Better than the Impossible Burger | Farm to Table Beet Burgers

Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Plant-based. Allergens: contains peanuts & wheat

I’m a big fan of veggie burgers, but there are plenty of sub-par options out there. Recently the Impossible Burger (Impossible Whopper) and Beyond Meat burger have taken over the veggie burger scene, and for good reason! They’re full of flavor, weirdly meat-like, and becoming widely available at restaurants and even some fast food chains.

I had never visited Burger King before, like ever, until last weekend. Chris and I were out running errands and decided we would go try the Impossible Whopper. A vegan burger option that Burger King had recently launched, totally void of meat ingredients, but strangely meat-like. I will say it was a bit satisfying having fast food, being able to go through a drive through and indulge for once, but the burger left me a little unsatisfied.

First off, the Impossible Whopper burger is extremely processed, so if you love whole foods and rich, real, flavors, then you’re likely going to be left wanting more. Second, there is waste involved with the packaging of buying a burger at a fast food restaurant, or buying the Beyond Meat burgers at the store.

So if you are looking to decrease your environmental footprint and produce less waste, making something at home is always a good choice! Finally, the Impossible Whopper, as well as the Beyond Meat patty both taste A LOT like meat! Now, in so many ways, that is a good thing. For animal rights, it’s fantastic! A meat-like burger without any of the suffering? BUT, I actually don’t really miss meat and I’m guessing I am not the only one.

Because of that, eating something with the flavor of meat, is a little off putting. So here’s where this recipe comes in.

A delicious, hearty, full-flavored veggie burger, that shares some traits in common with a meat-patty, but not enough to confuse you. It requires only a few ingredients, only one kitchen gadget that most people have on hand, and a HUGE bonus, is you can grow a lot of the ingredients right in your backyard if you so choose! It’s plant-based, vegan, an easy to make gluten-free. All of these factors make this vegan beet burger recipe even better than the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Meat Burgers.

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I originally found a beet burger recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, but after making that recipe once, I had a few alterations I wanted to make. With less than 10 ingredients, and very few steps, this recipe is just as easy as it is delicious!

What I loved most about this recipe, was going outside to pick the beets, the onion, the thyme and all the toppings. We pretty much always have all the other ingredients in our pantry so it is one of the easiest and most inexpensive meals we can make here at the farm. Eventually we will be growing more dry beans, and hopefully garbanzo beans, so that we can use our own as well.

Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 10 Minutes Total time: 30 Minutes

Recipe Ingredients

Serves: 6-8

Patties

• 4 small or medium-sized beets
• 1 medium or large yellow or white onion
• 1 cup garbanzo beans (don’t drain or rinse)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (sub all-purpose GF if necessary)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 4 cloves garlic
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt

Toppings

• Burger buns (regular, GF, or even lettuce wraps)
• Greens (lettuce, cabbage, kale, arugula, anything you like!)
• Sautéed pepper and onions
• Fresh tomato
• Pickles! (homemade are the best!)
• Sauce for topping (some ideas: ketchup, mustard, relish, hot sauce, barbecue sauce)

Kitchen tools needed

• Food processor
• Oiled pan (Cast Iron worked great)

Instructions

First, you’re going to prep your veggies. Go ahead and wash the beets and onions and peel them. Then, you’re going to get your food processor ready. If you have the grater attachment, pull that out. It works great for this recipe! Go ahead and use the grater on your food processor, or a hand grater, to grate the beets.

Next, finely chop up the onion. Then add all the patty ingredients to the food processor and run the processor until it’s all blended up. When you go to add the garbanzo beans, don’t rinse or drain the beans, simply measure out 1 cup straight from the can and add to the food processor. This is because the liquid in a can of garbanzo beans acts as an emulsifier for your burgers, making them hold together even better! Once you start the food processor, you will want to scrape down the sides occasionally to make sure everything is incorporated well.

Lightly oil a pan (Cast Iron if you have one!). Form patties by scooping up the beet burger mixture (about 1/2 cup per patty). I form the patties directly in the pan by putting the mixture on the oiled surface and pressing into the shape of a burger patty. Allow the patties to cook on medium heat for a few minutes until they begin browning. Then turn them over to cook for 3-4 more minutes on the other side.

With the patties added to the pan, now is a good time to start sautéing your peppers and onions. Chop up 1-2 peppers and 1/2 of an onion and add them to a lightly oiled pan on medium-high heat. Sauté until lightly charred.

Add your veggie patties to a bun, and top as you like! Pickles, ketchup, mustard, peppers and onions, and fresh tomato were our preferred ways to enjoy this burger! Cheese isn’t at all necessary, but optional if you’re a big cheeseburger fan. We’ve used vegan cheese before, and while it is tasty, I actually prefer these burgers without it, since they are so flavorful on their own.

Enjoy your veggie burgers! We have also refrigerated and frozen extra and they are great as leftovers. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Well that’s all for now friends! As always,

All my best,

Jenn

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