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
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 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.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
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!
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 :)