Easy Veggie Burgers (No Beans) with Spicy Cilantro Cream
A wonderful, easy veggie burger packed with whole grains, beets, onions, garlic, and spices. Served with Spicy Cilantro Cream sauce. Perfect for grilling, baking in the oven, or pan frying.
Equipment
- Blender
- Lined baking sheet
Ingredients
Veggie Burgers
- 2 1/4 cups cooked rice (I like to use arborio or bomba rice).
- 1 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs
- 2 cups roasted beets, cubed
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 stalks green onion, sliced (or substitute 1/2 yellow onion)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Spicy Cilantro Cream
- 1/3 cup cashews
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro
- 2 whole Calabrian chilis or 1-2 tsp of chopped chilis to taste.
- 1 lime, juiced
- salt to taste
Instructions
Veggie Burgers
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix ground flax seed and 1/3 cup of water and let sit for 5 minutes.
- To a large bowl, add cooked rice, oats, sesame seeds if using, and panko.
- To a blender add flax egg, roasted beets, garlic, onions, soy sauce, liquid smoke, baking soda, parsley, and Aleppo pepper. Pulse a few times. You want the mixture to be chunky and not pureed.
- Transfer mixture from the blender to the bowl with the cooked rice, oats, and panko and stir to combine.
- Spray a 1/3 sized measuring cup with a bit of olive oil. Using the measuring cup, scoop veggie burger mixture and place each burger on a lined baking tray. Use the palm of your hand to gently and slightly flatten the burgers.
- Bake 20 minutes on each side. Optional: after baking air-fry or pan-fry for a minute or two for extra crispiness. Serve with cilantro cream sauce!
- Store leftover burgers in the refrigerator or freezer.
Spicy Cilantro Cream Sauce
- Soak cashews in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain.
- Add drained cashews and remaining ingredients to a blender. Process until smooth. If needed add a bit of water to get the blades moving.
- Store sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
*If roasting beets at home: remove ends of beets and wrap each beet in foil. Roast in oven at 450 degrees until easily pierced by a fork.
*To cook arborio rice: Add 1 cup of dry rice to a large pot. Add 8 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 18 minutes. Drain.
To save time, you can purchase roasted beets and microwavable rice.