These vegan Reuben burgers are made with savory mushroom and chickpea patties, piled high with creamy vegan Russian dressing and tangy sauerkraut!
Can we talk about sauerkraut? I really, really love the stuff. I eat it with a fork, which usually results in my husband looking at me like I'm nuts. It's so good though. A couple of weeks ago I snagged a jar of curried sauerkraut from the farmer's market. It was heaven. Again, husband thought I was bonkers, which I can forgive. It is kind of weird, but in a delicious way.
So it's not surprising that I'm all about the vegan Reuben, in it's many forms, all of which are totally weird, but in delicious ways.
I think I was shoveling curried sauerkraut into my face one day when it occurred to me that I needed to incorporate more of it into my cooking. Time for more Reubens. Vegan Reuben burgers this time!
I didn't use the curried kraut for these. (It was long gone and I figured it wouldn't be available to most of you.) Regular old sauerkraut does the trick. For the patty component of this recipe I went with blend of mushrooms and chickpeas. I've already had success making a vegan mushroom burger and a chickpea burger. I figured that together they'd be doubly good!
The cashew Russian dressing is a new blend, and it's delicious, but if you forgot to soak the cashews, feel free to take a shortcut and go with the vegan mayo-based dressing on I used for my vegan Reuben sandwiches.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Reuben Burgers
Ingredients
For the Patties
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 10 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. liquid smoke
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. black pepper
For the Vegan Russian Dressing
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
- ¾ to 1 cup water
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper hot sauce, or to taste
- 1 ½ tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. pickle relish
- salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- 4 to 6 burger buns, sliced open
- sauerkraut
- lettuce
- sliced tomatoes
Instructions
Make the Patties
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium heat. One oil is hot, add mushrooms in an even layer. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, flip and cook 5 minutes more, until nicely browned on both sides. Add onion and cook 5 minutes more, flipping occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, until very fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Transfer mushroom mixture to a food processor bowl and add chickpeas, panko, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke, cumin and pepper. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped and well blended. Shape the mixture into 4 to 6 patties.
- Place the same skillet that you cooked the mushrooms in over medium heat, adding a dash more oil if needed. Working in batches if needed, place patties into skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, until browned.
Make the Vegan Russian Dressing
- Place cashews, ¾ cup water, onion, ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Thin with up to an additional ¼ cup of water, if needed. Add pickle relish and pulse just until mixed in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
- Stuff buns with patties and top with vegan Russian dressing, sauerkraut, lettuce and tomato. Serve.
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These were awesome. My husband has recently gotten into fermenting his own sauerkraut so he searched out this recipe to make for dinner the other night. He made the burgers, i made the sauce and then we stuffed them in pitas with a much sauerkraut as possible. I can't even tell you. It was a treat. Messy and creamy and tangy and awesome. And guess what else? He made a double batch!
Have you tried freezing these? I am the only person in my house that will be eating them!
I haven't, but I think the patties and the sauce would freeze just fine. One thing I really like to do with veggie burgers like this is divide the mixture up before shaping it into patties, and then freeze in in single-serve portions. Then you can thaw out as many portions as you like, shape into patties and grill them up.