The 4th of July is a holiday of many hats, and stands for a wide range of things to many people: Independence, the birth of a nation, family togetherness, parades, fireworks, and of course, grilling. It just wouldn’t be a celebration without someone whipping out one of those half-round furnaces and incinerating big hunks of meat. Now that sounds like a party, no? …Um, no. I’ve never gotten into the great annual tradition of setting the backyard on fire, and you’d better believe there’s been no meat on my menu for quite a few years now. Typically, I’m the one who provides a side dish for this sort of affair, like samosa potato salad, pesto quinoa salad, or bean dip, but am them relegated to some lame, bland soy pucks that someone scrapped out of the back of their freezer. Well, in the spirit of Independence Day, I’m here to say “no more!” and this time, I’m making my own veggie patties.

More interesting than your average mish-mash of random vegetables and textured soy protein, I went the route of taking the flavors of a crave-worthy salad dressing, green goddess, and translated them into burger form.

If you can operate a food processor, you can make these babies, so there’s no excuse for going the store-bought route yet again this year. Wonderfully flexible and customizable as well, feel free to swap out any herbs you’d like or have on hand, or try using another leafy green vegetable for the spinach; I’m thinking that kale might make an especially tasty substitute.

Though I do bake my burgers in the oven, you can make them in advance as written, keep them in the fridge, and then toss them on a well-oiled grill when you’d like to serve them up. You can even take them on the road with the right camping grill at your disposal. Just be gentle when flipping the patties, as they’re a bit more fragile than most mass-produced options.

Continue to Content

Yield: Makes 6 – 8 Burgers

Green Goddess Burgers

Print

More interesting than your average mish-mash of random vegetables and textured soy protein, this approach takes the flavors of green goddess dressing and translates them into burger form. Quick, easy, and deeply satisfying, they're perfect to whip up on the fly.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Scallions
• 1 (14-Ounce) Package Firm Tofu, Drained and Patted Dry
• 7 Ounces Fresh Baby Spinach
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Tarragon
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Chives
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
• Pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. In your blender or food processor, combine the oats, garlic and scallions, and pulse to combine. Once finely minced and no large chunks of raw garlic remain, crumble in the tofu, and follow with the spinach and fresh herbs.
3. Blend briefly to break down all of the greens (it may seem like a lot when you put them in the machine, but they’ll puree down pretty fast.)
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the mustard, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne, and salt, and processor one final time. When the mixture is thoroughly combined but still just a little bit chunky, it’s ready to go.
5. Scoop out 1/3 – 1/2 cup of the mixture onto your prepared sheet for each burger. It will be very wet, so you can’t really “shape” them, but use a spatula to spread the blobs out into as even circles as possible.
6. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until darkened in color and they no longer appear wet. They should remain plenty moist on the inside. Let cool for at least 10 minutes on the sheet before serving as desired.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

• 
  Annie's Naturals, Organic, Dijon Mustard, 9 oz
• 
  REDMOND Real Sea Salt - Natural Unrefined Organic Gluten Free Fine, 26 ounce pouch (1 Pack)
• 
  Bob's Red Mill, Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, Whole Grain, Gluten Free, 32 oz (907 g)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 43Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.