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These high-protein vegan burgers are simply amazing: meaty, soft, juicy, and protein-rich! You will never believe these are vegan! With over 60 five-star ratings, this is one of our most popular burger recipes, and there is a reason why!
Friends, I just made the most amazing vegan burgers ever.
Seriously, I tried a lot of different veggie burgers, and while most were delicious, they always lacked that meaty texture. These vegan burgers have an incredibly meaty texture and are soft and juicy!
⭐️ Why You Will Love this Recipe
- Incredibly meaty: Combining soy curls with vital wheat gluten creates the perfect combination of chewiness and meatiness. Plus, these plant-based burgers are moist and tender. Say goodbye to dry vegan burgers!
- Easy to prepare: Just 8 ingredients + a few spices are required. The process is as simple as processing everything together, shaping it into patties, and cooking!
- High-protein: With 28g of protein per serving, these are on par with real burgers. If you are looking for different ways to up your protein intake, these delicious burgers will come to the rescue!
- Cheaper than store-bought. Tired of paying $5,99 for 2 vegan burgers? These cost a total of about $2 for 3 large burgers. They taste just as good as store-bought without preservatives or additives!
- The reviews speak for themselves: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from over 60 ratings! Justin said: “These are Delish! Thanks for the recipe! It’s one of the best veggie burger recipes I have tried!
🫘 Ingredient Notes
Let’s take a look at the ingredients needed to prepare these high-protein vegan burgers:
- Soy curls – This makes the base of the burgers and gives them a meaty and chewy texture. Soy curl, sometimes called TVP, is a dehydrated product made from soy flour. It needs to be rehydrated in hot water before use. It’s high in protein, low in fat, and usually pretty cheap. You can now even find curls made from peas instead of soy!
- Cooked Beans – These add moisture and make the burgers softer. I went with white navy beans, but red or black beans will work too.
- Vital Wheat Gluten – Wheat gluten helps bind the burgers together and creates a slightly stretchy texture. Vital wheat gluten also adds extra protein. It’s an essential ingredient in this recipe.
- Nutritional Yeast – We are not using nutritional yeast to add a cheesy flavor but to give the burgers a more savory, deeper flavor.
- Soy Sauce – Instead of plain salt, soy sauce adds saltiness + extra flavor. We will also use dark soy sauce to slightly darken their color.
- Sugar – Optional but recommended to balance the saltiness. Don’t worry, it won’t make the burgers taste sweet! You can use white sugar or coconut sugar.
- Oil – I found that without the additional oil, the burgers didn’t have the richness of traditional burgers and were a bit drier.
- Liquid smoke – Add a few drops of liquid smoke for a subtle smokiness.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, garlic, and onion powder. We don’t want our burgers to be bland.
Yes, the combination of ingredients in this recipe might sound a bit unusual, but it works wonderfully! It’s obviously not on the level of Beyond Burger, but it’s getting pretty close.
🍔 How to Make High-Protein Veggie Burgers
Rehydrate the soy curls
- Add the soy curls to a bowl. Start by adding the dried soy curls to a bowl.
- Cover with water and rehydrate. Next, cover with hot water and let the soy curls rehydrate for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- Drain well. Drain the soy curls and rinse them a couple of times under cold water. This step helps get rid of the soybean flavor. Next, use your hands to squeeze the moisture from the soy curls.
Process the mixture
- Process the remaining ingredients. Add the cooked white beans, oil, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, sugar, spices, liquid smoke, and water to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Add the soy curls and process again. Then, add the rehydrated soy curls to the food processor and process for 4-6 seconds or until it looks like a bolognese sauce. You want the soy curls to be finely chopped but not completely puréed. Otherwise, you will lose the texture. The soy curls should be about 1/4-inch (5-6mm). Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.
Add the gluten and form patties
- Stir in the vital wheat gluten. Add the vital wheat gluten to the blended soy curl mixture and mix using a spatula or your hands until it forms a paste resembling ground meat. Knead for about 10 seconds.
- Divide the mixture. Divide the mixture into 3 even balls to make 3 large burgers. If you prefer thinner burgers, divide the mixture into 4.
- Wrap each burger. Place one ball of the mixture on top of a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into a burger patty. Carefully wrap the patty in parchment paper. Next, wrap it in a layer of aluminum foil. Note: Your burger patties will be double-wrapped, once in parchment paper and then in aluminum foil. Repeat with the two remaining patties.
Cook the Burgers
- Steam. The final step consists of steaming the burgers for about 1 hour. To do so, you can use an Instant Pot or a bamboo steamer basket placed on top of a pot of boiling water.
- Let cool. After steaming, remove the burgers from the foil and parchment paper and let them cool for at least 10 minutes. You can now cook the burgers in a skillet or grill them!
🧂 Optional Marinade
While optional, this extra step adds flavor and saltiness and makes the burgers juicier. To marinade burgers:
- Place the burgers in a deep baking dish.
- Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of oil.
- Marinate the burgers overnight or for at least 4 hours, flipping them once.
You can then grill them or fry them in a pan!
🍔 How to Serve These Vegan Burgers
You can serve these veggie burgers with buns, along with pickled cucumber, tomato slices, salad leaves, and sriracha mayo (or your favorite burger sauce!). Or, you can serve the burgers without the buns, with some grains and vegetables on the side for a complete meal.
❄️ Freezing
These high-protein burgers freeze beautifully! Wrap each in plastic film and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
📔 Tips
- Do not make substitutes. This recipe is not versatile. Hence, I do not recommend making substitutes or omitting any ingredient. You can play with the spices and flavorings, though.
- Double the recipe. Since this recipe only makes 3 burgers, I recommend doubling it, as they will be gone in no time.
- Steam, don’t bake. These burgers must be steamed for an optimal texture. Do not try baking them.
💬 FAQ
Yes, you can substitute red kidney beans or black beans for white navy beans. It will alter the color of the burgers but won’t have any impact on their texture.
Unfortunately, vital wheat gluten is essential to add the meatiness and hold the burgers together. It cannot be omitted.
TVP comes in many different shapes. I had the best results with soy curls, but this recipe also works with TVP crumbles.
Burgers will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Yes! These high-protein vegan burgers are perfect for grilling! They hold together very well and do not fall apart.
Not at all! As opposed to other veggie burger recipes, this one doesn’t taste like beans at all. Also, it feels less heavy than the popular rice/bean combo that is often used in other recipes.
Note: This recipe was first released in 2018 and was updated in August 2023 with new photos, process shots, and improved flavor. I also replaced the TVP crumbles with soy curls for an improved texture. All gram measurements were also double-checked. This new recipe is slightly lower in protein but tastes much better!
High-Protein Vegan Burgers (The Best Vegan Burgers!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy curls
- 1/2 cup cooked white navy beans
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/4 cup water (or beetroot juice)
- 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Rehydrate the soy curls. Add the soy curls to a bowl and cover with hot water. Let the soy curls rehydrate for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- Drain the soy curls and rinse them a couple of times under cold water. This step helps get rid of the soybean flavor. Next, squeeze the soy curls with your hands to remove the excess moisture. Set the drained soy curls aside.
- Process the mixture. To the bowl of a food processor, add the cooked white beans, oil, sugar, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, onion powder, smoked paprika, dark soy sauce, liquid smoke, and water. Process until smooth.
- Add the soy curls and process again. Then, add the rehydrated soy curls to the food processor and process for 4-6 seconds or until it looks like a bolognese sauce. You want the soy curls to be finely chopped but not completely puréed. Otherwise, you will lose the texture. The soy curls should be about ¼-inch (5-6mm). Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.
- Stir in the vital wheat gluten. Add the vital wheat gluten to the blended soy curl mixture and mix using a spatula or your hands until it forms a paste resembling ground meat. Knead for about 10 seconds. The mixture should be soft and have a slight elasticity.
- Divide the mixture. Divide the mixture into 3 even balls to make 3 large burgers. If you prefer thinner burgers, divide the mixture into 4.
- Wrap each burger. Place one ball of the mixture on top of a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into a burger patty. Carefully wrap the patty in parchment paper. Next, wrap it in a layer of aluminum foil. Note: Your burger patties will be double-wrapped, once in parchment paper and then in aluminum foil. Repeat with the two remaining patties.
- Cook the burgers. Place the wrapped burgers in a steamer (you can use a bamboo steamer basket or a regular steamer) and steam for 1 hour.
- Let cool. Once cooked, unwrap the burgers and let them cool for 10 minutes. You can now pan-fry the burgers in a little oil until golden brown on each side.
- Burgers will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. They will harden a bit in the fridge but will soften once heated.
Notes
- Do not make substitutes. This recipe is not versatile. Hence, I do not recommend making substitutes or omitting any ingredient. You can play with the spices and flavorings, though.
- Double the recipe. Since this recipe only makes 3 burgers, I recommend doubling it, as they will be gone in no time.
- Steam, don’t bake. These burgers must be steamed for an optimal texture. Do not try baking them.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
🧀 25 Mind-Blowing Vegan Cheese Recipes!
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Do you have to steam of can you go straight to the fry-pan ?
Yes it must be steamed before.
I made these burgers. I would recommend tripling the amount of spices and add salt!!! I also did not use the oil at all and just added extra tomato paste. I did marinate them and grilled them over charcoal. Excellent texture and “meatyness” but as with most vegan recipes (especially those mimicking meat) you mist add much more spices. Really great recipe! Also I did not bother using parchment paper but just stacked them between tinfoil and they did just fine. I tripled the recipe to make 38 patties and freezed them . Made twice so far.
Thanks for your feedback Ellen!
https://fullofplants.com/high-protein-vegan-burgers/
I used this recipe and made the following changes and suggestion for my next attempt:
Boiled the TVP in beef flavored bullion
1 tsp for all spices
Sub dark rich soy sauce for regular soy sauce
Sub water from canned beets for just plain water
Added 10 drops of iron supplement
Sub ketchup for tomato paste (probably not a good idea)
Used a burger press which worked well
Sub olive oil for oil
Tasting Notes:
Falls apart a little bit, has consistency of meat loaf, next time add more vital wheat gluten and a little bit of xantham gum, potato starch or flax seed/water mix (fake egg)
Process the TVP longer, should be smaller granules, try 45 – 60 seconds
Burgers came out huge and one of them was rectangle because of the aluminum foil, next time make sure to shape round
Use less garlic powder next time
Use more iron drops next time
Try frozen coconut oil as sub for regular oil
Thanks for sharing your tweaks Chris.
The fact they fall apart a bit may be due to using a different TVP, or because of some tweaks, I’m not sure.
Regarding the size, they should not grow in size after cooking, so make sure to wrap them tightly.
Is it possible to skip the steaming step? Is the vital what gluten that make that necessary? What will happen without the steaming step?
Without steaming the steaks would probably have a strong gluten flavor, and the texture would be off.
Absolutely the most delicious burger ever!i will never again buy a commercial one. Simmered the tvp in onion soup and doubled the spices. Burger heaven!
Onion soup sounds like a great idea! Did you still add the powdered onion?
Thank you for the idea!
Best burger ever. Simmered the tvp in onion soup and doubled the spices. Will never buy commercially made veg burgers again. Burger heaven!
Thanks so much Lynne! Glad you liked this burger!
Followed the recipe and have a couple comments: New to this Vegetarien format of protein. Im a self proclaimed “meatasuarus” and a fitness professional. I am looking for other means of protein and came across this, which looked promising. Tried the recipe last night, and all looked good and when the patties made it to the pan ended up falling apart so I made a wrap instead. How can we make this so its a bit more firm in texture?
Hi Marcus,
Did you use the vital wheat gluten? It’s what keeps these from falling apart. Also, make sure you drain well and remove excess water from the TVP.
Great recipie, but mine did not come out as firm as I would have hoped. I followed directions perfectly. I have made seitan , and was expectung this to be firmer. When I took them out of the wrappers, they still felt a little soft, and hardened with cooling. After pan frying them, the inside was a little mushy.
Any suggestions? I drained excess water off the tvp, cooked them as instructed.
Was wondering if baking would make a difference.
Thank you.
Maybe cook a bit longer, or as you said try baking them if you prefer your burgers firmer.
Hi Thomas,
I love the ingredients in this burger recipe, but was wondering what; if anything I could substitute for the 3 tbsp oil as I try to remain oil free these days?
Many thx,
Ricky
Hi Ricky, you can simply omit. I added oil to give these burgers a moister and richer texture.
Can I make the pre-steaming mixture tonight, form the patties, leave in the refrigerator and steam them tomorrow?
That should work!
Hi Thomas, thank you for sharing this recipe! I kept wondering why I couldn’t find any recipes on Pinterest that contained tvp and vital wheat gluten, as it just seemed like the best bet for a good texture. I am glad that I did not have to experiment because I stumbled upon your blog! I, like many others in the comments, do not own a pressure cooker, and so I steamed mine on the stove top in a metal colander over a pot of boiling water. The only change I made was that I used vegan “beef” broth when I rehydrated my TVP for additional flavoring. The sriracha Mayo was excellent on top!!! Thanks!
Thanks so much for your great feedback Trisha!
The 80 grams of TVP is measured dry? For me 80 grams of TVP is more like 1 cup and a half
Yes, it is measured dry. Are you using very small TVP?
Thanks man! Made them a couple of days ago and they turned out amazing after marinating overnight. I did upped the spices a bit and added some extra ingredients. By the way, I run a small vegan restaurant and they went straight on the menu.
Hi Thomas,
Love what you do and big respect for al great recipes.
Is there a way to make this burger glutenfree?
Hope you have some ideas
Greetings Ovan
Hi Ovan,
Thanks for the kind words! I’m afraid this recipe cannot be made gluten-free as it would completely change the texture.
Best vegan burger recipe I’ve ever tried! Meaty and flavourful, and so easy to make! Plus the ingredients are cheap. Can’t ask for more!
I’ve made them in the pressure cooker, and steamed on the stove. Both worked great (personally I prefer steaming because I can cook more at a time).
Love it, recommend it to everyone!
Thanks for your amazing feedback Laura! 🙂
Just did it and we love it!
I thought of TVP + gluten blend, googled and found this recipe.
This was fourth or fifth try for “veggie burger” run, and finally it worked out, as it did not fall apart and was moist inside.
Used garbanzo beans + lentils in the same proportions ( I have run out of kidney beans).
Next time will try adding some veggies (chopped onions or mushrooms) + more gluten to absorb extra moist. Hope it will work.
As for TVP: I used a layer of cheese cloth inside colander, and not only drained TVP after simmering, but actually pressed and squeezed it in the cloth, to get rid of excessive water.
Will be doing it on a regular basis.
Thank you for recipe!
So happy to hear you liked this recipe Ollie!
Thanks for sharing your tweaks!
For those asking about another method, other than a pressure cooker, I make TVP/vital wheat gluten meatballs and cook them in the oven at 350° for 40 minutes, turning over halfway.
I just pulled these out of the pressure cooker and they still seem very soft, like they hardly changed texture from before they were pressure cooked. Is that normal? I haven’t tried them yet, but thanks for the recipe!
Did you drain and squeeze the TVP to remove excess water before using it?
Also, let them cool a bit after removing from the pressure cooker, and you can place them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to help them firm up.
Should I freeze these before pan frying or after? And then how would I say we cook them after thawing?
I haven’t tried but you might want to try freezing before cooking. Then thaw in the refrigerator the night before cooking.
Hello Thomas.
I am new to tvp and I want to try the burgers. Your discription of the recipe is clear. Though I still have a question.
I don’t have a high pressure pan but only a steamer that I use for steaming rice. Can I use this steamer for steaming the “raw” burgers or is a higher pressure requiered, which would mean that I have to buy a pressure pan?
Best regards,
Herman Hanssen
Hi Herman,
I would say a high-pressure cooker is required. I haven’t tried with a normal steamer though, but it might be worth trying before buying another equipment.
Thomas, thanks for your reply.
One last question to this topic.
I wonder why high pressure is necessary because I don’t see high pressure ever mentioned in other TVP recipes? Is it necessary for changing the TVP texture in this recipe other than just cook it for some time?
(BTW: I am very new to TVP. So, in general, does TVP require some time for cooking to change the “raw” texture? I have tasted it after soaking and the texture was “chewy”).
High pressure is not for the TVP but for the gluten. TVP just needs to be rehydrated and can then be used as is.
Great recipe! I steamed them in the varoma of my thermomix for 40 min and did not wrap them in any foil. They turned out great!
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback Gine!
Can I replace aluminum foil with better choice?
What are the options for people who don’t have press cooker? Any modifications for oven baking options?
Hi Thomas,
We already make our burgers using TVP Chickpea etc. We would still like to achieve a more solid textured burger. Could we use Vital Gluten within the mixture and not steam them? Only the few minutes cooking in the pan in a very little oil, would that be enough to activate the gluten? The burgers are approx 12 mm thick. Many thanks for a great recipe
Hi Roger,
I have never tried cooking gluten in a skillet actually so I’m afraid I cannot help you with this. If you try, you might want to cook them for a longer time and cover the skillet to steam at the same time.
Hi Thomas, Many thanks for your reply. We will continue to experiment next week and keep you informed,. Thanks for your help.
Regards
Roger
Thanks for this recipe! I have a question about the consistency / wheat flavor. After following the directions, mine was so loose that I felt it needed more vital wheat gluten to achieve the “elastic” quality you talked about. Sadly, I think I added too much. The burgers had a nice consistency after they were cooked, but they definitely had that ‘wheaty’ vwg taste. Could you explain the slight elasticity a bit more? Would it be okay if they are loose before wrapping them up? I know seitan can be pretty fickle and so I added until I got something easier to manage in my hands. It may also be that I kneaded the mixture too much. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. I’d love to master these burgers!
You’re welcome Jose!
It should be a bit “loose” before steaming. The wheaty taste might come from the fact you added more than needed. If you still think it tastes too much gluten, feel free to increase the spices and flavorings.
Great, thank you for the response! I will make it a bit looser next time. One thing that I didn’t mention, though, was that I didn’t marinate the first two burgers. I marinated the third and it made such a big difference! The flavor from the marinade really added something to these. I love the protein content and the consistency. I’m eager to make these again!
Hi Thomas,
First off, thank you for your work and for sharing recipes, that is amazing.
I’ve read all the comments and there is still something bothering me: the TVP, beans, sauce and condiments are all cooked. The only thing that actually needs cooking is the Wheat Gluten. I find it a “waste” to cook ingredients twice if that makes sense.
Why not use half cooked Beans and leave the TVP dry or only slightly soaked before starting to form the patties? That way everything would cook together in the parchment/aluminum wrap inside the pressure cooker.
I intent to go with this recipe: https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-grillable-veggie-burgers/ AND add in wheat gluten in order to end up with something more firm.
I’d like you opinion on going with half-cooked brown rice, half-cooked black beans (soaked over night, 5 minutes pressure cooked instead of 10, shredded in blender if necessary), mix everything with wheat gluten, wrap acording to your recipe, pressure cook 80 minutes. The remaining lectins in the beans should be neutralised during this extra cooking time.
Kind regards
Dan
Hi Dan,
You’re welcome!
Well, my question would be why half cook the beans and rice? For this recipe, I use cooked TVP, rice, and beans as they mix better, have more moisture, and it results in patties that hold together better. I guess by using dry TVP or half-cooked beans, the texture would not be the same. I’m curious to know the result if you decide to try it, keep us updated! 🙂
Hi Thomas,
Yesterday I went with my ingredients 50% cooked to give it a try. My understanding of food an nutrition is: the more you cook ingredients, the more nutrients get broken down and lost (vitamins, minerals, fiber). So not more kooking then necessary for instance to get the lectins out of beans or to get the rice digestable.
I went with this:
– 160g brown rice, soaked over night, 8 Minutes pressure cook instead of 15
– 200g black beans, soaked over night, 4 minutes pressure cook instead of 8, roughly shredded in the blender (10x pulses)
– 200g walnuts, stirred until golden bown, roughly shredded in the blender (10x pulses)
– 100g TVP, dry, not cooked
– 70g breadcrumbs
– 120g wheat gluten
=> combine all these mostly dry ingredients together, the wheat gluten comes last as it starts sticking almost instantly
– 6 tbsb homemade vegan bbq sauce
– 3 caramelized red onions
=> add to the dry ingredients and mix togheter until a dough is formed, keep kneading for 10 minutes in order to activate the gluten
It made me a total of 10 paties ~170g each
wrapped them individually in parchment and aluminum foil as you suggest and pressure cooked on medium-low pressure for 90 minutes.
They turned out super firm and “fibery”, much much firmer then any burger pattie I have ever made back when I was eating meat and putting whole eggs into the ground meat and friing them in a skillet. + there is as good as no distinct taste from the gluten itself as it is quite a small amount.
They are on the dry side though, but when adding a cocktail sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and fresh oninon, their firmness make up for it and they are perfect imho.
On my next batch I’ll do the exact same, except that I’ll do a more liquidy bbq sauce and wrap the patties less so they get more moisture from the pressure cooker. Maybe I’ll only use the parchement paper and not the aluminum foil.
Over all this recipe with the wheat gluten is what I was missing in order to get my patties firm enough, so it is already an overall success, now it’s a matter of fine tuning ingredients and the process.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for sharing Dan! Glad you found the recipe you were looking for!
Thomas,
I’d like to confirm something with you because it just doesn’t make sense:
you say to pressure cook them for 1:20:00. Really? You could pressure cook a coconut to mash in that amount of time.
Plus I can’t imagine the cooker holding enough water to last an hour and 20 minutes.
Just sayin’…
Thanks!
Ken
Hi Ken,
Let us know your results if you try to pressure cook them for a shorter time. Hope you will enjoy the recipe 🙂
I made these last night and they turned out great! Wonderful texture! I would probably add more seasoning and spices to my next batch as I did not marinade and doubt I would take that extra step in the future, either. I also thought the cooking time was too long so I cooked for 45 minutes in my instant pot with quick release and then sauteed them in a little oil before serving and they were perfect! I also made 4 burgers instead of 3 and my family all thought the serving size was still too big but somehow we managed to eat our burgers lol.
Thanks for your feedback Nikki!
Thanks so much for posting this, I’ve been looking for a reliable way of making these for ages! The binding of the ‘dough’ and texture are great, and the taste obviously!
Great! You’re welcome Paul! 🙂
These are steaming in my InstantPot right now. I intend to follow your directions entirely and marinate them. Homemade vegan burger buns await them. I will report back BUT as of right now I am very excited to try them. The recipe sounds sensational. I was able to make 4 large burgers from the recipe.
Hope you will like them!
Hi! Very excited to try this recipe, but can I check if it’s ok to do without the yeast? As I don’t have access to it
Hi, yes you can omit!