Upgrade Your Veggie Burgers With This Delicious Recipe
Lukas Volger’s Tuscan White Bean Burgers Are A Brain-Healthy Treat
Hello, everyone. I have a confession to make. I’ve been taking a little break from cooking. This happens to me every July—time in the kitchen gets pushed aside by time spent outdoors, stormy afternoons with a book, and nights when it’s too hot to cook. Instead, I’m loading up on as much fresh produce as I can haul home from the farmers market to assemble impromptu, veg-forward meals that require little more than chopping and grilling.
Today I am making an exception to my low-key summer cooking program. I have thickly sliced fat yellow onions caramelizing on the stove and whole garlic heads roasting in the oven. My kitchen smells amazing! I’m making the Tuscan White Bean Burgers from Lukas Volger’s newly updated book Veggie Burgers Every Which Way: Fresh, Flavorful, and Healthy Plant-Based Burgers and Lukas has generously agreed to share the recipe here.
If you’ve ever dreamed of making really great veggie burgers at home, this book is for you. Forget about the lackluster plant-based burgers you may have found at restaurants or in the freezer section. Lukas is an expert on this food genre. Not only did he have a business in New York City selling his burgers, but he was totally ahead of the plant-forward game with the original publication of this book 13 years ago. Lukas’ recipes really deliver on packing core brain health foods like beans, grains, greens, mushrooms, and all sorts of vegetables between a bun. He walks you through each recipe with clear and concise instructions, paying attention to the techniques he’s developed over years as a veggie burger master. Plus, Lukas abhors food waste as much as I do, so there are tons of tips for riffing on recipes with what you have on hand.
Thinking Outside the Bun
Veggie Burgers has inspired me to think outside the typical burger format. For instance, skip the bun and serve the Tuscan White Bean Burgers as the centerpiece of a substantial main dish salad. Or, use any of his recipes to make appetizer-sized sliders. This weekend, I’m serving the Spinach-Chickpea Burgers as sliders with a Tahini Yogurt Sauce for a dinner party. I think the Spicy Carrot and Peanut Burgers topped with his zest cabbage slaw would be an excellent starter as well. Lukas even gives ideas for having uncooked veggie burger mix on hand (it keeps for 3 to 5 days in the fridge) to cook off a single burger as desired, or crumble it into a pan like veggie taco meat. For meat eaters, here’s another idea: mix half veggie burger mix and half ground meat for a better-for-you burger that packs in a serving of veggies, grains, or legumes.
Burger Condiments and Toppings Get a Healthy Upgrade, Too
There are brain-healthy upgrades to sauces and toppings in the Condiments chapter. I’m having the Tuscan White Bean Burgers with my Harissa Yogurt Sauce, but I can’t wait to try it with Lukas’ easy Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (one of 4 yogurt sauce variations in the book). I also have my eye on the Charred Scallion Relish (which includes a cup of fresh herbs). And my next farmers market haul of cherry tomatoes will go into the Spiced Tomato Relish with coriander and garam masala.
Be sure to check out Lukas’ Substack
for more of his veg-forward recipes. His post—5 Tips For Better Veggie Burgers—is required reading for any veggie burger maker and is packed with useful information. Thanks again, Lukas. Your burgers are truly the best.