In summer, we say the more burgers, the better. This one provides a spunky break from beef, pork, and turkey, opting instead for fresh shrimp dotted with confetti-like accents of red pepper...

I like to think of Serious Eats and A Hamburger Today as more than just a food blog. It's really a relationship between the editors and contributors, and you guys: the Serious Eats Community-At-Large. A like with any relationship, occasionally the routine can hit a rut.
I've tinkered with and written about burgers a whole lot in the last couple of years. So much so that there are, in fact, times when I'm simply at a loss as to what to tinker with and write about next. But if there's one thing that being married has taught me, it's that whenever your relationship hits a holding pattern, it's always best to turn to your spouse to seek for ways in which to liven it up. You see that way, if it works out, everyone's happy. And if it doesn't? Well it makes it a heck of a lot easier to blame the other person. This is valuable relationship advice. Take note.
So when it came time for me to write another burger-based installment of The Food Lab, I decided to take my own advice to heart and went searching for ideas on my Facebook page, through my Twitter feed, and via our message boards. The overwhelming response? Veggie burgers.
Don't like that idea? You've got nobody to blame but yourselves.
Personally, I do like a good veggie burger. And I'm not talking one of those hockey puck, soy protein, faux-meat, painted-on-grill-mark atrocities aimed at vegetarians who secretly (or publicly) miss meat (more on my stance on faux meat here). I'm talking a veggie burger that actually tastes of grains and vegetables. A veggie burger that celebrates its veggie-ness yet can stand up to and be complemented by the typical toppings and condiments you'd find at a backyard cookout. I'm talking a veggie burger that even a meat-eater would happily eat—topped with cheese and bacon, if they want.
And heck, just for the fun of it, why not add an extra challenge here and make the burgers 100 percent vegan as well?

Did you guys know you can pretty much make a veggie burger out of any combination of beans, grains & greens? Provided you get a consistency you can shape into a burger (even if it is delicate) you really have myriad options in the v-burger department.

Somewhere in between burgers and falafel you get quinoa cakes. The benefits? These ones are gluten-free, vegan and packed with protein, but you’d never guess it. Serve instead of a veggie burger, or throw on top of a salad and drizzle with tahini.

Whatever you do, you should probably make a double batch.

Nutty, chewy, and good for you to boot, farro is a great grain. It can be slowly simmered and stirred in place of rice for risotto, tossed with veggies and chilled as a salad, or fried into crisp little patties for these Farro and Mushroom Burgers.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of the Renegade Lunch Lady Chef Ann Cooper and her book Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Children. These lentil patties are delicious as well as healthful, and can be served as a burger on a whole grain bun, or as an entree with rice and some grilled veggies.

These easy-to-assemble burgers can be shaped ahead of time and cooked off when you're ready to eat.

I absolutely love veggie burgers but never once have I attempted to make them myself. However with the lack of organic and vegan options offered at the nearby grocery store here in Orlando I soon grew frustrated of the tasteless soy burgers (the only vegan option) that stocked the store shelves, therefore I decided to try making my own version of veggie burgers using a melody of my favorite ingredients and spices.

The delicious blend of southwestern flavor paired with the the creamy pureed black beans make for an exquisitely flavorful veggie patty. Plus adding the cornmeal to the mixture also helped to give these patties a crispy texture once baked.


This healthy recipe is extremely easy to follow there's not too much prep work involved and with a variety of alternative add ins you can really create a delicious vegetable burger catered specifically to your taste.

I absolutely love veggie burgers but never once have I attempted to make them myself. However with the lack of organic and vegan options offered at the nearby grocery store here in Orlando I soon grew frustrated of the tasteless soy burgers (the only vegan option) that stocked the store shelves, therefore I decided to try making my own version of veggie burgers using a melody of my favorite ingredients and spices.

The delicious blend of southwestern flavor paired with the the creamy pureed black beans make for an exquisitely flavorful veggie patty. Plus adding the cornmeal to the mixture also helped to give these patties a crispy texture once baked.

This healthy recipe is extremely easy to follow there’s not too much prep work involved and with a variety of alternative add ins you can really create a delicious vegetable burger catered specifically to your taste.

Scallop Burger Sliders with a Cilantro-Lime Mayo.

For a delicious vegetarian dish try Clodagh McKenna's spiced lentil burgers, served with a refreshing cucumber raita

I developed a NO sauté NO food processor veggie burger and I am so proud!  It is also (mostly) gluten free, as I don't particularly like vital wheat gluten in vegan burgers sometimes.  You could sub for the breadcrumbs with oats ground up in your food processor or more chickpea flour or other gluten free flour. And, it's soy free, for those of you who are allergic to soy! These are super easy and taste fantastic.  Perfect for the 4th of July weekend that is quickly approaching!  Bring your vegan treasures to an omnivorous party and watch them get gobbled up (make a double batch if you are taking them to a barbeque!).  Try to use as many organic ingredients as you can, but if you don’t have any on hand, conventional ones are OK.  Enjoy!

Yep, green burgers. This recipe makes a lot, but they freeze well, so you can have green burgers all week long!

simple vegetarian supper menu

chickpea burgers with yoghurt sauce
cucumber ribbon salad

Another successful burger recipe. These were inspired by a recipe that Gillian McKeith featured on her show "You Are What You Eat". I liked the idea of beans and tofu together to create a tasty burger. These came out really tasty (omni husband approved yay!) with a hint of smoky flavor, not overwhelming at all. I served them on a hamburger bun with grilled onions, lettuce and tomato. On the side are baked regular and sweet potato fries and for condiment I made a homemade thousand island dressing that was spiked with Frank's Red Hot Sauce!

These Asian-inspired burgers are great all by themselves, but you can also serve them on buns along with the traditional garnishes. You may want to add a bottle of soy sauce and some fresh beans sprouts to your standard selection of toppings.

We are definitely meat eaters around here, but I've noticed over the last few years we have cut down our consumption. Whereas we would serve meat probably four to six nights out of the week, lately it has been perhaps once or twice, with some weeks not having any at all! I can't say there has been any specific reason for the decline, other than we physically feel better when we don't eat as much. This does mean we have had to come up with dinners that had plenty of interesting textures and flavor to keep us entertained - like these Brown-Rice Veggie Burgers.

To make the patties for these veggie burgers, we used a packed cupful of cooked brown rice, which I made using our favorite no-fuss method. I didn't use a measured amount of dry rice to begin with as I always make extra and place the rest in the freezer for later use! Three quarters of that rice is tossed into a food processor, along with Monterey Jack cheese, a good dose of salt and a single chipotle pepper. Chipotle chiles are ripe, red jalapeños that have been smoked and in this case, packed in a vinegar-y adobo sauce. They are fairly potent, but if you'd like a milder, smoky heat, open up the soft pepper and scrape out the seeds first.

Ground down to an almost pasty texture in the processor, next to add is a seeded and chopped poblano pepper, a couple scallions and a scoop of thawed frozen peas, along with roasted and salted pepitas. Pulsed just to incorporate and break down the newly added veggies, the mixture is then scraped out into a bowl, with the remaining cooked rice kneaded in for extra bite. Portioned into four hearty sections, each piece is firmly shaped into a thick patty - I did find the mixture fairly tacky, but if you keep your hands moistened with water, it won't be messy or sticky.

Homemade veggie burgers can be somewhat notorious for falling apart, but I've found in the past that chilling the patties for about a half hour before cooking does wonders for keeping them solid. Even though the recipe didn't call for it, I went ahead and scheduled the extra downtime in for added insurance. With one side brushed with oil, the patties were added into a heated grill pan, oiled side down, and cooked until well toasted and a bit crusty. Before flipping, the uncooked side is quickly brushed with a dab more oil, then turned to cook just the same.

Sadly, I didn't have any of our snazzy homemade burger buns in the freezer and I didn't think enough ahead to make any either, which meant we had to go with those fiber-packed sandwich thins we already had handy. Jeff wanted his plain, as in just the patty and bun, but definitely pack on any variety of toppings you see fit - think about lettuce leaves, thick tomato slices, salsa, sour cream or even thinly sliced avocado. If you'd rather not use a burger bun, how about stuffing one of these thick patties into a warmed pita pocket instead?

Spring is springing here in San Antonio. Came home the other day and the mountain laurel by the driveway was blooming, the pear tree in the back yard was blooming and the fig tree is getting new leaves. None of that was going on when I left that morning!

I had announced yesterday at lunch that I was going to make some black bean burgers for dinner that night. Every once in awhile I try to have us eat a vegetarian dinner and that meets with not exactly enthusiastic support, but usually a smile and a comment. So there I was messing around in the kitchen getting ready to put this together and Henry comes in and tapes a small piece of paper on the refrigerator. It said "Mangerai quello che ti do da mangiare" in Italian, or "You'll eat what I tell you to eat." I asked if that was a comment on the black bean burgers and he said, "Oh no, I was just thinking about that place we ate in Rome where they had no menu and you just had to eat what they gave you..." Um yeah, SURE you were. Anyway, this is no burger, but it had a pretty good flavor and I will have a leftover one for lunch today. They are pretty soft and kind of fall apart or squish apart when you eat them, but all in all, not a bad change of pace.

High in fibre and low in fat, these veggie burgers with spiced yogurt are the healthy way to enjoy fast food

A great-value veggie burger that's good to serve for family or friends

These veggie burgers are a doddle to make and the toppings make them wonderfully moist - cook from frozen to save time

A healthy burger that's filling too. These are great for anyone who craves a big bite but doesn't want the calories

Regular ground turkey, which is a mixture of dark and white meat, has a higher fat content (similar to that of lean ground beef). Hoisin sauce is a spicy, sweet sauce made from soybeans, chiles, garlic and spices. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a year.

I spent about an hour on Sunday making and cooking up a big batch of a basic burger mixture. The mix is very versatile, so I made four different things from it. Now I have enough mini-burgers, meatballs and more in my freezer for at least 20 or more bento portions. It was an hour well spent! I love just knowing that my freezer has a nice stock of ready-to-go bento items - it takes the pressure off considerably on busy mornings.

Over the past couple of years as I’ve pursued largely vegetarian eating, I’ve gradually accumulated a small arsenal of small, round bean patties or balls, which are great as snacks, for bento boxes, and just for dinner, in my regular rotation. This one was inspired by one of the first beany-round thing I made, the samosa-like lentil snacks from The Hungry Tiger, and a Japanese vegan cooking book called Saisai Gohan (Vegetable Meals) by Yumiko Kano. (Yumiko Kano is currently my favorite cookbook author in any language, and I’ll talk more about her down the line.) I’ve adjusted a few things to make them gluten-free.

Cheesy "Steakburger"

prep time 10 min
total time 28 min
makes 4 servings

what you need
1 lb. Ground beef
1/4 cup A.1. Original Steak Sa...

The beef burger is one of the mainstays of the barbecue season, and these rice crispy burgers are a flexible addition to any party menu. Rice Krispies work well in this recipe, because they offer a delicate flavor, light texture, and are a safe alternative to breadcrumbs for most celiacs.

If you'd like to eat healthier, save cash, and protect the environment all at the same time, there are a few things you can do. You can buy from farmers' markets. You can skip super-processed meals for whole foods. You can live in an underground bunker until the end of days, surviving mainly on canned goods and whatever fungus sprouts in the cold, damp corners of your darkened lair.

That's the question I always ask myself when someone rolls up to a cookout with a whole mess of them. All too often turkey burgers end up being dry, tasteless patties that pale in comparison to their beef counterpart. So if you're an all-purpose meat eater, why bother?
While pondering the question further, I came to a clear and concise answer that got my mind whirling with the excitement of possibilities—they're a blank slate just waiting to take on any flavor.

Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce (Adapted from CL)

Turkey Burgers with Special Sauce (Adapted from CL)

Grilled Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese Spread (Adapted from CL)