Making a great veggie burger is not an easy thing to do. Wait. Strike that. Because while that sentiment used to have some merit, Chris Morocco's new crisp-on-the-outside, moist-(yes-moist)-on-the-inside chickpea-mushroom burger is shockingly easy to make, and also shockingly easy to fit into your busy schedule. That's right: The best way to make these vegan (no eggs!), gluten-free (no breadcrumbs!) burgers is in a big batch. Stick them in the freezer, grab them whenever, and cook them straight from frozen. It's just as convenient as serving your favorite store-bought brand, but tastier.
Making really delicious homemade veggie burgers, says Chris, is all about moisture control. So to start, you'll drain your two cans of chickpeas and briefly cook 'em in a pan on the stovetop to rid them of excess moisture. Added bonus: getting them browned adds extra flavor, too.
Since you're keeping moisture down, you're free to add other wet things that enhance the overall taste of the burger patties: namely, miso paste and tahini, both of which also help to bind the burgers together without any eggs. Chris uses a touch of flour, too, but oat flour works well if you're aiming to keep these gluten-free. (And yes, you can just blitz rolled oats in your blender/food processor/spice grinder and turn them into oat flour. It's easy, I promise!)
Chopped mushrooms go into the mix to add some texture—what Chris calls "bounce." But he also recognizes that not everyone is a mushroom person. If you are one of these not-a-mushroom-persons, he suggests grabbing a yellow summer squash or zucchini, grating it, salting it, squeezing the excess moisture from it, and folding that into the mix instead. No other changes needed.
To deepen the flavor of the burgers, Chris reaches for garlic powder and smoked paprika, which adds a bit of that smoky, fresh-off-the-grill essence we all love in a burger.
Finally, you stir in what is perhaps the most essential ingredient: cooked quinoa. While it's folded throughout the mix, what it does to the outside of the burger while it cooks is nothing short of remarkable. The quinoa causes the burger to get so crusty-delicious on the outside—like the best smash burger you've ever had. You'll firm them in the freezer for a couple of hours—or you can leave them there for up to three months.
Chris says you'll get great browning if you cook the patty in a skillet on the stovetop (and you don't need to freeze them at all if that's your plan). But he also says he really prefers the cooking method suggested in the recipe: Just oil your frozen patties and place them on a sheet pan in the oven. When your veggie burgers are hidden away, you won't be tempted to fuss with or flip them too much.
Sitting on a bun isn't all a veggie burger can do, keep scrolling down for the deets on how to make veggie burgers do double duty.
From frozen, the burgers take about 30 minutes to cook in the oven. From there you can pile them on a bun with any of your favorite creamy or crunchy burger toppings, or you can do like David Tamarkin did on January 21, 2020, during COOK90, and break the patties up into a stir-fry. Or you can do like I did a few weeks ago and cook two patties on one side of a sheet pan with shredded cabbage and onions on the other side, break up the patties half way through to encourage more crispy edges, and then toss the whole thing together for a sublimely good hash (smoky yogurt optional).
Whichever way you dice it—or don't—this is bound to be the best frozen veggie burger you've ever had.
