Recipe Easy Homemade Grillable Veggie Burgers on Sprouted Buns
This easy grillable veggie burger recipe won't slip through the grate!
May 12, 2022
Homemade veggie burgers are tasty but notoriously fragile. That’s why most of our healthy plant-based burger recipes are best baked in the oven. And why we set out to make one that will stand up to summer BBQ season without turning on the oven. Our Easy Homemade Grillable Veggie Burger recipe holds up on the grill as good as any store-bought plant-based patty—without sacrificing nutrition or flavour.
The secret? Aquafaba. Yes, the liquid that’s usually drained and rinsed from a can of chickpeas! It takes the place of eggs to hold a handful of wholesome plant-based ingredients together so you can slap these patties on the barbecue and serve a healthy burger your family will love.
This easy grillable veggie burger is just as nutritious as it is tasty, thanks to the inclusion of brown rice, canned chickpeas, and sprouted breadcrumbs—made from the lonely last slices and heels hanging out in your pantry or freezer. These ingredients mean these plant-based patties are packed with the goodness of whole grains and plant-based protein—so you can feel energized and satisfied.
This recipe is perfect for summers by the barbecue—so you can enjoy the rich, smoky flavour that comes with cooking over a grill outside in nice weather! Fresh air and a fresh veggie burger truly hits the spot! The ingredients for this recipe are healthy and easy to find—nearly all of them can be sourced from pantry staples or leftovers.
Sandwiched in a sprouted bun, this healthy veggie burger is chock full of fibre too. And that means this simple plant-based meal will keep you and your family fuelled and ready to make the most of long, warm, mid-summer evenings together.
Ingredients
For the Easy Homemade Grillable Veggie Burger patties:
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (use our easy Sprouted Breadcrumb recipe)
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- ½ Tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ medium white onion , finely diced (about ¾ cup)
- 1 ½ cups canned chickpeas , drained and rinsed (reserve liquid!)
- 2 Tbsp aquafaba (liquid reserved from canned chickpeas)
- 3 – 4 Tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
Seasoning blend (for the patties):
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground pepper (plus more for the onions)
- ½ tsp salt (plus more for the onions)
To serve:
- 4 – 6 Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery Organic Hamburger Buns (or Silver Hills Bakery Sesame Sprouted Hamburger Buns), toasted
- veggie burger toppings and condiments (click to see Our Favourite Healthy Plant-based Burger Toppings post for inspiration!)
Featured Product Burger Buns
Instructions
- Start by cooking brown rice—or use leftovers! Cook rice according to the packet (or rice cooker) instructions and let cool for at least 5 minutes before adding to a bowl with the other ingredients. (Cooler rice makes the mixture easier to handle when you form the patties).
- While rice cooks, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté onion in vegetable oil for 3 – 4 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent and soft. Set aside.
- Drain canned chickpeas over a bowl and reserve ⅓ of a cup of aquafaba (the juice from the chickpea can).
- Rinse, drain, then add the chickpeas to a large mixing bowl, and mash by hand with a fork (or potato masher) until almost smooth, leaving some chunks of chickpeas for texture.
- Add cooked brown rice, sautéed onions, sprouted breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce, seasoning blend, and 2 tablespoons of the aquafaba to the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Adjust as needed until the mixture is easy to shape (see Tips below on what to do if your veggie burger mixture is too dry or too wet). You want your mixture wet enough to shape into patties and hold together easily, but not so wet that it's sticky—it should be more like cookie dough you can roll into balls than like muffin batter.
- Divide mixture evenly and shape into 4 – 6 plant-based patties. Set aside on a plate or baking sheet until ready to grill. (Patties can be made up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate until grill time!).
- Make sure your grill is clean, then preheat your barbecue to medium. Brush grates with vegetable oil to make sure your veggie burger patties won't stick.
- Grill the first side for 3 – 4 minutes or until you have nice grill marks and patties begin to brown. Flip veggie burger patties with care (they'll hold together as long as you don't attack them with the spatula!). Close the lid of the barbecue and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes on other side. Reduce heat or move patties to a cooler area of your grill to keep from over-browning. (You want grill marks that capture the smoky flavours of summer BBQ season, without going all the way to charcoal!)
- Because most barbecues have hot spots, your grillable veggie burgers may be done at slightly different times. Watch closely! As each patty reaches its own perfect doneness, remove it from the grill to a plate and set aside.
- Toast your Silver Hills Bakery Sprouted Hamburger Buns on the grill, then deck out your veggie burgers all your favourite fixings.
- Got leftover patties? Store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Try these handy tips!
- If you find the ingredients are too dry, add more aquafaba (in increments of 1 tablespoon) until your mixture reaches the consistency described in the instructions above (cookie dough not muffin batter!).
- If the ingredients are too wet, add more sprouted breadcrumbs. (If your mixture is very wet and needs a lot of adjustment, also add more mashed chickpeas so the balance of breadcrumbs to beans doesn't go wildly off and cause crumbly patties). Add and mix in small increments until you reach the desired consistency.
- Rainy day? Although these plant-based patties were made especially for the barbecue, you can cook them in a frying pan, grill pan, or on an indoor grill, too. Use a little oil (or go with non-stick) and cook over medium to medium-high heat with similar timing to the grilling instructions above. (Because all the ingredients are pre-cooked, you only need to cook these until they're browned on the outside and warm in the middle!)
