Nutty pumpkin seed baked veggie burgers
Before I get on to these amazing baked veggie burgers, I have some exciting news to share: I’m going to America!
Well, it’s exciting for me… not so much for you. I’m just going on holiday, you can’t come (sorry). But I hope you’ll be excited on my behalf, anyway!
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll have already heard a little about my trip, but for those of you who don’t subscribe (meanies), my husband and I are spending 3 weeks in February travelling around New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Chicago, and New York. It should be amazing, and I absolutely can’t wait.
Our plans involve:
– partying it up at Mardi Gras (woop woop!)
– taking a boat ride across a swamp (if I don’t come back, I probably got eaten by an alligator)
– watching loads of live music and eating loads of amazing food
– seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry (I’m a total closet country music fan)
– singing along to Les Mis and Wicked on Broadway (quietly…)
– seeing the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden (I think that’s basketball, right?!)
– … and lots more!
I already know it’s going to be one of the best holidays ever. I’ve only been to the US once before (not the same cities, though), and I absolutely loved it.
I know I have a lot of American readers, so if you’ve got any other ideas for things we should do / see / eat in any of these places, I’m all ears – let me know in the comments or drop me an email!
I apologise in advance if the blog gets a bit quiet for a few weeks in February. I’m going to try to have a few posts scheduled to go up when I’m away, and might be able to do a little bit of work while I’m there too… but to be honest, I’m looking forward to just having some time off! When you’re self-employed, that’s not a common occurrence. Hope y’all understand!
(yes, I’m now officially adopting the word ‘y’all’ in preparation for my trip across the South. It does sound a little odd in my British accent, but I like it all the same)
Anyway, I wanted to share something that was vaguely American in celebration of my trip, and when I think of the US, I think of burgers. So burgers it was.
Of course, these aren’t just any old burgers. These nutty pumpkin seed burgers are quite possibly the best baked veggie burgers I’ve ever made – they may not look like much, but I’m still dreaming about them weeks after I actually made them (that’s how organised I am with this blog, cough cough…).
These veggie burgers are thick and dense, hearty and filling, super tasty with a really lovely texture. Since they’re baked, you don’t need to cook them in loads of oil. They’re vegan and gluten-free. And, they’re really high in protein too – the oats, nuts, seeds and beans all add up to give about 15g of protein per burger!
Since I can’t seem to do anything by the book, I served my burgers in lettuce cups rather than in the usual bread bun. I just broke the burgers into a few pieces, and served them with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, coriander… oh, and a really good drizzle of burger sauce. The veggie burgers are so hearty that they work just fine without the bun (though if I’m entirely honest, I did serve the leftovers in bread, which was just as delicious). Plus they look really pretty this way!
Nutty pumpkin seed baked veggie burgers
Ingredients
- 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, per tin when drained)
- 50 g walnuts (~ 2/3 cup)
- 50 g peanuts (~ 1/3 cup)
- 45 g pumpkin seeds (~ 1/4 cup)
- 85 g oats (~ 3/4 cup) - use gluten-free oats if required
- Small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Spray oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6 / 400°F).
- Add all the burger ingredients (everything except the spray oil) to a food processor, and blitz until the nuts and coriander are all chopped well, and the mixture has reached your desired consistency. Try not to over-process - it’s nice if some parts are left a bit chunkier than others (you can hold back a few pumpkin seeds to add whole, if you prefer).
- With clean hands, separate the mixture into six equal portions, and form each into a thick burger shape. Place on a lightly greased lined baking sheet, and spray lightly with oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy, and serve warm.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose.
You should definitely serve your baked veggie burgers topped with some homemade burger sauce – it’s the best ever!
What an awesome trip you have planned! I’m a vegetarian new yorker and all i can say is come hungry :))
-Near madison sq garden is koreatown- bcd tofu house makes amazing korean stews with their fresh tofu
– nyc bagels are vegan (!) my favorite bagel shops include ees-a-bagel, pick a bagel, and zucker’s
– the marshal is your best bet for dinner in the garment district
– by chloe in the west village is new and makes a great veg burger
– taim makes the best falafel (nolita location has the best seating)
– wassail is a great hard cider bar with all vegetarian menu
-dirt candy is where to go for a splurge dinner you will never forget (their brunch is awesome too)
These all sound fab, thank you so much for the suggestions! I’ll be arriving on Monday and will definitely keep these in mind as I explore :D
Hope you are feeling much better now, and ready for your trip. I made these burgers a couple of days ago – utterly delicious, and the texture is really good, nice and light, just chewy enough- like veggie truffles! So good, thank you. Have a good flight to the US, and a fantastic time – you can’t fail to come back inspired.
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed them Lesley, thanks for your comment! I thought the texture was fab too, dense and light at the same time somehow ;)
A million things to do in NY (of course) but I always have to recommend Mamoun’s :) http://www.mamouns.com/
Awesome, I’ll check it out, thanks! :)
Veggie burgers look great – lovely and hearty. Have a fab time in America
Hi – I enjoy your blog. I am from New orleans and currently live in Chicago. Please feel free to email me with any questions.
Thanks!
Thanks Angie! I’m only in Chicago for 1 day, but if there’s anything you can think of that I MUST do on that day, let me know :D
Ooh they look really lovely Becca, and love the way you’ve served chunks in little lettuce leaves, so cool! Have an incredible trip – I’ve done New Orleans and New York from your list, and loved them both, totally different and totally all-American, but very fun places to spend a week! Enjoy!
The burgers sound fab and I love the deconstructed look. Going to the States for 3 weeks sounds epic. Hope you have a fantabulous time.
Have the most amazing trip and enjoy every minute. These burgers look so good and meaty, considering there’s no meat in them.
You will have an amazing time – and I’m envious in the nicest possible way! I’ve been to NY, Houston, and my daughter lives a ferry ride across the Puget Sound from Seattle. I’m always impressed with just how good the food is – even for veggies like me, and my husband. Please check out The Chubby Vegetarian blog, and Facebook page – they hail from Memphis, which sounds like a veggie food paradise. I have their book The Southern Vegetarian which I found after searching for recipes so I could recreate some of the wonderful flavours I’d encountered. I had my first copy in 2013, and have used it so much it fell apart, so had a new copy this last Christmas – the only book I’ve ever worn out in several decades of family cooking! Their veggie ‘meatloaf’ is our Christmas centrepiece, and the veggie Gumbo is just fabulous – just to mention two. I’m definitively going to try your veggie burgers, as two members of my family are now vegan, so thank you. Hope you both have a wonderful time, and hope time passes real slow (as they put it there). PS The Chubby Vegetarians frequently mention eateries in Memphis in their blog as well as sharing recipes. PPS check out the Goodwill/thrift stores there – great for old cookery books which can be adapted.
I’ll definitely check out The Chubby Vegetarian, sounds like it will be really helpful! Thanks for the advice!
Wow, never seen veggie burgers looking a bit like meat, dark and all that! I really need to try this, sounds so healthy especially because you baked them and not fried them..
Have a great time in America, sounds exciting!
Have a fabulous time on your American holiday! I grew up in Chicago and it has some wonderful things to see and do. A lake front boat tour is touristy as hell, but a great way to see the city and learn some history. If you get the chance,the Polish restaurant Podhalanka on Division is a good place to eat. I recommend the galubka. For Greek food, I used to love Greek Islands on Halsted in Greek town.
The boat tour sounds good! I’m actually only in Chicago for one day, but will try to fit in as much as I can :)
Hello Becca, I’m sure you will have a fun & interesting trip, just be aware that New York & Chicago in February can still be quite cold – so pack some cozy sweaters! Down south will be milder of course.
Unfortunately the States is not so easy to eat vegetarian/vegan as the UK/Europe they are a bit behind in that area. There is always salads! Lol
I’m sure I’ll find something :) I hope New York won’t be as cold as it is at the moment!!
You will so love your trip to my part of the world! I was born in Nashville and, although I moved to southern Florida at age 6, I have loads of relatives in Nashville. It’s a bit of a crazy place. Music mad and sports mad with lots of what is called country cookin’ – which means a lot of fried stuff (chicken freed steak?!), grits, very tall desserts. I’m sure you will be very restrained though. ;-) Love this burgers. Nothing like you will find there, I’m afraid.
Hehe no I didn’t imagine I’d find anything like this there! But I’m sure there will be plenty of good food! :)
Have a great holiday and Come back full of exciting recipes.
I am going to have to make these and the delicious burger sauce as well! I have a black bean recipe I usually use to make veggie burgers but these sound good!
Have fun on your holiday in the U.S. I am in Maryland so if you ever get down here I can recommend lots of seafood restaurants but not in any of the areas you will be travelling in I am afraid. I have heard that Mardi Gras is the most fun you can have but have not yet been there myself. One day!
I’m so looking forward to Mardi Gras, it should be fun! :)
Have a fantastic trip, and come back with lots of new food ideas to share with us! American food is very different to ours, which makes for an exciting experience.
Your burgers sound good; need to try another veggie burger recipe soon, as my husband thinks he doesn’t like green lentils, which is what my go-to recipe contained…. sigh, because I love them so much….
Oh that’s a shame, I love lentils! Hopefully he’ll like these a bit better – they’ve got a lovely hearty texture :)
These look absolutely delicious! I’m going to give these a go.
Your trip to the US sounds amazing, especially the Nashville part. I’m a big country music fan and I’d love to visit Nashville and spend my evenings listening to great music.
Have you watched the TV show music? That’s totally what made me want to go there haha ;)
You have to go to the Bluebird cafe too. It’s a good job that you like veggie burgers, as it’s really hard to be a vegetarian in those cities. Well, it’s hard to be a healthy vegetarian anyway. I ate a LOT of veggie burgers.
A lot of veggie burgers sounds good to me ;)
Wow what an amazing sounding trip! I’m sure you’ll have a blast. If you can, check out Jack’s Wife Freda or The Butchers Daughter for breakfasts in NY – loads of awesome veggie options and delicious smoothies.
Love the sound of these burgers, but they make me want summer and BBQ’s now! :P
Sounds great, I’ll check them out! Thanks!
We love black bean burgers so much in this family that we prefer them to beef, the addition of seeds and nut here sounds super yummy so I must give these a go!
The nuts and seeds give the burgers a much sturdier texture – really yummy :)