A delicious vegan beet and quinoa burger patty that’s crispy on the outside, but soft and rich on the inside. All topped off with a zingy lime, avocado and red onion topping.

On a grilling site this might be a controversial thing to say, but I think veggie burgers are a worthy competitor to the traditional meat-packed versions that most of us know.

Veggie burgers can be tough to get right. I’ve had my fair share of non-meat burgers that range from mushy to dry. With the lack of meaty juices running through them, if they’re not made with the right ingredients and seasoning they can be dull, bland, boring. Just unpleasant.

A texture that’s as appetizing as the flavors is also difficult to achieve, and I find if it feels too much like a pile of carrots and onion smashed together then it’s not much fun.

So with all these challenges why bother?

Well because I have the perfect recipe that has a beautiful beet and quinoa pattie at its core, and is wonderfully topped off with spices and avocado.

The perfect veggie burgers is all about experimentation but I think I’ve got it down to a tee with this.

As you might have guessed, I champion grilling and BBQ smoking, but with a lot of plant-based recipes you sometimes have to move out of this box.

Veggie burgers in particular require a lot of care because they are so prone to drying out, which also means that they can fall apart easily.

So to get round this, the key to these vegan burgers is oven roasting them.

This will ensure that they cook more evenly, while staying together and allowing the flavors to really come through.

This will give you a chewy and delicious texture that is more than a match to any traditional meat burger. Plus it’s a bit healthier.

And then it’s all topped off with an avocado, lime and red onion topping for a bit of sharp tanginess. Perfect.

A couple of tips:

You will need to oven cook the beets first before then putting in a blender or food processor. When you blend them, only pulse them a few times. Texture is key with veggie burgers, so only pulsing the beets a few times will help us retain that. If you overdo the blending then it’ll became a paste. Not what we want.

If you want to add a touch more flavor to the burger patties then try lightly frying or grilling them after you’ve oven cooked them. This will give them a quick injection of smokey or oily flavors, taking their overall flavor up a notch.

If you use a BBQ grill for this recipe, then try to avoid using parchment paper. Despite what people might tell you, it has a low burning point and isn’t really safe to use on a BBQ grill. In the oven is fine though!