a bun, topped with guacamole or another creamy sauce, tomato and lettuce (or other burger toppings of your choosing).
Notes
*You can also bake this grilled veggie burger if it’s not grilling season! Preheat an oven to 375F, then bake for 30 to 40 minutes until evenly browned on both sides, flipping once. Brush both sides with barbecue sauce, then return to the oven for 2 minutes.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Burger, Veggie Burger, Veggie Burger Recipe, Best Veggie Burger Recipe, Grillable Veggie Burger, Grilling Recipe
Looking for more summer barbecue recipes?
Outside of this best veggie burger recipe, here are the other summer barbecue recipes:
- Loaded Grilled Nachos
- Boiled Corn on the Cob
- Incredible No Mayo Potato Salad
- Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vanilla Sheet Cake with Grilled Strawberries
- Grilled Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich
- Summer Dinner Recipes to Eat Al Fresco
- How to Host a Simple Backyard Party
These look FABULOUS!!! Can I use brown rice instead of white?
Yes, you can definitely use brown rice instead of white! I’ll add that in the recipe too.
Love how well these hold together on the grill…impressive! And they look so much like real burgers too :)
Thank you so much! We were pleasantly surprised at how much the look simulates a real burger!
These burgers look delicious! Do you think I can use sunflower seeds instead of the walnuts? I have to avoid nuts.
Hi! I’m not the creator of this recipe, but a good replacement for walnuts in a veggie burger recipe is breadcrumbs!
It really is hard to find good veggie burgers! This recipe looks amazing, and I love how you explain what each ingredient does to make the burger so great.
I made it and was really impressed! This burguer is scrumptious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This ultimate grilled veggie burger looks so delicious!! I am gonna prepare it this weekend!!
Thank you so much! Let us know what you think!
Can we make them ahead of time and freeze them?
We haven’t tried it but I think that would work fine!
Would love to see a PRINT button.
Hi! There’s a gray Print button inside the recipe card just above the ingredients!
I made the hamburger today and it was great. Can these be frozen?
Hi! We haven’t tried it but I think they would freeze well. Try freezing them uncooked and then thawing before throwing on the grill!
Have you tried 1/4cup of the garbanzo liquid? Instead of egg?
Hi! We have not tried this but let us know if you do!