In the dawn of the commercial veggie burger era, it seemed our only options were frozen patties made by the likes of Boca Burger, Gardenburger and MorningStar Farms. Their intentions were good, they didn’t contain meat, and ... well, those are the only two positive things you can really say about them. They were pretty terrible.
But the recent rise of the Impossible Burger, a veggie burger engineered by neuroscientists that tastes, feels and “bleeds” like real red meat, has elevated our expectations. Because of that, food bloggers and recipe developers have been pushed to create better recipes for made-from-scratch veggie burger patties.
We’ve picked several of our favorites, including one that can be grilled without falling apart (if you’ve ever tried to do this, you’ll know how difficult it can be). They’re made with everything from wild rice to black beans, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and beets. They’re unlikely to taste or look like actual beef the way an Impossible Burger does, but rather they embrace their unique flavors and textures.
In other words, they’re nothing like those old frozen patties.
Of course, leave off the bacon if you're a vegetarian.
