I came up with this basic recipe a few years ago when I was asked to offer a second Vegan Burgers and Sides class with new recipes so that people who had attended the original class could come back for more. I’ve tweaked it only slightly since then.

I like recipes that are reasonably quick so I tend to use canned/boxed beans – even for lentils – unless I have leftover cooked beans.  Also, while cooked grains and cooked potatoes are wonderful additions for binding burgers, unless I have leftovers at the ready I often gravitate towards using rolled oats. So this recipe uses canned beans and rolled oats.

For these burgers I chose to use cannellini beans (Italian white beans) as the base. The beans are great for adding some binding as well as nutrition. Cannellinis are mild and work well as non-competing background for other distinctive flavors. The bold Mediterranean flavor comes from the herbs, onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and seasoning. These ingredients plus the red pepper also give nice color to the burgers.

It really doesn’t take long to prep the ingredients. Because we’re going to use a food processor, you need only give a rough chop to the onion, pepper and garlic. If you don’t have a food processor, then you will need to chop finely, or in a pinch you could substitute garlic and onion powder and dry herbs. I recommend sticking to fresh, but if you substitute, remember that dry herbs and spices are concentrated so reduce the quantity to about 1/3 of the fresh.

The recipe is below but here’s the basic process:

1. Gather and prep the ingredients. Note that my recipe instructs you to blot dry ingredients after rinsing. Very important. One reason vegan burgers often fall apart is that there’s too much moisture in the mixture.

2.  Mix ingredients in food processor – pulse versus puree to leave some texture.

3.Transfer to bowl and fold in the olives. Then cover and refrigerate to set.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Form patties and bake or pan fry.

 

5. Prepare toppings of choice, assemble and enjoy.

Here are some general tips for making your own vegan burgers successfully.

RECIPE FOR MEDITERRANEAN BURGERS

Makes about 6 burgers

INGREDIENTS

•  1 can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed, and blotted dry
• 3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2  a medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2  a small red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
• 1 tsp  Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried mixed Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp  red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, loosely packed, rinsed and blotted dry
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed, rinsed and blotted dry
• 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, chopped (optional)
• tsp each or to taste, salt and pepper
• As needed, cooking spray or oil
• Toppings and condiments of choice — Serve with fixings of choice, such as lightly toasted buns or other bread, vegan mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, pickles, roasted red pepper, and/or pesto.

DIRECTIONS

 Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit if baking. These burgers also can be pan fried.

1. Combine everything except the olives in a food processor. Pulse to combine and leave some texture. (Do not puree.)

2. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in the olives. Cover and put in refrigerator until ready to use. It’s best to let mixture sit for a while so that it can set for a firmer, better texture and the flavors can marry. I try to plan ahead so the mix can sit for an hour or longer, but you want to give it a bare minimum of at least 15 minutes.

3. Form mixture into 6 equal pieces/balls. It’s easiest to divide mixture into half and then each half into 3 equal portions.

4. *Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Space out pieces on parchment, and flatten into patties. Spray with a little more oil and bake for 15 minutes.  Flip burgers and bake for 12-15 minutes more, until slightly browned.

5. Serve on a bun or lettuce leaf, with vegan mayo and toppings of choice.

*To pan-fry these burgers, heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Then add burgers and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side.