How To Make Veggie Burgers

One thing is for sure: you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy a good veggie burger. If you want something lighter or just want to mix it up—veggie burgers are great options for weeknight meals. They don’t take a ton of ingredients are very easy to manipulate flavor and have all the high-protein health benefits meat does without all of the added fats. Plus, you can make them with beans, oats, grains, tofu, legumes and, well, vegetables. They can be a great “don’t want to go to the grocery store and need to clean out the pantry” alternative for a weeknight meal on top of the fact that they’re a healthy option. We over here at Escoffier call that a culinary win win. This particular veggie burger uses garbanzo beans, oat bran, zucchini, fresh herbs and a series of household condiments to create one seriously flavor-packed punch.

So follow along with our online culinary school chef as he shows you how to make some homemade veggie burgers. Once they’re made, you can pop them in the freezer and keep on hand for an easy weekday meal.

Veggie Burgers

Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans (drained and mashed)
7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup oat bran
¼ cup quick cooking oats
1 package firm tofu
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 small onion grated
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 small zucchini, shredded
5 tablespoons barbeque sauce
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a pan over low heat and cook the onions and garlic for about 4 minutes, mix in the zucchini cook until tender. In a bowl stir the mashed garbanzo beans and basil, mix in the oat bran, quick oats.
2. In a separate bowl mash the tofu with your hands, trying to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the barbeue sauce and soy sauce over the tofu.
3. Mix all the ingredients together, add seasonings and egg.
4. Form the vegetables mixture into patties. Oil the grilled grate and grill patties for 3 minutes on each side or until heated through and nicely browned.