Veggie Burgers

Recently sampled some Morningstar Farms meat substitute products. Most of them were good tasting, and lower in calories and cholesterol than meat. I am going to try using some in vegetarian recipes. Have any of you tried these kinds of products? If so, what are your favorites?

[momoreg]

I've tried a few of them. So far, my fave is Gardenburger (Fire Roasted Veg. flavor).

[SeattleDeb]

I've tried the various Garden Burger varieties, and enjoy them. I also really like Boca Burgers. Yummm....on a wheat bun, mustard, pickle relish, and a big bermuda onion slice. Have them quite often for lunch.

[shroomgirl]

Years ago I played around with making veggie burgers...boy is that a skill, what I discovered was that there is a definate balance in texture/flavor/flippability
Never really mastered it...If anyone has a good recipe (especially wiht shrooms) I'd love to try it....grains as well as veg.

[foodnfoto]

Try this one Shroomgirl, I think you'll like it:
1 lb. domestic mushrooms, halved
1 lb. portabella mushrooms, stems and gills removed, diced in 1/2" cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cans (15.5 oz. each) cannelini beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbalespoon grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil for sauteeing
Preheat oven to 375?F. Toss mushrooms with 1 tbs. olive oil; spread in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes until edges turn golden and moisture is absorbed. Cool.
Meanwhile, rub beans gently with paper towel to dry off excess liquid. Place in bowl and add remaining ingredients, including cooled mushrooms. Mash ingredients with a potato masher, mixing as you go; the mixture should be stiff, but not dry and crumbly. Add more breadcrumbs if mixture is sticky. Scoop burgers with a 1/2 cup measure and pat into burger shapes about 1/2" thick. Coat with more dry breadcrumbs.
Heat saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with a little olive oil. Saute burgers until golden brown (about 5 minutes), then flip carefully and cook until golden and crisp.
One note-when cooking bean burgers, they get pretty soft when you first start to cook them, then tighten up as they cook and cool.
Try these with a slice of aged provolone melted on top. Add an onion kaiser roll, a big pile of arugula leaves, tomato slices and you're eatin' good.
Oh, another note, you can reduce the fat, if that is a concern, by cooking them in a pan coated with olive oil-flavored cooking spray. They aren't as crispy, but still very yummy.

[foodnfoto]

Sorry, my key command for the degree mark after 375 was read as a question mark. Just to let you know 375 is the right temp.

[foodnfoto]

Try this one Shroomgirl, I think you'll like it:
1 lb. domestic mushrooms, halved
1 lb. portabella mushrooms, stems and gills removed, diced in 1/2" cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cans (15.5 oz. each) cannelini beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbalespoon grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil for sauteeing
Preheat oven to 375?F. Toss mushrooms with 1 tbs. olive oil; spread in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes until edges turn golden and moisture is absorbed. Cool.
Meanwhile, rub beans gently with paper towel to dry off excess liquid. Place in bowl and add remaining ingredients, including cooled mushrooms. Mash ingredients with a potato masher, mixing as you go; the mixture should be stiff, but not dry and crumbly. Add more breadcrumbs if mixture is sticky. Scoop burgers with a 1/2 cup measure and pat into burger shapes about 1/2" thick. Coat with more dry breadcrumbs.
Heat saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with a little olive oil. Saute burgers until golden brown (about 5 minutes), then flip carefully and cook until golden and crisp.
One note-when cooking bean burgers, they get pretty soft when you first start to cook them, then tighten up as they cook and cool.
Try these with a slice of aged provolone melted on top. Add an onion kaiser roll, a big pile of arugula leaves, tomato slices and you're eatin' good.
Oh, another note, you can reduce the fat, if that is a concern, by cooking them in a pan coated with olive oil-flavored cooking spray. They aren't as crispy, but still very yummy.

[SeattleDeb]

How many burgers does this make? Have you tried with black beans instead of the canneloni?

When I get back from vacation I want to give this a try.

[shroomgirl]

Thaks looks yummy
on a slightly different note, I made veggie sandwiches today....
saute chopped onion, add diced zucchini
blanch broccoli or broccolini, cauliflower, asparagus
add veg together, I throw in a splash of tamari
1/2 toasted whole grain bread with mayo, spike, mashed avacado and grated carrots...
make sure the sauteed mix is chopped so it will stay on the bread....messy and trully GREAT!!!
Sub in other veg, add bermudas or tomatoes when they come into season...make extra veg and serve on brown rice or pitch into a pasta salad....just good to have in the fridge on hectic days.

[foodnfoto]

Ah, another Spike fan!
I love the stuff! Especially when I sprinkle it on freshly steamed veggies, not to mention good old tomato sandwiches!

[Shimmer]

We eat a lot of Morningstar products at my house. Some of them the taste is so similar to what is supposed to be like that I sometimes wonder if I should worry how they do it. My husband eats the chix nuggets, but I'm more likely to eat a real apple that doesn't represent anything but an apple.


Regardless, I think the corn dogs are great. The bacon tastes good, but looks like plastic. Nothing like good old-fashioned bacon grease. And I never liked the texture of real hot dogs, but theirs are startlingly similar to real ones, and also grill and barbecue well.

The most useful product is the "hamburger meat" where I can substitute it pound for pound for ground hamburger in recipes. It is already seasoned, which you should be forewarned about. If you add more garlic or salt, it will be TOO MUCH.

The health benefits to me are obvious. I have never done well eating red meat, but these products (containing soy as they do) leave me feeling like I have more energy instead of weighed down.

My two cents.
~~Shimmer~~

Garden burgs here...
they seem to be less processed than other types. If I really craved a burger, I would eat the real thing, though.
But, speaking of meats, it's so unusual that portabella (sp?) mushrooms are so "meaty" if texture. I think that some of the veggie burgs use them, right?
Nature is awesome!

Nutritionpost

Just wanted to share. The big winner in the veggie burger contest is the new Oven Roasted Veggie Burger from Morningstar. I just tried it, and could probably live on it. Has portobellos, peppers, onions. I broke it up and added it to pasta sauce. Very good!

[logose]

JenidaChef, I second that! The oven roasted veggie burger is pretty good. I use Gardenburgers mushroom burger as well.
Another product I use is the dry hydrogenated protein stuff in chili and my husband has a very hard time telling the difference.

[Pete]

My fave veggie burger is Garden Burger. There are a couple of others that I will eat also. I seem to prefer the ones that aren't trying to pass themselves off as hamburgers. If it is a veggie burger I want to see veggies in it. If I want something resembling a hamburger I will eat a hamburger.

The other day my wife made burritos out of a new soy-based chorizo. It was great! The flavor was really good and the texture was pretty good, just a bit mushy. I will try to find out the brand name and let you all know.