Big Fat Greek Veggie Burgers
Things are about to get messy.
Kind of like the four year-old boy seated to my left at Sunday School yesterday, with his index finger firmly planted in his right nostril.
And then to complicate things, my having to lead him and nine other four year-olds in and out of the “human knot” in an exercise all about listening to the voice of authority.
Guess whose hand I got to hold?
Every. Single. Step. Of the. Way.
You may think it’s funny.
But it’s not.
He and I stuck together like peanut butter and jelly.
No, like boogers burgers and fries.
I’m hoping it was merely my kung fu grip and not the “glue.”
These burgers, though messy, have lots and lots of deliciousness holding them together.
But there’s nothing complicated about them.
If you are looking for a quick, veggie-packed Mediterranean meal,
something fun and jazzy to serve to company,
or a burger that pairs well with fries (especially Alexia’s Lemon Parmesan Waffle Fries!),
I’d pick this one.
And then I’d hold your hand.
n
Big Fat Greek Veggie Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
- One 14 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 c. fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 T. Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/3 c. feta cheese or non-dairy cheese (i.e. Daiya mozzarella shreds)
- 1 organic egg or flax egg (1 T. ground flax + 3 T. water, whisked)
- 1/2 c. gluten-free oat flour (or make your own by finely grinding gluten-free oats)
- 2 t. lemon juice
- 1 t. minced garlic
- 1/2 t. dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 split burger buns or lettuce leaves for serving
Greek sauce:
- 1/2 c. organic or non-dairy mayonnaise (i.e. Vegenaise)
- 1/4 c. organic or non-dairy plain yogurt
- 1/4 c. feta cheese or non-dairy cheese (i.e. Daiya mozzarella shreds)
- salt and pepper to taste
Suggested toppings: thinly sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions, lettuce leaves, roasted red peppers, pepperoncini rings
Using a potato masher or a fork, mash beans until slightly smooth, but still chunky. Add spinach, olives, cheese and egg of your choice, oat flour, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and salt and pepper. Using your hands, combine thorougly.
Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Form dough into four separate patties. Place a skillet that has been spritzed with oil or cooking spray over medium to medium high heat. Cook patties for 10-12 minutes, gently flipping once during cooking, until browned on both sides.
For Greek sauce, combine mayo, yogurt and cheese of your choice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve Greek burgers on top of buns or lettuce leaves, slathered with Greek sauce and trimmed with the toppings of your pick….errr, choice.
This post is sponsored by Alexia Foods as part of my Alexia Tastemaker series. I am choosing to donate the funds I receive from Alexia Foods to Reece’s Rainbow, an organization that raises awareness and funding for the adoption of children with Down Syndrome. My donation to the organization is by personal choice and does not reflect any particular views by Alexia Foods. To learn more, and help fund children like my friend Heath’s adoption, visit reecesrainbow.org.
These look absolutely amazing! And easy too
Thanks for the recipe
I’ll be trying them this week for sure
Hope you love ‘em!
Oh you poor thing! I can’t wait to make these burgers. They sound amazing! But which toppings will I pick? Definitely not the same as that little boy…
Ha! Nice
These look brilliant!
Ok, the veggie burgers sound awesome, but I really want to track down some of these waffle fries! I’m about to investigate whether or not they’re available in Canada, and I really really hope they are!
PS. I hope you’ve got some nice moisturizing hand cream after all that handwashing you’ve been doing!
I think they should make hand sanitizer with built-in moisturizer. Like Pert Plus–2 in 1!
They sell this at Bath and Body Works! It is hand sanitizer lotion and smells yummy!
Really?! I know what I’m buying tomorrow.
These veggie burgers look absolutely yummy! I will be making these for sure
Make sure you let me know what you think!
Ah, children. Little boogie bombs. At least you’re a good sport about it, lol.
These burgers sound SO GOOD! I’d make a double batch to have for leftovers and salads or lettuce/collard wraps. And lemon parmesan fries? OMG. I have to find these!
Yes, I made two batches and have been eating them on salads, in pitas, etc. Very good!
Yum! Greek veggie burgers sound delish! I love Alexia’s waffle fries!
kiddy boogers – mmmmmmmm
seriously, these look fantastic. i’d make mine a double decker burger!
You would not be able to put your mouth around it! These are so tall with all the toppin’s!
These look delicious! And I prefer them booger free
This is my idea of a perfect meal! The Greek sauce just put everything over the top. Yum!!
So delish. Hope you try it, Lauren!
Awesome looking burgers and funny enough, my hubs flew back to Chicago last weekend and attended a ridiculously huge big Greek wedding and I know these weren’t on the menu but SHOULD have been! They look so tasty! And the sauce…that’s where it’s at for me!
If ever I were to crash a wedding, it would because it was Greek. So fun!
i love the charity you picked!! so amazing, Sarah!
Your story made me laugh, of course you ended up stuck with him for the human knot
These burgers look amazing! I love feta and olives so add them in to make a burger and now I’m in love!
I love you too.
These look incredible! We eat veggie burgers often. This one may need to make its way into the rotation.
It may very well be our new favorite!
EEEWWWW Mama! I am sorry to hear of your really gross day. Also, you are the only one who can talk about boogers whilst simultaneously taking about food and still make us want to eat what you are talking about. <3
Yeah, that was probably in poor taste.
Bahahahaha.
I can picture it now. Oh the joys of 3′s and 4′s! That’s why we make sure we don’t have to hold hands in my class.
Ahaha, welcome to me life every day for four years. Those darn booger fingers. I got to a point where it didn’t even gross me out…how gross is THAT?!
On an anti-gross note, I love veggie burgers. All kinds. This one is going on the list!
*my life.
But can I maybe pretend I am a pirate and say *me life* from now on?
Yeah, it was only upon reflection last night that I thought, “Why did I tell that story?” (smacking self in head) But that’s my life.
Totally making these for lunch!!!!!!! But since I only have dried chickpeas, I better get to cooking them so I am actually eating lunch at lunch time;)
I hope you love ‘em!
I am so beyond excited to make these! I just got some of that feta with italian herbs and kalamata olives from trader joe’s…dinner can’t come soon enough!!
Ooh, I haven’t seen that feta, I bet it would be perfect!
LOL! Thank God for purse-size hand sanitizer!
Hallelujah, amen.
That burger looks awesome! However, your story of the little boy at church has me wanting to drown myself in sanitizer.
I’m truly sorry about that.
The booger talk kind of turned my stomach but once I recover, these burgers will go on my list of burgers to make.
Also, I loved your post on Sunday – you are a life changer.
Sorry and you’re welcome?
I am not vegan nor am I vegetarian (yet!), but i do make a lot of your recipes….can you give me a substitute for the oat flour in this recipe? Thanks!!
You could try chickpea flour or even just regular flour (wheat or all purpose). The flour adds structure to the burger.
Love that you are donating the funds. Love you. These burgers look delish
These look delicious! Sort of remind me of falafels…or not
They are very falafel-esque!
Hi Sarah…I have noticed that you have been making a lot of your recipes gluten-free. Is there a reason for that, and also wondering if you are still vegan? Thanks…love the recipes.
I have lots of friends who are gluten-intolerant so I’ve been experimenting with making more gluten-free recipes whenever possible. As for the vegan question, I’ve discussed this previously, but though we eat many vegan meals, we aren’t labeling how we eat as a family. Everyone should choose to eat what they choose/discover is best for them! Thanks for reading.
i am on a hugeeeee HUGEE olive and feta/goat cheese kick right now. can’t get enough
TJs has such a good cheese selection! i just picked up pastured feta and cant wait to break into it
Oh yummy!
These look yummy! Would be a great addition to a picnic too, I think
Yes! Great idea!
These look SO GOOD! They may have to hijack my Taco Tuesday tonight. Yum!!! Do you ever do the nutritional info for your recipes?
I do sometimes, and all the recipes in both books have the nutrition facts. I didn’t run these, though, sorry!
Anything Greek-inspired is a winner with me! These look amazing…and I love the sound of those fries – I’ve never seen them before, but I’m going to try to hunt some down!
They are worth the hunt…and if you go to http://www.alexiafoods.com, you can search for them in your zip code!
YUM…to the boogers, I mean burgers, of course. I really do give you props for actually taking the boys hand. I really don’t think I would have and then been the big meanie. Life is tough sometimes.
I had waffle fries last night and was honestly just thinking about them a few minutes ago. Now I want more waffle fries.
I know…they are irresistible!
That sounds amazing!
I like how your veggie burger recipe doesn’t contain a cup of bread crumbs like so many other recipes out there. There’s nothing I want less in a wheat bun than more wheat bread.
I hear that!
Pinning this for sure–you always have the best burger recipes! I still make your Thai veggie burgers on a regular basis. I’m a sucker for a tasty chickpea burger.
Anyway, these look great!
I love anything with Greek flavors and these look delicious! BTW- Loved that I saw you in Cooking Light this month!
Thanks, Bree! It was a fun treat
Just had these for dinner. PHENOMENAL. One of the very best veggie burgers I’ve ever made. I might even have another for breakfast tomorrow….
Oh good! They’re one of our faves now too. Though I draw the line at breakfast…
This looks absolutely amazing! I’m trying to get my husband to eat more vegetarian meals, and this one sounds like something I’d love to make for him. He actually tried his first vegan, gluten free meal last week and liked it…well he wasn’t jumping up and down but you know..I’ll take what I can get
Thank you!
I bet he would love these–my hubby did!
Hmm, this means my entire (vegan) Greek meal the other night could have been condensed into a burger. A lot less work, and probably tastes just as good.
Next time I will come to you first!
Ahh so pumped for another one of your veggie burgers! I have made all the ones in your book sooo many times
Some of my meat loving friends even agreed they are better than meat burgers since they are all so flavourful! Can’t wait to try this one out 
That’s great, Bec, thanks! I hope you all like these too!
Just pre-ordered! Woohoo! Hope it’s still vegan.
So so so excited to get cooking!
Thanks, Julia. The recipes are the same as they’ve always been–vegetarian with vegan options for the dairy products. I know you’ll love it!
Tried these burgers with great northern beans as I was out of chickpeas, however they were still delicious! My very first veggie burger attempt and they were oh so good!
Happy to hear it, Sally. Thanks!
Made these for dinner tonight! The Hus and I both loved them! Thank you!!!
Oh good! Thanks, Kallie!
Just ate these for dinner. Sooo good! I think my all time favorite recipe of yours yet!
Awesome! Thanks, Grace!
These look fantastic!!! However, I live alone…do you think I could freeze a few patties?
Yes, they freeze great!
These burgers are so good, it is a crime! One question. My burgers kind of fell apart after I made them so is there something additional I can add to make it more sticky so it stays together? thank you!
I’m glad you like them, Trish. You could try mashing the chickpeas even more or adding a tablespoon of hummus or even tahini to the mix, if you like.
I made these tonight. My husband actually ate them…and thought they were good! Considering he typically hates my vegetarian meals, that is saying A LOT! Thanks! One recipe at a time, I’ll get him to convert!
That is high praise! Thanks, Andrea.
I just discovered your blog via Wendy Polisi’s “Cooking Quinoa”. I made the Greek Veggie burgers for dinner & my hubby says this recipe is definitely a keeper – we loved ‘em! I was invited to a “healthy” food potluck at my gym and I made these smaller and put them on some whole grain slider buns – they were a hit with everyone except the vegan who won’t eat feta cheese. I will try the Greek Quinoa recipe soon! Thanks so much for the yummy recipes!