100% meat-free – 3 Vegan burgers to test-drive

You’re vegan? You love a barbie? Adore Vegan burgers? No problem! Not so long ago only a few of us were Vegan. Now it’s spreading like wildfire as more people than ever forgo meat, fish and dairy as a matter of taste, for animal welfare, or to help fight climate change. And that means there are loads of really good, uber-tasty Vegan recipes around for complete and utter BBQ deliciousness. Let’s explore. Thanks to the BBC Good Food website for the inspiration and the images.

The brilliant black bean vegan burger

This one is lovely and simple, and it tastes fantastic according to our Vegan mates.

• 1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
• ½ leek, chopped
• 5 mushrooms, chopped
• 30g thyme, leaves picked
• 140g firm tofu, chopped
• handful of kale leaves
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 240g tinned black beans, drained
• 3 tbsp oat bran
• 2 tbsp cooked brown rice
• 2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts or walnuts
• 40g gram flour (optional)
• 4-6 burger buns
• For the burger dressing: 4 tbsp vegan mayo, 1 tsp tomato ketchup, 1 tbsp chopped onions and some cayenne pepper – just mix them together

Grab the ingredients above, then do this:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the leek, mushrooms, thyme, tofu and kale for about 5 minutes.
• Add the mustard, tamari and half of the black beans and stir
• Put it in a blender, leaving the mixture nice and chunky, not too smooth
• Add the rest of the black beans, oat bran, rice, and chopped nuts and mix them together
• Divide the mixture into 4 or 6 chunks
• Put the gram flour onto a plate and cover the burgers with it
• Tip – to help them stay burger-shaped, chill the mix in the fridge for a while
• Fry your burgers for 4-5 mins on each side until they’re crisp on the outside
• Serve in a bun with the dressing

Easy Vegan burgers made from polenta and sweet potato

This one is just as easy, using polenta and potato as the main ingredients. Yum!

• 6 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz)
• 2 tsp oil , plus extra for the trays
• 2 red onions , finely chopped
• 2 red chillies , finely chopped (deseeded if you like)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 340g can sweetcorn, drained
• small bunch of coriander, chopped
• 200g polenta

The method…

• Bake your spuds
• Heat the oil, add the onions and chillies, cook for 8-10 mins until soft and leave it to cool
• Add the potato flesh, without the peel, to the chilli and onions, mashing them together
• Add the spices
• Mix in the sweetcorn, coriander, and half the polenta
• Season the mix
• Make 10 burgers and dip them in the remaining polenta
• Put them on an oiled baking tray and chill then for at least half an hour
• Fry them for 10 minutes each side, or until they’re brown
• Serve in buns with a Vegan relish

Vegan burgers – The beetroot and quinoa burger

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 finely chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200g quinoa, cooked
• 2 large cooked beetroot (150g), finely grated – keep the liquid separate
• 50g plain flour
• 2 tbsp milled flax seeds
• ½ small bunch of coriander

Make your burgers

• Fry the onion, cumin and garlic in rape seed oil on medium heat for 8 mins until softened and golden, then put it in a bowl
• Add the cooked quinoa, beetroot, flour, flaxseed and coriander, and mix them well then season
• Leave it to sit for five minutes
• Divide the mixture into four
• Put the burgers on a lined baking tray and cook for 15 mins, then turn them over and cook for another 10 mins
• Make a salad dressing by whisking up 25ml beetroot preserving liquid, ½ a juiced lemon, 100g low-fat soy yogurt, 50ml extra virgin olive oil and seasoning

There are quite literally thousands of great Vegan burger recipes online for you to discover, all with their own unique flavour. Enjoy!