Vegan Grain-Free Beet Burgers {oil-free}

Your new favorite veggie patties: my Vegan Grain-Free Beet Burgers! They are loaded with nutrition, oil-free, gluten-free, and absolutely scrumptious!

It may only be March 2, but I am already dreaming of sunny summer days, lazy afternoons by the pool, and breezy sundresses.

Summer weather will likely arrive in my part of Texas in another month (perhaps weeks), but I am an impatient lass. So, I’m making burgers.

Not just any burgers, either, but easily the best meatless burgers I’ve ever eaten. When I say they are amazing, I mean it.

They’re gorgeous, too.

Beets: The Perfect Ingredient for Plant-Based Burgers

Beets make these burgers especially beautiful, and exceptionally delicious, too. I had a great meatless burger, years ago, that had beets in the mix, but up until now, I have not included beets in any of my own burger combinations.

But lately I’ve spotted some sensational beet burger photos that have rekindled memories of that yummy burger.

Given the plethora of beets I bought the other week for my vegetable flatbreads, combined with my husband frowning at said plethora of beets taking up refrigerator space,  it became clear to me that the timing was right for my own version of beet burgers.

Ready? Let’s go!

How to Make Vegan Beet Burgers

I started with a pound of beets (about 3 medium-large). I trimmed off the ends, gave them a quick scrub, wrapped them in foil, and slid them into a 375F oven.

Roast the Mushrooms and Beets Simultaneously

I love mushrooms in meatless burgers, mostly because of their umami flavor. However, I didn’t want to fuss with sautéing them for this recipe.

Instead, I made things easy on myself (and all of you): while the beets roasted, I quartered the mushrooms, placed them on a piece of parchment paper, and spritzed with cooking spray.

Once the beets roasted for 35 minutes, I opened the oven and added the mushrooms to the sheet pan. In 10 more minutes, both beets and mushrooms are done (and only pan to clean up!).

Shortcut Idea: Use Canned or Ready-Roasted Beets

The beets and mushrooms need to cool completely at this point, so these burgers do require some advanced planning. That is, unless you take my shortcut version (canned or ready-roasted beets + stovetop-sautéed mushrooms). I like options, don’t you? 🙂

How to Assemble the Vegan Grain-Free Beet Burgers

Once the vegetables are cooled, the burger making begins, and it’s pretty simple. I process the beets and mushrooms in the food processor first, and then add the beans for a few pulses. The vegetables will be chopped relatively fine, and the beans broken down, but stop far short of making a puree.

Home stretch! Scoop your beet blend into a large bowl and break up any stray big pieces with a fork. The mixture should already clump together, to some degree, because of the beans, in particular, but some binder is still needed to achieve a burger-like, meaty consistency.

It took me awhile to figure out what to do here. I’ve seen beet burgers with quinoa, oats, and/or brown rice, but I wanted something different with a more cohesive texture. It would be great if it was grain-free, too.

Finally, it came to me: Coconut Flour.

Oh my goodness, I love what coconut flour does for these burgers!

Yes, it binds them, but it does more than that: when combined with the beets, beans and mushrooms, it produces a meaty, but not heavy texture (no leaden veggie burgers!). It’s exactly what I have been craving–for a LONG time–in a meatless burger. I cannot wait to try coconut flour in some other burger combinations (stay tuned).

In case you are leery of coconut in your burgers, let me emphasize that there is no taste of coconut from the coconut flour. I use strong spices in the burgers (smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder), so in the end, there is no one dominant flavor of any one ingredient, especially not coconut. Instead, the end result is a smoky, meat-y, vegilicious burger.

Make the Burgers Ahead of Time

Not ready to cook? No problem. You can make these ahead, too, and store in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to heat and eat.

If the flavor of the patties alone is not enough incentive to make these, make and eat them for your health, because they are BURSTING with great nutrition (e.g., antioxidants, almost 8 grams of protein per patty, and ridiculously high amounts of potassium–over 600 mg per patty–and fiber).

Each patty tallies up to a mere 119 calories, which to me means lots of leeway for piling on assorted accoutrements, such as guacamole, hummus, barbecue sauce, more vegetables, a great bun, or whatever else floats your boat.

Enjoy, everyone, and have a great weekend!