I know what you’re thinking: “Broccoli?? In a burger??”
I know. For reals though, this stuff is yummy. It all started a few weeks ago when my hubby (who is forever trying to bulk up his 6’5″ frame) was telling me all about how broccoli is full of protein. Presto! That’s when the idea popped into my head to put broccoli in a burger–because in my house, we’re always looking for more ways to sneak vegetables into our diets. (Even though, for the record, my 2-year-old daughter loves steamed broccoli more than she loves pasta.)
Speaking of burgers–who doesn’t want a little awesome vegan mayo somewhere on the scene?? Hampton Creek’s new Just Mayo is GMO-free, gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free (made from a yellow pea protein instead), and vegan. Taste-wise, I would say that Just Mayo is pretty comparable to Vegenaise. Oh, and here’s the clincher, this 8 ounces of Just Mayo costs only $1 at Dollar Tree (yes, Dollar Tree, no joke). I have visited a few Dollar Tree stores recently that didn’t have Just Mayo in stock–at least not yet. It’s a new item, so keep checking if your Dollar Tree doesn’t carry it yet. (Side note: I love Vegenaise too, but sometimes it’s a little hard on the wallet.) (Another side note: I wasn’t paid, gifted, or otherwise bribed to endorse Just Mayo or Vegenaise in the comments above.)
The reason I like sandwiches like this so much is that I’m not much of a salad-maker (sad, but true). Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE salads–but for some reason, the actual chopping, washing, and dressing-making required overwhelms me. Knowing that I’m getting a balanced meal with just one broccoli burger sandwich is more than enough to seal the deal for me.
Oh, and it tastes crazy good too. I guess that’s kind of important.
Vegan Broccoli Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked/steamed broccoli thoroughly drained and lightly packed into measuring cup
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons water only if needed
- 2-4 tablespoons oil of your choice for pan-frying patties
Instructions
- Steam/cook broccoli (fresh or frozen) in a saucepan on medium heat until broccoli is fork-tender.
- In a blender of food processor, pulse walnut pieces until they resemble a course meal, but have not yet become walnut butter. Place walnut pieces in a large mixing bowl.
- In a blender or food processor, pulse cooked/drained broccoli until it is crumbled into very tiny pieces, but not yet a puree (eeeeeewwww).
- Please broccoli and remaining ingredients in mixing bowl with walnuts and rice. If your mixture seems dry and crumbly, go ahead and add a tablespoon of water. This stuff can turn into soggy goop pretty quickly, so you'll want to be very careful to add only a scant tablespoon og water at a time to your burger mixture.
- Stir burger mix well, then shape into 4 equal burgers.
- Pour a tablespoon or 2 of oil (just enough to coat the pan) in a skillet and place on medium to medium-high heat.
- Gently pan-fry your burgers, allowing a few minutes for cooking on each side.
- You'll know they are done when the burger surface has a nice dark brown crispiness.
- Serve burgers warm on vegan buns with veggies and condiments of your choice (I chose a mix of Just Mayo, pickle relish, and ketchup.)
Nutrition
This burger is amazing! I have never used walnuts, I just sub whatever blend of nuts I have usually hazelnuts and pecans. Its the best burger I’ve ever had. I always buy extra broccoli and cook a little extra rice so I can whip these up from the leftovers. My partner thinks they taste like beyond or impossible meat. I don’t know what makes it so delicious but I’m glad it is! Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! So glad you loved it, Christine!
http://www.savingthecrumbs.com
OMG…these sound delish! I love a good homemade burger and just like you I prefer sandwiches packed full of nutrition instead of just a salad. Kudos! Will definitely give this one a try.
Thanks!!
Can I sub chickpea flour for wheat gluten?
Hi Saniel, you probably can, although I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know if it works for you!
Saniel – if you try this, let me know how it works :)
Yeah, have been looking for Just Mayo at our Dollar Tree here for many weeks. Still no show. :-(
I know…I looked when I was near your house last week. :( Hoping it shows up soon! :)
Wow, these look AMAZING! Can’t wait to try them. Oh, and my family is a huge Just Mayo fan. I like it equally as well as Vegenaise and it’s much easier on my wallet too. :)
http://www.shelikesfood.com
I’m so obsessed with all veggie burgers these days and I love that you made yours with broccoli! Such a creative idea and I bet they taste amazing! I’m going to have to add these to my veggie burger to-make list :)
Hi!
Loved these burgers. My 18 month old son agrees- he devoured an entire burger tonight for dinner.
I was wondering about your thoughts on baking these instead of sauteeing them?
Also, have you tried using peanuts or almonds in this recipe? I always have those around the house but rarely walnuts. In fact, they were the ONLY thing I had to buy for this recipe. Had everything else already (love that, by the way!!)
Thanks again for the awesome recipe!!!
OMG. Just made these. So yummy. Even better cold. Only problem I had was they kinda fell apart. They were still really delish though.
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Wow. Just….Wow. So good. My family, all of them, 4 kids, ate these up. Applause goes to you on a wonderful & delicious meal! Thank you for sharing your talent with us!
These were fantastic!
A little difficult to keep together, however some time in the fridge for the 3rd and 4th patties helped immensely.
Also, the second time we made them we scrambled the mixture up and put it into some pita bread which was also amazing.
I used quinoa instead of brown rice just because we were hungry, and brown rice takes so long to cook. The burgers turned out awesome!
http://plantbasedsynergy.com
These sound great. Like you, I am not a big fan of making salads a lot (too much work) so I’m always looking for something easy to make and these sound really easy and great to make!
These were seriously the BOMB !!! So easy to make and we all absolutely loved them. Can’t wait to make them again !!
9 months later and we are STILL making these burgers…..can’t believe how absolutely yummy they are. Want your kids to eat their veggies?? My kids ask for these by name!!