Real Meaty Vegan Burger (Big Mac Style)

Why is it the meatiest vegan burger? Because it is easy to make, it has a chewy, ground beef-like texture, but it does not taste like veggies. It holds together during grilling and frying even if you make thin patties. It is juicy and moist (not mushy) on the inside, but has a crispy crust on the outside.

If you are looking for more veggie burger recipes, check out our Smoky Beetroot Burger, our Fajitas Portobello Mushroom Burger, or our Chinese BBQ Tofu Burger recipes.

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Why is it the best homemade vegan burger?

This is the first question you would ask, right? How would the best vegan burger taste like? On one hand, it is all about expectations, on the other hand it is pretty specific you want it to taste like a real burger. If you want a veggie burger, you would search for a veggie burger recipe, but if you want the best vegan burger, you want the one closest to beef burgers. I found this article on Eater about what makes the perfect beef burger. Several chefs have weighed in and said:

• crisp crust
• juicy, moist inside
• shouldn’t fall apart
• thinner patty
• seasoned only with salt and pepper
• low fat meat (less than 20% fat content)

How to interpret the above and make sure a vegan burger would meet these expectations? What makes the best vegan burger then? We think a meatless alternative should…

• be easy to make
• need only pantry staple ingredients
• not have fake meat substitutes
• have a chewy, ground beef-like texture
• not taste like veggies
• hold together during grilling or frying

Ingredients

The main ingredient is this perfect minced beef substitute called TVP* (textured vegetable protein). What is TVP? It is actually only soy flour, no other ingredients. They add water to it to make a paste, then it is pressure cooked in a sense, then dehydrated. The texture is spot on. This is the best plant-based alternative by far. You can read more about TVP in our ingredient guide titled “What is TVP? 10 TVP Recipes You Should Try First“

So what else do you need?

• Onion
• Garlic
• Black beans
• Tomato puree
• Rice flour
• Tapioca starch
• Seasoning – smoked sweet paprika, Worcestershire sauce (vegan and gluten-free), dried oregano, dried basil, ground cumin, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and black pepper

How to make a meatless burger with TVP?

Soaking TVP

Boil water in a kettle and add veggie stock or bring veggie broth to boil. Take a heat-resisting bowl or saucepan and soak TVP* in the hot veggie broth for 10 minutes. When the time is up, squeeze the liquid out. As a result, you need to have moist, soft “minced meat”.

Pre-cooking onion and garlic

While you wait for the TVP to get ready, peel and chop onion and garlic. Take a frying pan or we often use our UnoCasa cast-iron skillet* and pre-heat to medium heat. Add a dash of olive oil and the finely chopped onion and garlic. Cook onion and garlic until tender, but opaque, yellow and not caramelized.

Mixing

Add black beans, sauteed onion and garlic, canned drained black beans, tomato paste, and all spices (smoked sweet paprika, Worcestershire sauce (vegan and gluten-free), dried oregano, dried basil, ground cumin, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and black pepper) to a food processor and blend until chunky.

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Then add soaked TVP and pulse for a couple of times. You don’t want to lose the ground beef-like texture the TVP has, but you need to chop them a bit to make sure the burger patties hold together.

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Forming and frying the burger patties

1. Take a mixing bowl and add the chopped mixture from the food processor.
2. Add rice flour and tapioca starch and mix with a spatula.
3. Take 2-3 Tbsp of mixture and roll a ball with your hands.
4. Flatten it out between your palms. We went as thin as 0.5 inch (approx. 1 cm).
5. Take a non-stick frying pan or we often use our UnoCasa cast-iron skillet*. Heat over low/medium heat with a bit of olive oil.
6. Cook both sides for 5 minutes.

Let’s build your Vegan Big Mac Burger!

Here is the best part. You can build your own meatless burger with your favorite toppings or you can try this Big Mac inspired combination.

• We started off with a toasted bun (cut into 3 horizontally).
• First, we spread a generous layer of vegan Big Mac sauce on it.
• Then, we added green leaf lettuce because the ruffles look so pretty. 
• Next up, sliced vegan cheese.
• Now, here comes the star of this recipe, the vegan burger patty.
• Topped it with sliced raw onions.
• Second part of the toasted bun.
• Again vegan Big Mac Sauce, lettuce, and sliced vegan cheese.
• Then we added a couple of sweet pickle slices.
• Here comes another burger patty and sliced raw onions on top.
• Cover it with the top of the bun.

FAQs and substitutions

Can you use fresh herbs?

You can absolutely use fresh basil and oregano instead. You can also add fresh or dried parsley, just keep the total amount of green herbs as per the recipe card.

Can you use other flour and starch?

• If you don’t want to use rice flour, you can try buckwheat or maybe millet flour. I find oat flour will alter the taste too much in this case. For more options, check out our Ultimate List of of 90+ Gluten-free Flours.
• I also tested this recipe with cornstarch instead of tapioca starch. For more options, check out our post about 9 Tapioca Flour Substitutes where I explain when and how each substitute should be used.

Is Worcestershire sauce gluten-free and vegan?

Yes there are some brands which are both gluten-free and vegan. Check out our post titled the “Is Worcestershire sauce gluten-free?” for the list of brands. If you don’t have Worcestershire sauce, you can use soy sauce as an alternative. Please note that soy sauce is not gluten-free, we listed 5 gluten-free soy sauce substitutes here. We usually use tamari*, which has the same flavor, but gluten-free.

This TVP Burger recipe is vegan so meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is suitable for a vegetarian, gluten-free, and nut-free diet. This recipe is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you skip the oil.

⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES HERE! ⇐

More vegan grilling recipes

• Grilled Vegetable Kabobs (with 3 marinades)
• Grilled Buffalo Tofu Skewers
• Fajitas Portobello Mushroom Burger
• Smoky Vegan Beet Burger
• Chinese BBQ Tofu Burger