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Trust me, I love grilled meats as much as the next dude blogger, but I also want to feed something delicious to my vegetarian friends, and store-bought frozen veggie patties don’t always get the job done. I find so many of them to be under-seasoned and mushy.
So, say hello to these Green Goddess Veggie Burgers!
HOW TO MAKE A DELICIOUS VEGGIE BURGER
These burgers are packed with spices such as cumin and paprika and a few other ingredients to keep them together on the grill. I like to start the burgers with a chickpea base, which gives them a great mouth feel—that’s a fancy way to say they feel good, texture wise—and can handle the heat of a grill. Carrots join the party to bring a little sweetness and color!
They are so packed with flavor that you won’t miss the beef. Even my three-year old ate an entire burger!
How Do These Veggie Burgers Hold Up to Grilling?
One issue with veggie burgers that comes up often is how they hold up on the grill. Will they fall apart? These hold up great assuming you have a clean grill, which means the burgers won’t stick and will be easy to flip. If you’re really worried about sticking you can brush the grill with a little oil as well, or use a grill pan.
To help the patties hold together on the grill, it also helps to make the patty mixture in advance and let it chill for a bit in the refrigerator if you have the time. That said, you can also make them right away, but be aware that the patties might be a bit more delicate.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THESE VEGGIE BURGERS
This whole meal gets a little lift with this herb-packed, creamy green goddess sauce. I based this sauce on the classic Green Goddess Dressing but added some avocado to thicken it and make it easier to slather on burgers.
These veggie patties are also flavorful enough to be served on their own or over salad. This makes serving them to guests who can’t have gluten pretty easy—just make sure you’re using gluten-free bread for the breadcrumbs, to bind them. Just spoon the Green Goddess sauce over top and serve!
Say hello to grilling season with these beautiful homemade veggie burgers!
MORE GREAT VEGETARIAN GRILL RECIPES
Green Goddess Veggie Burgers Recipe
If you don’t have access to a grill, you can absolutely cook these in a skillet. Form the patties and cook them with a little oil in a skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side until they brown slightly and firm up.
You will almost certainly have leftover green goddess sauce. It’s a great dip with fresh veggies or you can thin it out a bit with a dash of vinegar and olive oil and make a salad dressing out of it. It’ll safely keep in the fridge for at least a week, but then will start to lose some of its fresh herb flavors.
Ingredients
For the veggie burgers:
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium carrot, grated, about 1 cup loosely packed
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
For the Green Goddess Sauce:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup tarragon
- 3 tablespoons minced chives
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
To serve:
- 6 burger buns
- Green lettuce
- Sliced red onion
- 6 slices Monterey Jack (or any good melting) cheese (optional)
Method
1 Make and chill the patty mixture: In a food processor, add the chickpeas, grated carrot, garlic, and spices. Pulse the mixture a few times until combined into a rough paste. Add the egg and breadcrumbs, and pulse a few more times until mixture is evenly mixed.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and chill for at least an hour or up to 24 hours. Chilling helps the mixture hold together a little better when forming the patties and when grilling.
Patties can also be shaped and grilled immediately, but will be fairly delicate. We recommend using a grill pan to grill the patties.
2 Shape the patties: Divide burger mixture into six even patties, and transfer to a plate or sheet pan to make it easy to carry to the grill. If you're not grilling right away, loosely cover the patties and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to grill.
3 Make the Green Goddess Sauce: Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a food processor with the blade attachment. Process until the sauce is smooth, has a uniform color, and an even consistency. It should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Taste the sauce and season to your liking with salt and pepper.
This sauce can also be made a few days ahead and kept refrigerated.
4 Prep all other burger ingredients: Make sure your burger buns, lettuce, sliced onion, and cheese are all prepped and arranged near the grill.
5 Preheat the grill: Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to direct medium-high heat. Prep all other burger ingredients (lettuce, red onion, cheese).
6 Grill the burgers: When you’re ready to cook burgers, lightly oil the grill grates or a grill pan with canola oil.
Grill burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until a crust forms on the outside. If you’re using cheese, add sliced cheese in the last minute of grilling.
7 Serve: Serve the burgers immediately with fresh lettuce, red onion, and slathered with the Green Goddess sauce.
Cooked burgers will keep well in the fridge for 4 to 5 days and uncooked burgers should be cooked within a day or two or frozen for later and then thawed before grilling.
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Nick has been writing delicious recipes for the home cook for almost a decade. He lives in Denver, CO and embraces a delicate balance of diaper changing, trail running and beer drinking. His website is Macheesmo and his first book is Love Your Leftovers.
Green Goddess Veggie Burgers
I loved these! So easy to make and with so few ingredients. I didn’t grill mine, just fried in a little hot oil and they were great. Don’t skip the sauce, though it can be modified depending on what you have available. Adding a slice of summer tomato is nice as well.
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I used a mortar and pestle since I don’t have a food processor. Texture was great and held together with no problem on the grill (no pan). I happened to put grilled eggplant and sprouts on in addition to the red onion and lettuce. I also used Greek yogurt as a substitute for the sour cream in the sauce and it seemed fine. I am definitely making this again.
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I didn’t have very good luck getting the veggie burgers to stay together on my grill, I made the day before as suggested, so not sure what the fix is for that. But the Green Goddess sauce was awesome and great on lots of things. I will hang onto that aspect of the recipe for future use.
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Hi, Brandi! Emma here, managing editor. Thank you for the feedback!
Flavor was great but the consistency was similar to mashed potatoes. Cooked stove top. Suggestions?
Hi, Carol! Emma here, managing editor. When you process the mixture in the food processor, try pulsing just until you get a roughly chopped mixture. Scoop out half and set aside, then add the egg and breadcrumbs to the remaining mixture. Pulse a few more times, then mix the rough-chopped mix and the smoother mix together in the bowl. I think that should give you the texture you’re going for while still making sure the patties hold together. Let us know how it works!
I can’t have any wheat products. Is it possible to substitute course almond flour for the bread crumbs?
Also, can greek yogurt be used instead of the sour cream?
Helen, I make my own gluten free bread crumbs by toasting GF bread and scraping it for the crumbs. I would definitely try the Greek yogurt. I often cut back on mayonnaise by replacing some or all with yogurt. Both the burgers and the dressing are yummy! I hope you try them!
Thanks for the suggestion. I ended up making them without any type of bread crumbs at all. They held together well after being chilled, but honestly, I found them so dry. I did not enjoy them at all.
Hey Helen! I would use some sort of gluten-free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill has a good one). Also, you might try cooking the burgers in a skillet instead of on the grill as I think they will probably be more fragile. Make sure to chill them well and they should work though! Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestion. I eliminated the breadcrumbs, just used egg as a binder. They held up well but were just too dry for my taste. Will not make them again.