Simple Gluten Free Vegan Burger

It’s so simple, I had to try it again to believe it.

I’ve been searching for a gluten free vegan veggie burger far and wide. Back in the day, when I was just a vegetarian, it was simple. If I wanted a veggie burger, I went and bought a package of frozen veggie burgers. I started out with Morningstar Farms, which I loved, but then moved on to more sophisticated burgers. Of course, things have changed a lot since those simple days. Nowadays the options are endless.

Unless you are vegan. And gluten free. And don’t live in the United States. Where I live, the impossible burger isn’t available. The best tasting veggie burgers are neither gluten free nor vegan. The few that are, are either mushy, contain whole lentils in them (yuck) or just taste weird. And all of them cost a lot more money than I want to spend.

So, I’ve been searching high and low for a vegan, gluten free veggie burger that reminds me of a real burger. After about 25 recipes, and nothing that would satisfy me, I was about to give up.

But one day recently, I came upon a recipe for breakfast sausages that inspired me to try something completely different.

Every recipe I had tried before now involved cooking and processing beans and a grain plus whatever else. Compared to those, this recipe is so simple and so old school I just wasn’t sure it would work. But it did.

So now I’m going to share it with you. Its not oil free and contains processed ingredients, so if that’s how you roll, its not your recipe. Also, it does contain soy and oat flour.

A couple of notes

TVP – this stands for textured vegetable protein. Its basically soy that has been processed, dried and turned into crumbly bits that kind of resemble ground beef – if you have a really good imagination. You can find TVP at any health food store, or online. Hey, if I can find it here, for sure you can find it where you live.

I decided to try a combination of coconut oil and grapeseed oil. The first time I made it, I used only grapeseed oil and it turned out fine, but the patties didn’t get really firm in the fridge. With a little coconut oil, they get nice and firm in the fridge which makes them easier to handle before cooking. But obviously, you have to like to flavor of coconut oil. I used a refined coconut oil that doesn’t taste coconut-y.

This recipe also works for meatballs.

I used organic onion soup powder with no MSG, but you could actually use any soup powder you like, it doesn’t have to be onion flavored. Or you could just add some extra seasonings and avoid the soup powder all together – have fun experimenting and let me know what you tried and how it turned out!

Put the ingredients for the broth mixture into a medium sized sauce pan and add the seasoning and heat it until it comes to a slow boil.

Turn down the heat to low and add the TVP allowing it to soak up the broth for about 2 minutes.

Add the flax meal and oat flour and stir well while continuing to cook over low heat for about 3 more minutes until it becomes thick and all of the liquid has been absorbed. If you can’t eat oats, you can try a gluten free baking mix, but I don’t know how it will turn out.

Allow it to cool enough to handle and then scoop out 1/3 of the mixture, if you like big bun-sized burgers or ¼ cup for smaller burgers, and form it into a burger shape with wet hands.

The recipe will give you approximately 10 1/3 cup burgers.

Place the burgers on a tray and put into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes until they fully cool. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze if they will not be used in the next 48 hours.

Allergy warning: Contains soy, oat flour

Ingredients

Broth Mixture:

1/4 cup neutral flavored cooking oil
4 cups water
1/4 cup Bragg’s liquid Aminos or tamari
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons onion soup mix
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp smoked paprika

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups TVP
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup ground flax

Instructions:

Put the ingredients for broth mixture into a medium sized sauce pan and add the seasoning and heat it until it comes to a slow boil.

Turn down the heat to low and add the TVP allowing it to soak up the broth for about 2 minutes.

Add the flax meal and oat flour and stir well while continuing to cook over low heat for about 3 more minutes until it becomes thick and all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Allow it to cool enough to handle and then scoop out 1/3 of the mixture and form it into a burger shape with your hands.

Place the burgers on a tray and put into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes until they fully cool.

Fry, grill or bake – whichever you prefer.

Simple Gluten Free Vegan Burger