Sandwiches made with holiday leftovers are one of the best parts of Thanksgiving or Christmas. But why wait for leftovers to enjoy holiday sandwiches? We're getting straight to the point with these vegan holiday burgers.
(Left) Uncooked and oiled. (Right) Baked with cranberry glaze.
The patty is adapted from one of our most popular holiday recipes, our Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving Loaf with Cranberry Glaze. With a couple of minor adjustments, the recipe is perfect for making veggie burger patties. This recipe is full of nutritious ingredients like brown rice, green lentils, oats, kale, carrots, and walnuts, but more importantly, it's full of holiday flavours! They strike a perfect balance of savoury + sweet: hearty base with tangy pops of sweetness from dried cranberries and a cranberry glaze.
Take this delicious holiday-inspired veggie patty, add a soft dinner roll, a healthy dose of mushroom gravy, a little extra cranberry glaze, a touch of vegan mayo and heaps of garlicky Brussels sprout slaw for the ultimate Thanksgiving or Christmas burger experience.
These burgers are great for getting your holiday feastin' fix year round. Serve them as a super low key alternative to the whole BIG dinner production or as a fun addition to your holiday menu. Most importantly? Enjoy!
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Vegan Holiday Burger
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 burgers 1x
- Category: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Burger
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 6 dinner rolls or burger buns
- mushroom gravy
- vegan mayo
- 2 cups cranberry sauce, canned or homemade, blended smooth
Holiday Burger Patties
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing patties
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium-large carrot, grated
- 1 rib celery, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups kale, stems removed, shredded and tightly packed
- 1½ cups mushrooms, thin-sliced
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup slightly overcooked green lentils
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- ⅔ cup oat flour (ground oats)
- 3 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ½ tbsp caper brine (or lemon juice/vinegar)
Brussels Sprout Slaw
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- approx. 20 Brussels sprouts, ends removed, shredded
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Holiday Patties
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and kale. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Add the mushrooms, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender.
- In a large bowl, combine the sautéed vegetables, cooked green lentils, cooked brown rice, oat flour, ground flax seeds, nutritional yeast, walnuts, dried cranberries, and caper brine. Mix VERY well, mashing the mixture to helps the ingredients bind together. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Note: If the mixture doesn't hold together easily, blend about ⅓ of the mixture using a food processor or immersion blender. Recombine.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Portion mixture into ½ cup patties approx. ½" thick. Brush both sides of patties with olive oil. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 15 minutes. Spread with cranberry glaze and bake for 5-10 minutes or until glaze appears set.
Brussels Sprout Slaw
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add shredded Brussels sprouts and minced garlic. Sauté briefly, until slaw is tender but crisp. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Assembly
- Lightly toast buns if desired, cut side down in a hot skillet with butter (optional).
- Spread the top bun with a light coat of vegan mayo. Top bottom bun with a generous amount of mushroom gravy, add the patty and additional cranberry glaze if desired, top with Brussels sprout slaw and the top bun. Enjoy!
Jeannine
In spite of the fact that it took a long time to make, I had all the ingredients except the mushrooms which I had to purchase from the store. I used my vidalia chopper on the mushrooms, onions and celery and grated the carrot on medium fine. I used the immersion blender on 1/3 of the mix. I loved that I could turn it into a GF meal using GF oatmeal and GF buns. I did not make the slaw but replaced it with a salad and fries and used spinach in the bun. My 92 and 99 year old parents loved it. I doubled the recipe and used a 1/2 measuring cup and got 14 burgers. Thanks for creating the recipe. I will make it again.
★★★★★
Ashley
I love this unique recipe. So many good flavor combos. More labor intensive than some but I LOVE spending time in my kitchen prepping a good meal like this. Thanks for some inspiration! I'll have to give this a try even if I only get to the patties and slaw. The mushroom sauce seems like a requirement though!
Brittany
Thanks so much Ashley!! 🙂 I hope you love it 🙂 It's really great as an all-in-1 Christmas/Thanksgiving meal or for using up leftovers!
Natasha
Quick question... the kale was a bit tedious. Can you suggest a substitute? Is it needed to hold them together?
★★★★★
Brittany
You can leave it out if you like. It's not needed to bind the burger, just added nutrition and colour!
Natasha
I made these tonight and they were great! My non-vegan husband gave them 4.5/5 and said we could serve them to guests. My son (4) loved them too. Cranberries on a burger? Yes please!
★★★★★
Brittany
Ah! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for commenting Natasha, I really appreciate it!
Drumles Den Haag
Thank you so much!! I'm gonna try them tomorrow 🙂 Craving for a burger right now 😛
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay! I hope you love them 😀 Th
Drumles Den Haag
I just had one and they tasted really yummy! Also, they're really firm. Loved it, thanks 🙂
Dylan Cutler
Wow, these look incredible! Both your recipe creation and your photography are on point. Thanks for such inspiring, plant-based work. 😉
Brittany
Aw, thank you so much Dylan! I really appreciate it 😀
Justine | JustineCelina.com
These look incredible, Brittany! I've toyed around with vegan burgers for such a long time and never seem to get them quite right. I'm going to pin yours -- I love the holiday twist! Have a fab weekend, love.
Brittany
Thanks Justine! Veggie burgers are a little tricky to get them juuust right. Have a great weekend!
Hilary
oh yum, these look so tasty! I love how you incorporated traditionally festive flavours into your burger patty and toppings, how fun!
Brittany
Thank you so much Hilary!
Jo-Anna
Oh my word, these burgers look amazing! I've been wanting to make my own veggie burgers at home, and this recipe is exactly what I would love in one! SO good! And I love your holiday twist to them.
Brittany
Thanks Jo-Anna! Homemade veggie burgers are great, you might like this non-holiday version too.
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
Yummm! Always looking for good veggie burgers. These look amazing and love the brussels sprouts slaw you topped them with 🙂
Brittany
Thanks Stephanie! Veggie burgers are ALWAYS a great option 😛
Tamar
Ah these look amazing!!!! I gotta try them!
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you so much Tamar!
Mark White
These look delicious! Any chance I could use the recipe and image for a poster promoting veganism in UK schools? Also loved the Vegan Mushroom & Black Bean Burgers you did - any chance I could also use the recipe and image for that dish for my schools poster?
★★★★★
Brittany
Sure! I'd love to see the finished product!
Mark White
Certainly will! Can you send me a hi-res version of the Mushroom & Black Bean Burger pic? Or let me know where you got it. I'd like to you it big - A2 size.
Mark
Actually I think that we can use the image from your website - the poster is going to be A4 and not A2.
Could you just confirm that we have permission to use it.
Thanks
Brittany
Yep, confirmed!