Vegan broccoli burgers!

I have returned! As per my usual excuse, it's been a busy couple of months here in Virginny. I graduated with my MS in Speech Pathology (woo!!) unofficially and am finishing up my last two weeks at internship in order to make it official. Then, one day later, we move to PA. Yikes! We are stressed with moving, but excited to get going. I have quite a few recipes I want to blog about, but I had to write about this one first. Mostly because I was really excited when I found it and even more excited 15 minutes ago when Hubby and I ate them for dinner! I bring you…baked broccoli burgers!

Weirded out? I love broccoli, so when I found the recipe I was antsy to make them. For those who aren't as big a fan of the yummy greenness of broccoli, have no fear. Hubby seemed a tad weirded out at first, but we are both believers after our dinner tonight. In fact, I won't make a burger I can't bake anymore. I don't take anything I've said about my previous burger recipes back; they were delicious and I would make them again in a heartbeat. However, these broccoli burgers had a different spin and were exceedingly scrumptious and crispy after being baked in the oven. Really, I'm saying I will continue to bake our burgers as long as I have the hour to do so. What a difference in texture!

Enough already. Let's get to it. Vegan burgers in general are awesome because you can essentially throw in anything you want (almost anything) if you know what you're doing. Following a recipe initially is a really good idea if you're a beginner so you can learn and taste as you go. This way, you can figure out what you like, didn't like, and what you might change. I'm at the point I've made so many, I can see a recipe that looks yummy and run with it. This is what happened with the broccoli burgers!

In the end, for these burgers, you need softened broccoli (via stovetop or microwave), a grain (the recipe calls for cous cous, but I had brown rice), bread crumbs, beans (I used cannellini), and seasoning. Tahini also goes in, which is a sesame seed paste and you can get it nearly anywhere. I always love cooking ingredients separately and bringing them together to be pulverized in the blessed food processor. You can make each ingredient what you will. Spicy, sweet, savory- anything!  I stuck with the general recipe but definitely added a little bit more broccoli than called for, eye-balled the rice, and reduced the cumin. Not a fan, but Hubby is. This is what I mean by being able to make the burger what you want it to be. What we ended up with was crispy goodness with greens included, so I felt OK about not having salad with it :)

Hubby and I were really happy with these burgers! They were pretty going in the oven with their minty green hue and came out and brown and crispified. I think that was our favorite part, hence the desire to continue on with the baking method for future burgers. Also, the crustiness was a great contrast to the softer insides of beans, broccoli, and bread crumbs. Definitely a winner and I encourage anyone reading to go bold with your vegan burgers. May this be an inspiration that anything can be made in an animal-free dinner!

For vegans and non-vegans alike, you should really visit One Green Planet. They have amazing resources and, of course, recipes to try for any palate. For the recipe to make your own broccoli burgers, click here: Baked Broccoli Burgers!