Your Veggie Burgers Are Begging For One Unexpected Canned Ingredient

Making perfect veggie burgers seems like it should be simple, but that's a far cry from the truth — if you aren't careful, your burgers will be mushy, which is something to definitely avoid. Knowing what to mix into the ideal veggie burger is a matter of no small amount of discussion, but the best ingredient you aren't using is probably already in your autumn arsenal. Canned pumpkin is a stunning secret agent in veggie burgers that helps with taste and consistency.

Feel surprised? Canned pumpkin is a superstar addition to many of your favorite meals. Just like pumpkin is the special ingredient that you should be using to upgrade your mac and cheese, your veggie burgers will hold together better and taste yummier with the addition of the popular orange gourd.

First of all, pumpkin veggie burgers taste great. You may be leery of the ingredient because you have your mind fixed on sweet pumpkin preparations like PSLs and pumpkin pie, but, without warm spices and sugar, pumpkin has a mild, earthy taste that elevates the flavor profile in savory foods. Secondly, pumpkin provides an all-important creamy binder for your veggie burgers that helps ingredients stick together and is even gluten-free.

To start, make sure that the product you buy is pure canned pumpkin and not a ready-made pie filling. That would be an unfortunate mistake. It may surprise you to know that canned pumpkin is more nutritious than fresh, mostly because all the strings and moisture have been filtered out, leaving just the nutritionally dense purée.

Next, you have to decide the mix you want to create for the patty of your veggie burger. The best veggie burgers have a good depth of flavor and an appealing consistency that calls to mind a traditional hamburger. You can make a quinoa and chickpea veggie burger, a black bean and mushroom burger for extra "meatiness," or you can dice and sauté the veggies of your choice for your very own blend. Use the canned pumpkin where you would use an egg or another binder to hold your ingredients together. For an amount of mixture that makes four patties, 1 cup of pumpkin puree should do the trick. You'll want to eyeball the mixture to make sure it is not too "wet," otherwise your burgers will not bake or fry up to desired firmness.

Your resulting burgers will be beautifully orange and tender, and have a mild, vegetal flavor that is reminiscent of pumpkin's close relative, squash. Pumpkin's mild, natural sweetness will add a complexity of flavor that is a common thread between amazing veggie burgers of all varieties.