These roasted beet burgers are packed with smoky flavor and fortified with tofu to make them as filling as they are delicious. Vegan and gluten-free.
High Noon Café, the only vegetarian restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi, where I live, serves the most unusual beet burgers, bright red with beets and soft in texture from the tofu. The first time my husband recommended I try one, I was afraid to order it, but once his burger came, I couldn’t resist sampling it.
The beet burger comes piled with so many extras–vegan cheese, sun-dried tomato aioli, mushrooms– that it took some doing to scrape off a clean sample of the burger, but once I did, I was intrigued by its flavor, which was lightly smoky but in a natural-tasting way, not through the use of Liquid Smoke or hickory-flavored salt. I was sure that the source of the smokiness must be the beets and was determined to try to replicate the taste at home.
To pack in as much natural smoky flavor as I could, I decided to roast the beets as well as the onion and garlic. To avoid adding starch, I used ground flax seeds as a binder, so my burgers came out less stable and easier to fall apart than the restaurant version, but the flavor was very similar, with hints of earthiness and smoke.
Since the burgers had a tendency to fall apart, I didn’t flip them over halfway through cooking as I would have liked to do to aid in browning, so the next time I made them I added a thickener–either a couple of teaspoons of corn starch or a couple of tablespoons of oat flour (oatmeal pulverized in the blender). It made a big difference, but they’re still not super-firm, so don’t use this recipe if you care about firmness or want them to hold up on the grill.
Otherwise, these red-violet burgers were near-perfect to me. If you enjoy a spicier burger, feel free to add more roasted garlic and chipotle chile powder, but not so much as to drown out the beet. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the one pun!) They’re shown here served with chipotle aioli (pureed chipotles mixed with vegan mayo), which provided a nice spicy kick.
Roasted Beet-Tofu Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets
- 1 medium onion
- 6-10 garlic cloves or as many as you like
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu (not silken) lightly pressed
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or smoked paprika optional, to taste
- 2 teaspoons corn starch or 2 tablespoons oat flour optional, for firmer burgers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Wash and trim the beets, and wrap each one in foil. Trim the onion and wrap it in foil. Wrap the unpeeled garlic in foil (or trim the top of an entire head of garlic and wrap it). Place all on a baking sheet and roast for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool until vegetables are easy to handle. (You can do this step ahead of time, if you wish; just keep the roasted vegetables in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the burgers.)
- While the vegetables are cooling, mash the tofu and stir in the remaining ingredients.
- When the onions and garlic are cool enough, peel the onion and chop finely (I used a food processor). Squeeze the garlic from the cloves. Add both to the tofu and mix well. Peel the skins from the beets under running water, and shred. Drain off any liquid from the beets and add them to the tofu, stirring until the mixture is a uniform, bright color.
- Shape into patties about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or silicon baking mat. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before removing with a spatula and serving.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Michelle
September 21, 2009 at 12:28 pmLove the color – so fun! Can't wait to give these a try.
Tarrant
September 21, 2009 at 12:49 pmHow did I not know you were in Jackson? My grandmother lives in Jackson. Well, step-grandmother who I haven't seen since I was 12 or so. But I have a certain fondness for Jackson in any case.
The Voracious Vegan
September 21, 2009 at 1:43 pmThat must be them most beautiful burger I've ever seen! I love beets, the texture, the flavor and THE COLOR! You can't beat that cheerful vibrant pink. Just gorgeous.
laurahborealis
September 21, 2009 at 2:00 pmI love that this is pink! I had a pink veggie burger in San Francisco- it was delicious. I can't wait to try making my own!
nora
September 21, 2009 at 2:11 pmThanks, Susan! I love them! A bright pink burger? Yes please!
Josiane
September 21, 2009 at 2:25 pmThe roasted veggies must give this burger so much flavor! I love that it uses vegetables that are in season right now; that makes for the perfect Fall burger!
moonwatcher
September 21, 2009 at 2:29 pmOh Susan,
I just squealed with delight when I saw this– a BEET burger–this is so great, and beautiful, too, because I love beets, roasted flavor and tofu. And I bet the flax is really nice with all this, too. I need one more beet and a block of tofu. . .I am so looking forward to trying this!! Thanks so much for working this up for us from your experience at The High Noon Cafe (love the name).
xo
moonwatcher
No More Sad Geraniums
September 21, 2009 at 2:51 pmThis looks great! I have several beets in the fridge and was wondering what to do with them outside of making soup. The fact that they freeze well is even more perfect since I'm still stocking up on meals!
Mara
September 21, 2009 at 2:56 pmSusan:
We eat only plant-based whole foods, so we don't eat tofu. Do you think this recipe would work with almond flour instead of tofu?
BTW — I regularly make your blueberry bars. They are easy to make and absolutely delicious. I am going to make your fig bars next.
Thanks.
Mara
Mary
September 21, 2009 at 3:50 pmThose are amazing! I'm not into beets, but I'm psyched that these are gluten-free. I wonder if another root veggie would work. Potatoes, or turnips, perhaps?
SusanV
September 21, 2009 at 3:57 pmMara, I don't think they'd come out the same, but you could always try. I've heard of people making beet burgers that are mostly just beets (I don't think they roast them first, though). Also, you could make a bean and beet burger using pinto or white beans. I'll bet that would be pretty.
Mary, I don't think that potatoes would have a lot of flavor, but how about sweet potatoes?
Cosmos
September 21, 2009 at 5:54 pmit looks like steak tar tar, i love beets though
Denise
September 21, 2009 at 6:36 pmThat recipe looks delish!!
Just one thing though, I noticed an advertisment on your this page for fish fingers!
SusanV
September 21, 2009 at 6:55 pmThanks for the heads-up, Denise. I'm going to check into that right away.
SusanV
September 21, 2009 at 6:57 pmIf anyone else sees a fish ad, could you make a note of where it is and what brand it is? I need this info in order to ask my ad company to remove it. Thanks!
Jenny
September 21, 2009 at 6:59 pmOh, man, my 9 year old is obsessed with beets. He will love this. (And thanks for the heads up about Jackson having a veggie restaurant; we drive through occasionally, and I would not have assumed that.) What kind of bun is that?
ahimsablog
September 21, 2009 at 8:40 pmI love the idea of a bright red veggie burger. Food is even better when it's pleasing to the eye as well. 🙂 All you're recipes are amazing!
LKSisters
September 21, 2009 at 8:57 pmWow, the color is so beautiful and bold! This burger sounds so intriguing. What would you recommend as a substitute for the chipotle?
moonwatcher
September 21, 2009 at 9:43 pmHi again Susan,
I was just reading over the recipe again and wondered, did you grind the flax seeds or use them whole?
Thanks,
moonwatcher
moonwatcher
September 21, 2009 at 10:17 pmOh, never mind, i just read the intro again, and see that you did grind the flax seeds. Sorry I missed that. 🙂
moonwatcher
SusanV
September 21, 2009 at 10:18 pmLKSisters, you could use smoked paprika or cayenne pepper instead of the chipotle.
Moonwatcher–oops, the flax seeds were ground. Thanks for catching that. I'll change the recipe now.
Johanna
September 22, 2009 at 12:00 amthat looks fantastic – I just love the colour – and in fact I just bought some purple corn flour so am tempted to make these with a bit of the flour for extra colour – you can never have too much!
Chris
September 22, 2009 at 2:05 amThis looks great and not too hard to make. Just one question: how do you shred the beets? A grater?
SusanV
September 22, 2009 at 7:25 amChris, I used the shredding disk on my food processor, but a grater would work, too.
Veg is Sexy
September 22, 2009 at 9:47 amIf anybody lives in the NYC area, Five Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen makes beet-based veggie burgers as well. Thanks for the recipe Susan, can't wait to try them!
Ricki
September 22, 2009 at 10:07 amWhat a great new way to use beets. . . the burgers sound fabulous. This is a recipe I am definitely going to try!
Bess
September 22, 2009 at 10:37 amWhat a crazy coincidence. Last night I made fried beet patties (recipe from http://www.oakhillorganics.org/blog.html/?p=279). They were so wonderful but of course high in fat.
I was thinking to myself I ought to send the idea to FFV because surely Susan could find a way to do it with less fat. And then I logged on this morning to see this post!
Anonymous
September 22, 2009 at 10:41 amI really dislike updates where it is impossible to tell what the update was. I have already printed this recipe. Is it incorrect? How do I tell? Speak to me!
SusanV
September 22, 2009 at 10:49 amAnonymous, I'm not really sure what you're referring to. The only change that's been made to the recipe since it was first posted is to clarify that it's ground flax seeds, rather than whole.
A
September 22, 2009 at 12:01 pmGorgeous! This would be a great 4th of July burger served with white vegan cheese and blue corn tortilla chips on the side!
-A
Lisa
September 22, 2009 at 3:22 pmWow, that's a lot of burger for 79 calories. I will definitely try to make some of these!
Mary
September 22, 2009 at 4:47 pmThese look amazing!!
I've never actually cooked with beets before…will definitely be giving this a try!!
oneshotbeyond
September 22, 2009 at 5:06 pmthese look so great, what a clever use of beets!
merathon
September 22, 2009 at 7:28 pmi had a veggie burger at a restaurant in Asheville NC called 131 Main (they also have one here in Charlotte) and it was the BEST i've ever had. according to the menu, the main ingredients were beets, brown rice, and mushrooms. according to the server, even non-vegetarians order this burger because it is so amazing. i was wondering if i'd ever be able to duplicate it, so maybe this recipe is a start! thanks!
Anonymous
September 22, 2009 at 8:32 pmI'm excited to try making these. Do you think it makes a difference, for better or worse, if the tofu is frozen and thawed, squeezed out, etc., or is it better to use tofu straight from fridge? Thanks to anyone for input.
Kris
September 23, 2009 at 12:29 amVery delicious and vibrant! I've recently started a love affair with beets (I used to only eat them pickled, which doesn't count) so I'll have to give these a try.
Craig Russel
September 23, 2009 at 3:38 amThanks, a great delicious beet and tofu burger. Was looking out for good recipes for veg burgers. Thats because I've turned a veggie, thanks to a change in beliefs. But I could'nt give up on my favorite cigar Habanos This one's high in nutritional content and low on cholestrol, at the same time delicious.
Hiring Girl
September 23, 2009 at 8:42 amI eat tofu a lot. It is delicious and it will not make you fat. But I barely cook tofu at home. My husband doesn't eat tofu at all. He always into meat. And my kids doesn't like tofu too. Too bad for me!
MG
September 23, 2009 at 9:02 amOh! I'm looking forward to trying this recipe.
…and, Hiring Girl, isn't that "too bad for them"? You should make some of these just for yourself!
Anonymous
September 23, 2009 at 10:46 amThese look and sound so fantastic!! Love making my own veggie burgers, and you KNOW i'm adding the paprika, can't resist myself a lil kick!
you're my fav vegan blog! I'm gonna start my own soon I think because yours is so great it sounds like so much fun.