Vegan Pesto Burger! Two of our favorite summertime recipes coming together in the most delicious way: pesto + burgers = YUM!

Healthy and hearty, this Vegan Pesto Burger is brimming with herbaceous basil flavors and a perfect addition to your summer dinner menu. Fresh basil and pine nuts shine in this tasty bean burger. It has a perfectly crunchy exterior that is complimented by a moist and tender interior that is hard to beat. Top it with a sun-dried tomato aioli and you have an explosion of flavor!

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are a pesto loving family. We grow tons of basil in our garden. We are always trying to think of ways to use pesto in our recipes. So it was only natural to combine pesto and our love for burgers.

Top our pesto burger with our Oil Free Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli and you have a winning combo! You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: These tasty burgers are loaded with pesto flavors, fresh basil and pine nuts shine in this delicious burger. This burger is perfectly crunchy on the outside with a moist tender inside.  This burger is fresh basil and pine nut forward, if you don’t love pesto, then perhaps skip on this recipe.
• Pine Nuts: The pine nuts come through on this burger, so if you are not a fan of pine nuts, then swap them out for walnuts, pecans, or other nuts with the understanding that the flavor will change accordingly.
• Refrigerated Rice: It is important to use rice that has been cooked and cooled in the refrigerator.  Using freshly made rice will result in a gummy burger.
• Spice Distribution: Really get your hands into the mixture to ensure the spices are evenly distributed.
• Fresh Basil/Fresh Baby Spinach: Our original kitchen test was ½ cup (packed) fresh basil and ½ cup (packed) fresh baby spinach, we had a few family members who loved this version. On the other hand, the majority of our family members preferred the basil forward burger vision (in the recipe card) which has 1 cup (packed) fresh basil and no baby spinach.
• Patty Formation: With slightly dampened hands really pack the patties tightly in your hand to form a firm, smooth cohesive ball, then press down while it is still in your hands and form a flattened disk.  Take the time to really smooth out the sides.  This helps prevent the disk from cracking while it is baking.  They may crack a tiny bit, but you want to make sure you want to shore up the edges before it goes in the oven.
• Thickness of the patty: The thickness of this burger is another area within your control.  We made multiple kitchen tests and preferred a ¾ inch thick patty.
• Freezer Friendly: To freeze them, simply make them, cool completely to room temperature, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then place the individually wrapped patties into a freezer bag.  You can pull one out at a time, microwave, and devour!   They taste as good as the day you made them.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

These burgers freeze well. Cool to room temperature, then wrap individual burgers in plastic wrap, then place them inside a freezer storage bag. Then you can take one out at a time, microwave them, and they taste as good as the day you made them.

Pantry Products:

• Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
• Rolled Oats:  Use whole grain rolled oats, not instant oats. We used Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats (Whole Grain).
• Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products:

• Food processor
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment paper

If you try this herbaceous burger, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Vegan Pesto Burger

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 25 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 55 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Burgers 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Oven
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Healthy and hearty, this Vegan Pesto Burger is brimming with herbaceous basil flavors and a perfect addition to your summer dinner menu.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• ½ cup cooked and refrigerated brown rice *
• ½ cup rolled oats *
• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh basil, packed (1.5 oz.)
• ¼ cup pine nuts *
• 1 Tablespoon flax meal
• 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Serving Ideas:

• Burger buns or wraps
• Baby spinach (or lettuce)
• Tomatoes
• Sliced red onions
• Oil Free Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli or Vegan Mayonnaise

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Place the cooked and refrigerated brown rice and oats into a food processor and pulse off and on just until slightly broken up, about 15 seconds, do not pulverized them, then add them to a large bowl. Note: You do not need to clean the food processor in between steps, simply scrape it out with a rubber spatula.
4. Place the chickpeas into the food processor, pulse off and on for 10 seconds, just to break them up. Do not create mush. You want to see texture. Then add them to the large bowl with the rice and oats.
5. Next add the fresh basil and pine nuts to the food processor, process for 30 to 40 seconds just until a paste forms, then scrape out all the mixture and add it to the large bowl with the rice, oats, and chickpeas.
6. Then add all the remaining Base Ingredients and the Spice/Herb Ingredients to the large mixing bowl. Mix by hand until everything is well combined, evenly distributed, and the mixture sticks together easily.
7. Form a large ball, then divide into 4 patties. Pick up each ball with slightly dampened hands and form a smooth ball, then flatten into about a ¾ inch thick patty and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Continue until all the patties are made. (See notes on burger formation)
8. Place in a preheated 375 F oven (center rack) and bake for 20 minutes, then flip, and bake for another 15 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 2 minutes to set up before serving on your favorite burger bun (lettuce cup or tortilla) with some fresh baby spinach or shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, and your favorite Vegan Mayonnaise or Oil Free Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  Makes 4 burgers

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