Vegan Beet Burger made with shredded beets, lentils, pecans, and spices for an easy and fun spin on veggie burgers. Packed with 8 grams of plant-based protein along with healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins and minerals, they make a flavorful and healthy homemade veggie burger recipe!
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We are still going strong with burger month and this week I’m sharing a fun veggie spin on your typical beef burger with these beet burgers!
While I love a big meaty burger, I love a good veggie burger too! Veggies are a staple in my diet and sometimes you just want to change it up at mealtime. And when they are done the right way, they totally hit the spot.
This recipe was actually inspired by the beet burger at 24 Diner. It’s so good and one of my favorite things to get there, especially in-between two pieces of crusty bread and topped with a fried egg and some goat cheese. I figured I should try to make my own version at home and after a few attempts, here we are!
Beets are one thing you either love or hate and I love them. I didn’t always though. My mom made them growing up and it grossed me out, but as I got older, I tried them here and there and now I love them! I even put them in my smoothies haha!
They add a good meatiness to the burger, along with the lentils, without having animal protein. Beets provide a good source of fiber, folate, vitamin C, manganese, and copper.
Michael even enjoys these beet burgers and he isn’t the biggest fan of beets. Getting in some veggies while burger night, win-win!!
Vegan beet burger recipe
Easy vegan beet burgers made with just 11 ingredients and come together in about 40 minutes. Made with shredded beets, lentils, pecans, oats, and spices, they make a flavorful and healthy homemade veggie burger. Each patty has 8 grams of protein along with healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins and minerals.
Here is what you need:
- pecans
- rolled oats
- cooked lentils
- onion
- raw beets
- garlic
- coconut aminos
- cumin
- dijon mustard
- ground ginger
- red pepper flakes
- oil
- salt and pepper
First, start off by toasting your pecans. Heat up a large pan over medium-low heat. Add pecans and toast for 3-5 minutes until they start to brown and get fragrant. Once they start to brown, immediately remove from heat and set aside.
Next, in the same pan, add a little oil and sauté the onion for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add beets, garlic, and coconut amino and saute for another 3-5 minutes until softened.
Add toasted pecans and oats to a food processor and pulse until broken down, but some texture still remains. You don’t want to make flour, so you will still have bits and pieces of oats and pecans.
Add the lentils, cooked beet mixture, cumin, mustard, ginger, and salt and pepper to the food processor. Pulse for 5-10 seconds until combine, but some texture remains. The mixture should be a little wet but stick together. If needed, you can add some more oats if the mixture is too wet. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water.
Then, taking a 1/2 cup and using it as a scoop, pack the mixture into the cup, remove, and form into a burger patty. Repeat with the remaining mixture making 4 burgers.
Add more oil to your pan and let it get hot. Add burgers and cook 5-7 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Since they are veggies burgers, they are more delicate than meat burgers, so be careful when flipping.
Once cooked, top with your favorite toppings and serve how you like!
Baked beet burger
I choose to pan-fry these vegan beet burgers as it gives them as nice crust on the outside for a little texture. You can also bake them in the oven as well. I find they don’t as crispy on the outside, but it still works.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake beet burgers at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
Make-ahead beet burger
If you want to save some time or do some work for meal prep, you can make your beet burgers ahead of in one of two ways:
- Partial prep – cook your lentils and saute your beet and onion mixture. Store in separate containers for up to 5 days and when ready to make them, toast your pecans, and follow the steps to form into patties and cook.
- Full prep – form the burger patties and then store in an airtight container, separating each patty with a piece of parchment or wax paper so they don’t stick together. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
How to serve veggie burgers
Any way you want to serve up a veggie burger is fine by me, but here are some of our favorite ways to jazz up this vegan veggie burger recipe:
- bun, crusty bread, or lettuce wrap – brioche buns, crusty sourdough, or a crusty whole grain/seed bread. If I’m not feeling a bun, I love doing a lettuce wrap.
- greens – leaf lettuce, romaine, or your favorite greens. I love arugula as it adds a little bit of bite, but whatever you like
- sliced tomato
- red onion or pickled onions
- sauce or spread – I topped these with my avocado lime sauce, but avocado or classic guacamole will work. I also love chipotle mayo or classic burger sauce on these beet lentil burgers!
- cheese – any kind of would work, but I suggest a melting cheese or goat cheese. If using sliced cheese, add it when you have about 3-4 minutes left on cooking time to allow it to melt. You can add some water to the plan and then cover it with a lid to allow it melt.
- classic condiments – ketchup, mustard, mayo, BBQ sauce, ranch, or your favorite condiment!
- in a bowl – add a huge bed of greens and load it up with the patty, your favorite toppings, raw or roasted veggies, condiments/sauce/dressing, and enjoy! It’s one of my favorite ways to do a burger if I am not feeling a bun.
Beet burger substitutions
While I have only tried this recipe as written, I would imagine it would work with a few substitutions. Here are a few suggestions:
- rolled oats – the oats help with a binder and also giving a little texture. Since you are pulsing it into a flour, you could use flour instead (I would suggest whole wheat, white, almond, or oat flour – coconut flour will not work).
- lentils – quinoa or should would work here
- pecans – any nut would work here. I think walnuts would be really good. You could try seeds if you have a nut allergy.
- coconut aminos – you can sub soy sauce or tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) for coconut aminos. If using soy sauce, check your labels and some have gluten in it.
More healthy vegetarian recipes
Beet Burger
ingredients
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (30 grams)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion (60 grams)
- 2 cups shredded beets (200 grams/about 2-3 small beets)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 heaping cup cooked lentils (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
instructions
- Toast your pecans. Heat up a large pan over medium-low heat. Add pecans and toast for 3-5 minutes until they start to brown and get fragrant. Once they start to brown, immediately remove from heat and add to the bowl of your food processor.
- In the same pan, add a teaspoon oil and sauté the onion for 3 minutes until softened. Add beets, garlic, and coconut aminos and saute for another 3-5 minutes until softened. Set aside to cool for a minute. If the mixture is really wet, squeeze/press out some of the liquid, but it does need to be wet to help the burgers hold together.
- Add oats to the food processor and pulse with the pecans until broken down, but some texture still remains. You don’t want to make pure flour, so you will still have bits and pieces of oats and pecans.
- Add the lentils, cooked beet mixture, cumin, mustard, ginger, and salt and pepper to the food processor. Pulse for 5-10 times until combined, but some texture remains. The mixture should be a little wet and stick together. If needed, you can add some more oats if the mixture is too wet. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water. Taking a 1/2 cup and using it as a scoop, pack the mixture into the cup, remove, and form into a burger patty. Repeat with the remaining mixture making 4 burgers.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to your pan over medium-low heat and let it get hot*. Add burgers and cook 5-7 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Since they are veggies burgers, they are more delicate, so be careful when flipping. Once cooked, top with your favorite toppings and serve how you like!
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notes
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These are really delicious! I followed the instructions and they came out really well. I was wondering whether I could freeze them before frying?
So happy to hear that! And yes, that I think that would work great. Just defrost in the fridge before cooking. Thanks, Lenka!
Delicious! I would like to make less mushy! Any suggestions?
Hey Carol! Glad you enjoyed them! You could add a little more nuts and maybe even process them with the oats a touch less for a little more texture. You could also try to add some cooked diced mushrooms (can saute with the beets) for a little more texture/meatiness. Making sure you don’t overcook the lentils is important too. Hope that helps!
Dear Kelly,
Your beet burgers have become a regular at my home. The burgers hold together very nicely, and they LOOK nice, too! One day, I forgot that I was out of lentils and I had already started the recipe: I was able to successfully substitute black beans, mashed a bit.
Your preceding explanation was very helpful. Thank you SO much for posting this wonderful recipe and for adding to our meal plans!
Best,
Rosemarie
So happy to hear you enjoy them so much, Rosemarie! And great to hear that black beans work well – I’m going to have to try that. Thanks for trying the recipe!
I had 3 beet burgers recipes saved so today I tried all 3 to decide which one to keep. These were the best flavoured vegan burgers I have ever had! My only trouble is that they didn’t stick together at all, whereas the other 2 recipes I tried stayed together great. This was the only recipe where I cooked the beets and onion first and I’m guessing it had something to do with that. Do you think adding more Oats might help me next time? I can’t figure out what I could do to bind them better. Thanks so much! This is definitely the recipe I’m keeping!
So glad you enjoyed them so much! Yes, adding more oats will help them stick together. You can also add an egg (if you eat them) or a flax egg as that will help. Since the beets are cooked, they should be a little wet/stick and stick together but you do have to be careful flipping them. I hope that helps. Thanks, Stefanie!
Are the beets sliced when you cook them in the pan prior to putting them in the blender.
They are raw and then you shred them. Then you put them in the pan and they cook. Hope that helps!
Love beef but can’t wait to try them
They are a good way to change it up!