Servings: makes 11 patties (85 g/3 oz) each
It took a while to create a veggie burger that our family truly enjoys. This burger is full of flavor and has a nice texture. You will note that I add dehydrated vegetable powder to these burgers. If you don’t have this in your pantry, don’t let this stop you. This is strictly optional and these burgers are still tasty without any of these ingredients added. I dehydrate my own vegetables and this is one place where I can add veggies and boost nutrition with out altering the recipe. I hope this will give you inspiration to experiment.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu (350 g/12.3 oz)
- 1¾ cup onions, chopped small (about 114 g/4 oz)
- 4-5 large mushrooms, chopped fine (about 142 g/5 oz)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup walnuts, small pieces (56 g/2 oz)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp sage
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp liquid smoke
Optional Dehydrated Ingredients
These dehydrated vegetables are an option. Use one, use none or use all.
- 1 Tbsp dehydrated roasted red pepper powder
- 2 Tbsp dehydrated tomato powder
- 1 tsp dehydrated beet powder
- 1 tsp dehydrated carrot powder
- 1 tsp dehydrated celery
- 1 tsp dehydrated zucchini powder
Cook Onions Garlic and Mushrooms
- Add chopped onions, and mushrooms to pan. Cook until onions and mushrooms have softened and all liquid has been absorbed. Add the garlic and mix well to combine then remove pan from heat and let cool.
Tofu and Food Processor
- Drain moisture from tofu and add to food processor. Add soy sauce, paprika, sage, black pepper, salt, liquid smoke and if using the dehydrated veggie powders. Process until tofu gets creamy. This could take a few minutes. At first the tofu gets crumbly, but after bit it starts to get creamy and holds together. This could take 3-5 minutes.
- Empty tofu mixture into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cooked mushroom and onions and mix well into the tofu mixture.
- Add the walnuts and rolled oats. Switch to using hands to mix and squeeze mixture together. Wearing food grade gloves make for easy clean up.
- Form into burger size patties*.
Bake/Grill
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Lay the patties on a nonstick baking pan. Lay a sheet of parchment paper* over the top the burgers so they don’t dry out while baking. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- To get grill marks on the burgers is an option. Aesthetically, it does have the burgers look more authentic. To do this, just before they are done, I preheat my George Foreman grill and lay the patties on grill for 5-10 minutes.
- These patties are freezer friendly.
Notes
- Cover and leave mixture sit overnight as this will allow the rolled oats to soften and patties to get firm.
- When shaping burger patties the mixture will likely stick to your hands. If this happens, dip hands in water and shake off excess.
- Instead of parchment paper, a silpat works well.