Say hello to the The Best Veggie Beet Burgers! These juicy, savory, and vibrant veggie burgers are easy to prepare and are made primarily with shredded beets, protein-rich lentils, and warming spices. These veggie burgers are easy to prepare, hold their shape beautifully, and are loved by vegans and meat-eaters alike. Whether you’re looking for a delicious homemade veggie burger recipe or simply an alternative for beef, these are the Best Veggie Beet Burgers!
Why You’ll Love The Best Veggie Beet Burgers
✔️ Easy to make with pantry staples
✔️ Firm texture that holds together
✔️ Great for meal prep and freezer-friendly
✔️ Packed with protein & fiber
✔️ Naturally vegan, dairy-free, and can be made gluten-free
Tips for success
- For grating the beets, a food processor works best for quick and uniform shredded pieces. You can also use a box grater, mandoline, or spiralizer, but I highly recommend a food processor.
- Bread crumbs are key for these burgers to hold their shape. If the mixture is too sticky when forming patties, add more breadcrumbs! I start with ¾ cup breadcrumbs but it usually takes about 1 cup when I make this recipe.
- For gluten-free opt for gluten-free breadcrumbs rather than grinding up oats. Oats can give the patties a dry, dusty flavor and they don’t hold together as well.
- Don’t be afraid to get your hands messy! You don’t need a special tool to mash the veggie burger mixture together, use your hands! You’ll need to form the patties anyways, and using your hands to mix the ingredients gives these burgers the best consistency.
- Spice it up! A little cayenne powder in the burger mixture adds a beautiful kick that pairs with the vibrant red color. For a spicy spread, I mix sriracha and vegan mayo for a simple chipotle aioli.
FAQs to make The Best Veggie Beet Burgers
How do I make veggie burgers that don’t fall apart?
Use a good binder like breadcrumbs and don’t skip the mashing step, this really helps hold the patties together!
Can I freeze these beet burgers?
Yes! Freeze them raw or cooked. Place parchment between patties and store in a sealed container. Use within 2-3 months.
Do beets make the burger taste earthy?
Nope! When balanced with lentils, spices, and aromatics, these burgers are savory and flavorful, but not in an earthy way.
Can I use canned lentils?
Absolutely! Just drain and rinse well before using.
Ingredient Spotlight: Beets
Beets are fun to use in the kitchen, as they give food such a dramatic appearance! Why always eat a boring brown burger when you can have a colorful red or even vibrant Green Veggie Burger? That’s the fun thing about cooking with plants, you can create a rainbow on your plate!
Aside from being visually stunning, beets also…
- 💪 Are high in fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C
- 🧠 Contain nitrates, which helps increase blood flow and improve brain function and memory1
- 🏃 Can enhance exercise performance
- 🎨 Give your burger a vibrant, beautiful color
Fun fact: It’s true that we eat with our eyes: humans evolved so that our trichromatic color vision allows us spot the colorful fruits in foliage!2 The more vibrant colors a dish has, the more it appeals to us and in this way we get a variety of nutrients!
Lentil power!
Lentils are one of the most nutritional legumes and they add the robust texture and a powerhouse of protein to make these burgers hearty!
Per 1 cup of cooked lentils:
- Protein: 17.9g
- Fiber: 15.6g
- Folate: 90% DV
- Iron: 37% DV
- Manganese: 49% DV
- Magnesium 18% DV
- Potassium 21% DV
- Thiamine, Copper, Zinc, B6… the list goes on!
Lentils add both nutrition and structure, making them ideal for plant-based burgers that are satisfying and nutrient-dense.
The Best Veggie Beet Burgers
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dry brown lentils makes about 2 cups cooked
- 1 small-medium sized beet shredded (about 9 oz)
- ½ of a yellow onion finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 Tbsp Liquid Aminos or Tamari
Spices + more
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp ginger powder optional
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- ¾-1 cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup almond butter or sub peanut butter
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal not whole seeds
- ½-1 tsp cayenne powder optional for spice
Optional Burger Toppings & Condiments
- Burger buns
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Avocado
- Pickles
- Onion
- Vegan mayo Vegenaise is my fav!! + sriracha for chipotle aioli
- Mustard
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils and reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
- In food processor (or by hand if you don’t have one, use a cheese grater to grate beets) use chopping blade to chop onion and garlic. Then switch the blade out for the grating attachment and grate the beet.
- Place onion and beet in a large skillet along with 3 Tbsp Liquid Aminos or Tamari. Cook on medium heat until onion softens and moisture has mostly cooked off, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl place ¾ cup breadcrumbs and everything else under “spices + more“, along with the cooked lentils. Once the beet and onion mixture has finished cooking, add that to the large bowl. Use your hands to knead everything together, mashing the lentils, adding another ¼ cup of breadcrumbs if needed, until a tacky consistency.
- Use your hands to form patties. Place patties on a lightly oiled or non-stick baking sheet. If you have the time, refrigerate for an hour.
- If baking, preheat oven to 350°.
- Lightly brush patties with olive oil.Baking: Bake patties for 15-20 minutes until both sides begin to brown, flipping halfway through. (Keep an eye on them, every oven is different! Stovetop: In a large skillet on medium heat (non-stick preferred), cook patties until each side lightly browns. Don’t overcook! Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes.
- Assemble Beet and Lentil Burgers on lightly toasted buns with choice of toppings and condiments. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you enjoy these Beet and Lentil Burgers? I’d love to hear! Leave me a comment below! 🙂
I have to be honest when I say- that the words “beet” and “lentil” do not immediately fill my mind with images of delicious, irresistible, and mouthwateringly flavorful food combinations. BUT!!!!! This recipe PROVED ME WRONG. I followed the recipe exactly and was BLOWN AWAY at the flavor profile of these burgers. I kid you not, my entire family (and not all of us are vegans!) could not believe how good these burgers were. There wasn’t a patty left over after we ravaged our dinner plates. This recipe is most definitely my new Go To for veggie burger dinner party nights. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ across the board!
THANK YOU for this review!! I’m stoked your family loved these burgers, that makes me happy! 🙂 It also gets me thinking that I need to devise more mouthwatering recipe names, as you’re right…”beet” and “lentil” doesn’t particularly make me salivate, either. Ha ha. Thank you for your input, it’s very helpful!
The most delicious veggie burger I’ve ever had! It wasn’t mushy and it didn’t fall apart like many I’ve made or have had in restaurants.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed! I love when restaurants make their own veggie burger patties but so often they fall apart when you take the first bite! I wanted to make a colorful, flavorful veggie burger that actually held together and it took several years of experimenting but I love these veggie burgers now!
I made these for dinner tonight and am so impressed! They came together quickly, they were easy to handle (unlike some other recipes), and cooked up nicely on the Traeger. They were delicious tasting and visually lovely! I followed the recipe to a “T” and wouldn’t change a thing! This recipe is a keeper!
Ooh, I bet these were extra tasty on the Traeger! Yum!! I’m so glad you enjoyed these veggie burgers; they have been a work in progress for several years and I finally have them dialed now!
Beets a meat burger any day!!
Haha…right?! 😀