These satisfying vegan kale burgers are made with a flavorful mixture of white beans, crunchy sunflower seeds and lots of garlic. They’re as delicious as they are healthy.
I couldn’t let July 4th go by without posting at least one veggie burger recipe, and this is just about the veggiest of veggie burgers. I post a lot of veggie burger recipes, but not a whole lot of them are actually veggie burgers.
These are some serious veggie burgers.
They’re big, green and full of kale. They’re delicious though! It’s about time if you asked me. I realized that over the last year or so I hit a bit of stride with sharing vegan comfort food recipes, and my burger recipes have been no exceptions. Falafel burgers. Guac and chips burgers. Meatloaf burgers. Can you blame me? They’re all reasonably healthy though, so no biggie. But I did figure though it was time to share something seriously veggiefied, so here you go. I’m giving you my kale burgers.
You know what too? Kale burgers are just as hearty and sloppy good as all those other burgers I’ve been sharing. They’re green, but whatever. Kale is delicious, and even more delicious when mixed up with lots of garlic, white beans, basil, and crunchy little sunflower seeds.
I wondered if adding kale to my burgers might mess with the texture or make them not hold together, but I think it actually helped, because these were super sturdy, with a fantastic bite. I’m betting they’d even withstand some grilling, but if you go there be sure to put down a layer of foil, just to be safe.
Garlicky Kale Burgers
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. curly kale, about 1 small bunch or 1/2 of a large bunch
- 1-15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (or more, if you want your burger very garlicky!)
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil, for grilling
For Serving:
- 4 to 6 burger buns
- 4 to 6 lettuce leaves, or a few handfuls of shredded lettuce
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced (I like mine sautéed too)
- vegan mayo
Instructions
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Clean and remove stems from kale, then tear the leaves into 2 inch pieces. Place into a steaming device of your choice (stovetop or microwave), and steam until leaves are just wilted and bright green, about 5 minutes.
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Place kale leaves into food processor bowl, along with beans, 1 cup panko, sunflower seeds, basil, garlic and lemon juice. Pulse a few times until well blended, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup of panko if mixture seems too soft. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
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Shape the mixture into 4 to 6 patties.
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Lightly oil the bottom of a medium skillet and place over medium heat. Working in batches if needed, place patties into skillet and cook until browned on bottoms, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on opposite sides, about 4 minutes more.
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Stuff into buns and top with toppings of choice. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information includes lettuce, tomato, onion and 1 tablespoon of vegan mayo.
YUMMO! I will most certainly try these. Have you tried the Smokey Spinach Bean Burgers from Thug Kitchen? They are amazing, too and I have made them with Kale as well (even though I was also worried about the taste difference) but it was delish! Thanks for this, will Comment Back with my results.
I haven’t, but they sound great. I love anything with smokey flavors! I hope you enjoy these! :)
I HAVE A QUESTION IS THE CALORIE COUNT INCLUDING BUN? OR IS IT JUST BURGER?
It does indeed include the bun. Thanks for the question! Enjoy!
These look so delicious! I’ve got a bunch of kale in the fridge that needs using up and now I know just what to do with it.
Perfect! Enjoy!
These look wonderful! Love your roasted garlic white bean & artichoke veggie burgers. Would I be able to sub in flat leaf kale? I am not a big fan of the curly kale.
I think flat leaf kale would work. I almost went with that myself, so I’d love to hear how it works out if you try it. :)
I’m always looking for new vegan burgers for the summer. These look so tasty and healthy! I’m all over “the veggiest of veggie burgers”!
Thanks Mary Ellen! I’m all about veggie burgers during the summer too! :)
These sound so good! Anything with kale, you can count me in!
Me too!! Thanks Aimee!
Omigosh, Alissa, these were delicious. I had to put them through my lame-ass food processor in batches, but it worked out fine in the end. In Canada, they mostly have 19-ounce cans of beans, and because I didn’t want to save such a tiny bit, I used them all and added a bit more lemon juice. Everyone loved them. Thanks for the recipe (again)!
Thanks so much Erin! I’m glad they were a hit!
This! I made this recipe tonight and this is why cooking was invented, haha. Amazing.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Lilu!
Great recipe! I used the flat kale and it was fine. I am. It a kale fan but did like these burgers.
*not a kale fan
I’m glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks Cathy!
Every since I discovered this recipe, I’ve been dying to make it. Yesterday, the magic day finally arrived & WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT! Without a doubt, these are THE best burgers I’ve every had, thank you! Just their fragrance alone made me crazy. Instead of a bun, I found the largest leaves of red leaf lettuce I could, wrapped them in it with red onion & vegan mayo & mustard and was in hog heaven! They were perfect: messy, full of flavor and so magical, I had another one for lunch today! Don’t tell anyone, but my husband put our dinner away last night (he had a poisonous pizza) and when I pulled out the bag of burgers, one was missing! Evidently he enjoyed it too!!! Thank you, once again, for providing me with a magical meal full of flavor. I’ve got 3 more to go and my mouth is watering already! One question, is there a non-flour, in any form, substitute for the Panko bread crumbs? I’m on a quest to find vegan burgers that are flour free – be it oats or bread. Not having much luck so far. Alissa, you are THE best! Thank you! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to plotting dinner!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!! And that sounds like a delicious way to serve them! Usually what I do when I want to avoid flour or panko in a burger recipe is put some rolled oats in the food processor and grind them up. Does that count as flour if you’re making it yourself? :) Using the oats whole can work too, but I find this method is a bit hit or miss because they sometimes don’t soak up enough moisture to keep the burgers sturdy.
These are insanely good. I couldn’t even disrespect them with a bun.
Yay!! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I just made this recipe this morning, I wanted it alll ready ahead of time because I knew I was going to be busy later in the day. Tasted the raw mix in the food processor and it seemed a bit salty – really, it’s been many years since I’ve over salted something. I turned around and there was my kale still in the steamer. All was not lost, I chopped the kale separately and then folded it into the mix. Salting is now just fine. Raw mix tastes great.
Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoyed the burgers!
May I ask if I can make them and store them in a fridge? So like those days when I’m lazy I just take them out and warm them. By the way great recipe!
Yup! I’d say no more than 2-3 days in the fridge though, and freeze them if you want to keep them around longer. :)
Could I sub sunflower seeds for hemp seeds? I’m going to try and make the recipe tonight!
I think that would work! Enjoy!!
will this keep in the fridge or freezer and for how long? I plan to do a meal prep. thanks!
They should keep in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.
I have a bunch of kale in the garden, just waiting to be eaten, so this looks perfect! However, I don’t have any cannellini beans. Wondering if anyone has tried this with chickpeas, which I always have on hand.
Looking forward to trying it. :)
I haven’t tried the recipe with chickpeas, but I think they’d work just fine. Enjoy!