Plant-Based Burger Guide

This is your guide to the best vegan burgers in the world! From homemade burger recipes to our picks for the best vegan burgers you can buy in a store or while on the road, we’ll talk about our favorite options for the two different types of plant-based burgers (meaty vegan burgers vs. veggie burgers). Our goal with this vegan burger guide is to get you ready for one seriously delicious burger season, in full plant-based style!

This post contains affiliate links but is not sponsored. As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no cost to you). We are also affiliates of wine.com and may earn a commission if you choose to purchase through our links. Click here to read our full policy about affiliate links. Thank you for shopping our affiliate links, as it helps us keep the free vegan recipes coming your way!

It’s summer here in Philadelphia, and among other things, that means BURGER SEASON! 

Sometimes there’s just nothing better than a burger and fries with a glass of wine on a Friday night…or a Tuesday afternoon. And just because we’re vegan doesn’t mean we don’t want that classic summer experience, right?! 

Luckily these days, the meatless crowd has a TON of options. From homemade veggie bean burgers to Beyond burgers and everything in between, you can bet your buns we eat a lot of burgers in our vegan house!

Today, we’re bringing you a bountiful bevy of beefless burgers – EVERYTHING we’ve learned in our 7 years of vegan-ness about the perfect plant-based patty. We’ll share a variety of homemade recipes and store-bought options, classic flavors and fun new twists!

Click here to Pin this post for later.

The Two Types of Plant-Based Burgers

Meaty Vegan Burgers: These are what you crave when you’re craving a BURGER. A cheeseburger. A bacon cheeseburger. Vegan burgers don’t have to be loaded with vegetables; they can taste just like meat! And these are meaty! This is your Beyond and Impossible type burgers. The burgers you bite into and are like “….uhhhhhh…”

Veggie Burgers: Veggie burgers are what they sound like – vegetable burgers! They can be made with a myriad of different beans, veggies, grains, nuts, seeds, and flavors. They’re not trying to be meat, and that’s okay. They’re the perfect lighter fare for hanging out by the pool or dinner outside on a hot summer night.

The Best Store-Bought Vegan Burgers

You don’t always want to make your own homemade vegan burgers — and we get that 100%! Here are our best tips for vegan burger buying, so you can know what to savor and what to skip because there are a lot of choices out there!

The Best Meaty Vegan Burgers You Can Buy

The Best Veggie Burgers You Can Buy

Hilary’s: Hilary’s is the brand behind “The World’s Best Veggie Burger”. Today, they make a wide variety of veggie burger flavors (all vegan and free from the Top 12 Allergens!) and can be found in the frozen section at most local grocery stores.

Dr. Praeger’s: Dr. Praeger’s is a Jersey-based food line that has been around over 25 years, but they recently released a whole line of vegan burgers in all sorts of types and flavors (almost 20 different ones!). They’re widely available in the freezer section of major stores across the US.

Other brands to look for:

• Amy’s
• MorningStar (Check ingredients, some varieties contain dairy/eggs.)
• No Bull
• LUHV
• Gardenburger (Their black bean chipotle flavor is vegan but not their original flavor.)
• BOCA (Check ingredients, some varieties contain dairy/eggs.)

Homemade Plant-Based Burger Recipes

Homemade vegan burgers AND veggie burgers are so much easier to make than you might think. They’re also perfect for freezer and batch cooking and can be a great way to use up leftover veggies, grains, beans, etc!

Homemade Veggie Burger FAQ

How do you bind vegan burgers (without eggs)?

There’s myriad ways to bind veggie burgers, but our favorite method is using a flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp water) for each chicken egg you would normally use. There are plenty of other egg replacer products on the market, but we find this classic vegan hack works best for veggie burgers! Check out our full Flax Egg Guide if they’re new to you.

How do you make vegan burgers that don’t fall apart on the grill?

You have to make sure your patty is tight and compact when formed. Before flattening it, squeeze it HARD with your hands into a compact ball. However, some burgers were just not made for the grill, but you can always put a grill guard or some foil over the grill if you’re worried about the patty breaking apart and falling in. (And those guards are GREAT for veggies too!)

How do you shape vegan burgers?

First: uniformly. Even-sized burgers will cook evenly. Take the suggested amount between your two hands and form a tight ball, squeezing to make sure the mixture is compact. Then, press gently between your palms to form a patty. Finally, shape the edges and fix any cracks that formed while you were flattening them. See the grid above for our burger shaping method!

How can you cook vegan burgers?

All of our vegan burger recipes can be either baked, air-fried, or pan-fried. Almost all (if not all) of them can be grilled.

Can you freeze vegan burgers?

Absolutely, you can! Just make sure they’ve cooled completely first, then you can freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to an air-tight container or freezer bag with parchment paper separating them. This method will keep the burgers from sticking together when they freeze.

Our Favorite Meaty Vegan Burger Recipe

Classic Homemade Vegan Burgers: This is the meatiest vegan burger we’ve ever made at home! A combination of TVP and vital wheat gluten make this basic vegan burger anything but basic. You’re going to LOVE the taste and texture of this take on the beloved classic.

Our Favorite Veggie Burger Recipe

Quinoa Mushroom Veggie Burger: If you’re looking for a healthier option without sacrificing any of the flavor, this is your search’s end. Quinoa, mushrooms, and broccoli blend beautifully together with some serious spices in the perfect patty.

Vegan Burger Topping Ideas

Now that you have your burger sorted out, the next question is what are you going to top it with?! Vegans get to have fun with their burgers too. Try some of the options below – they work for both meaty vegan burgers and veggie burgers! 

Veggies: You can’t go wrong with the favorite combination of lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. But you can always spice things up a bit with some avocado slices or pickled veggies or even kimchi. Sauteed mushrooms, red peppers, and onions are a great topper too!

Condiments: Ketchup and mustard are the standards, vegan mayo too. But we also like to shake things up with fun sauces like BBQ sauce, guacamole, vegan ranch, or even a homemade vegan burger sauce!

Vegan Cheese: Vegan cheeses are almost as plentiful as vegan burgers these days. Some of our go-to brands for burger cheese slices are Violife, Daiya, Follow Your Heart, Field Roast, and 365 (Whole Foods’ store brand). Our vegan feta cheese recipe is also great on a burger!

Vegan Bacon: We like Sweet Earth or Lightlife for store-bought vegan bacon. But our rice paper bacon recipe is our go-to for meat-free burger bacon! A sprinkle of our coconut bacon salt would also work.

Other Vegan Burger Necessities

Vegan Burger Seasoning: We always top our burgers (AND our fries) with a little of our copycat Red Robin seasoning. HIGHLY recommend!

Vegan Burger Buns: Always check the ingredients when buying burger buns, as some contain milk and/or eggs. We find you’re usually safe with store brands, but still check to make sure. If you’re into making your own homemade buns, check out this vegan hamburger bun recipe from Mary’s Test Kitchen (we LOVE it!). Or go wild and make our homemade soft pretzel buns!

Was there a vegan burger question you have that we didn’t answer in this post? Have a tip to add? Let us know in the comments so we can make this a more complete resource for future visitors!