These Are the Best Vegetable Burgers Bought at the Store.
There are two types of veggie burgers: those that look like meat, and those that really lean on vegetables. While the latter can be cooked at home to get extremely delicious results, the former requires a bit more engineering, and the meat-abstainers in this world deserve to be reheated and served.
Welcome to Burger Week! Grilling season is in full swing and we are like hamburgers. Whether it’s picking the perfect patty, filling those patties with melted cheese, or making a vegetable proposition that doesn’t suck, we’ve got the tips, recipes and advice you need to create your best burger.
There are many ready-to-eat meals out there, and every vegetarian and vegan I have met has their own favorites, so I collected the most frequently suggested ones and gave them a little to their liking.
Best Fake Meat: The Beyond Burger
Beyond Burger , Impossible Burger, and FieldBurger were highly recommended, but unfortunately you cannot buy Impossible raw for home cooking (reasons are unclear). While I liked FieldBurger’s mushroom flavor, I found it very chewy and too thick. However, Beyond Burger turned out to be as good as it seemed to me. Can a beef connoisseur distinguish it from a chic steak burger? Sure, but the texture was unusually similar to minced meat, and the taste was quite close to a fast food patty, especially when it was seasoned with seasonings and toppings. It looked so much like a real hamburger that it made me wonder if the meat-eater might put it off.
MorningStar Grillers Prime also had a strong, smoky-flavored fast food vibe, and while it wasn’t as compelling as Beyond Burger, I saw it scratch that itch. (A scary meat product that I don’t recommend even a little? Upton Naturals Classic Burger , which had a great meaty texture but an odd, aggressively sour taste.)
Best Vegetarian Forward Offer: Trader Joe’s Masala Burger Vegetable Burger
I’ve never been someone that even remotely resembles a vegetarian, but I have eaten (and really wanted) these Indian spiced potato patties for at least five years. They are super savory, wonderfully seasoned, crunchy and brown, just like any good potato washer; they are mostly like pie-shaped veggie samosa filling and I love them. They hold their shape from skillet to bun and don’t need to be seasoned to make them taste good. Dr. Praeger’s also has an excellent line of well-seasoned veggies, but burgers are nearly impossible to keep together, and if you take them out of the oven too quickly, they stew. I also tried Hillary’s Root Veggie Burger , which held its shape and crunched well but was quite soft.
Which veggie burger do you prefer? Do you like the meat imposter or do you prefer the vegetables to shine? Leave your opinions in the comments, as well as any favorite brands. I doubt that anything will replace my masala burger, but I am always ready to taste it.