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Tofu Burger
By
DK
on May 02, 2011
I have searched for umpteeth tofu burger recipes. Even tried a bunch of them to "Blech!" results! One thing that beats me is why in the name of "health" yucky recipes are created. Either you find sinfully rich recipes that you hate to indulge cos of the calories or you find "healthy" recipes that are so bland and sub standard that you don't want it. How about - something in between?! Sounds logical doesn't it? Well you would think so, wont you?. When I had all but given up my search for a good tofu burger , came this recipe from this cookbook called Vegetarian - tasty Recipes for Everyday that I happened to find in an acquaintance's house. I made a note of it and oh boy! Am I glad that burger gods have finally blessed me with a 'never-to-part-with' recipe. We loved it immensely.
The Changes I Made
Since we all have our tastes, I made the following changes from the original recipes. It keeps in mind both our requirements and also the fact that I made use of what was available in my pantry. Instead of Swiss Brown mushrooms that the recipe called for, I used cremini mushrooms. The Basil got replaced with cilantro. The regular wholemeal breadcrumbs was replaced with wholegrain flax seeds bread crumbs that I had in hand and which I freshly ground to make the crumbs. The 1 egg used in the original recipe got replaced with 1 heaped spoon of tomato paste. Also I did not have either the sweet chilli sauce/ arugula or semi dried tomatoes. So I used chilli garlic sauce to our taste, spinach leaves and sun dried tomatoes in oil respectively.
I am guessing you can use Extra firm Tofu, pressed well with paper towel to drain the water , for this recipe. But I use the one which does not come with water. This is a super firm variety and it holds up very well when it comes to grilling, frying, stir fries, burgers etc and I use it regularly. I get it from Whole Foods. Please note that I am not paid by the company to talk about them. I mention it cos I use it regularly and it works well for my needs.
I am guessing you can use Extra firm Tofu, pressed well with paper towel to drain the water , for this recipe. But I use the one which does not come with water. This is a super firm variety and it holds up very well when it comes to grilling, frying, stir fries, burgers etc and I use it regularly. I get it from Whole Foods. Please note that I am not paid by the company to talk about them. I mention it cos I use it regularly and it works well for my needs.
References
recipe mildly adapted from vegetarian cook book
Basic Information
Prep Time: 30 min to 1 hour
Cook Time: Under 15 min
Serves: 3 people
Yield: Makes 6 burgers
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 200 gms (6-1/2oz) cremini mushrooms,finely chopped
- 350 gms (11oz) hard tofu (see my notes above)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 3-4 tbsp cilantro
- 2 cups (200gms/6-1/2oz) wholegrain flaxseed bread crumbs (or use gluten free)
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce , or to taste
- 1-1/2 cups (150gms/5oz) wholegrain flaxseed bread crumbs, extra
- 6 wholegrain bread rolls (or gluten free rolls)
- 1/2 cup Mayo (try Vegan Mayo to make this eggless)
- Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil to taste
- 60 gms (2oz) baby spinach leaves
- hot chilli sauce to serve
Method
1
In a pan, heat about a tsp of olive oil and sauce the onions until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes and cool slightly.
2
In a food processor, blend 250 gms (8 oz) of the tofu with garlic and cilantro. Or you can use basil like in the original recipe
3
Blend until smooth.
4
transfer this to a bowl and stir in the onion- mushroom mixture, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, vinegar and hot sauce (or sweet chilli sauce).
5
Grate the remaining tofu and add it to this mixture.
6
Stir until well mixed and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
7
Divide this mixture into 6 patties, pressing together well.
8
Coat them well all around with the extra breadcrumbs
9
In a pan ( i used the same where I sauted the onion and mushroom mixture), add some olive oil to coat the pan and shallow fry or pan fry the patties. Preferably you would want 1 cm (1/2 inch) oil in a deep frying pan.
10
Cook them 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are golden. Make sure to turn them carefully to prevent them from breaking up. Drain on paper towels. (you can also season them with salt now)
11
Now starts the assembly. I know you dont need pictures for this - but in the spirit of this website I thought I will humor myself and you :) Toast the bread. Spread some mayo on one side of each roll.
12
Layer the semi dried tomatoes - as many as you like :)
13
Then comes the tofu patty
14
top it off with spinach/rocket leaves. You can drizzle some more of the chilli sauce
15
Press it down with another roll with the spread facing below.
The Burger all dressed up and ready for Super Bowl/Potluck/Picnic/or lazy movie day :) Dont forget a chilled beverage to go with these :)
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33 Responses to “Tofu Burger”
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This recipe is delicious!
I did change up a few things, but results are the same.
Made these today! I left out the mushroom and added chopped spinach instead. I also used basil and 1 egg white as per the original recipe.And I broiled them instead of frying. They came out REALLY well! Will definitely use this recipe again! Thanks so much!
This came out delicious. I didn’t use balsamic vinegar because I did not have any. And I made it with 4ish tbsp of sweet chili sauce. I topped it with sweet chili sauce when it was finished and it was great!
This sounds so delicious !!! I will try it out soon and give you my feedback. My only doubt was..how can I prepare the patty from the ground mixture without it being “sticky”? It looks sticky in the pictures..Any tips for this?
You need the little stickiness for helping it to bind. If its too sticky for you, you can refrigerate it for some time – it will reduce the stickiness. –DK
Do these freeze well? I would love to make ahead and have in the freezer whenever I need a protein fix.
i tried this and it did not come out, i guess i didn’t drain the water that well, and since i couldn’t find any that was dry i bought this one, and i opted out of the bread crums too, i just ended up cooking the whole thing and using it as a spread for the burger instead of a patty.
NO OIL!!! When I made these I used my stove top grill and a little bit of Pam for nonstickiness and that worked well!
I’ve got kids (7, 5, and 3) and I usually have to double the recipe for the four of us because they are that good!! Also, I skip out on the spinach and sun dried tomatoes (although very good) and go Old School with normal tomatoes, onions, pickles, veganaise, and ketchup; perfect! Another tips is J&D Bacon Salt is a good seasoner. Why did I add that comment? Well J&D is vegetarian and very low in sodium!!!! Yes, Bacon Salt. Vegetarian and very low sodium!
yummy grabeh sarap
it’s so cool astigggggg!!!!!!!
Can you oven bake these, or dry grill them? Cutting out the oil? Or do they need the oil to hold together?
Thanks
I havent personally tried either of them but they do hold pretty well. So I personally dont think you will need all that oil.
simply super
——-> Satya: Does your husband like beans? Cooked and seasoned black or refried beans would work in the same vein for this recipe. Maybe a bit less in the quantity than the mushrooms due to the starchiness, but it would probably end up fantastic and hold together a bit better if you wanted to grill them as well.
Hi,
I am getting error while uploading the picture of the tofu burger I made.
-viji
hi i would like to grill them,fry food it is just to heavy to digest if i take the bread crumbs and just put a little bit of oil on them and put them in the grill will that work??
thank you
I have tried it in my indoor stove top grill pan and it worked without falling apart. Just be careful while turning it. I am not sure about outdoor grill
HI Dk,
Want to try these burgers but my husband does not like mushrooms so can u please suggest me the substitue for mushrooms.
Thanks.
Looks really yum.
Can you oven bake these, or dry grill them? Cutting out the oil? Or do they need the oil to hold together?
Thanks
okay it looks delicious, but not very easy is it?
What do you think makes this hard?
Very inviting and filling burger,simply irresistible..
Super yummy n healthy protein rich tofu burgers…looks so tempting….
Sanyukta
http://creativesanyukta.blogspot.com/
The burgers look perfect and delicious!! Feel like grabbing one from the screen
yumm yumm.. will sure try this
but i prefer to grill the burgers instead of deep frying 
Yummy burger… Superb combination of flavours:)I am sure it must have tasted heavenly …. looks delicious and wholesome… This is a must try recipe..
Love the sound of this, especially the addition of sun-dried tomatoes on the buns!
I have been looking out for tofu recipes. Thx for sharing.
Vardhini
VardhinisKitchen