A vegan beet burger made by layering a roasted slab of beet with greens, caramelized onions and chipotle cashew hummus on a whole-wheat bun. Simple, clean, healthy and delicious.
Say hello to a delicious Spring with my Beet Burger with Chipotle Cashew Hummus.
This burger is simplicity itself: instead of making a patty with grated beet and other ingredients, I take a thick, juicy slice of roasted beetroot, saute it with some seasonings to add more flavor, then sandwich it between layers of caramelized onions, hummus flavored with chipotle chili, and crisp, clean greens. All of this goodness goes on my whole wheat burger bun. Yum.
This beet burger is the perfect recipe for the grill: you could marinate the slices of roasted beet in the seasonings and then saute them in a grill wok, adding yet another layer of smoky flavor.
The hummus recipe, which I'll also share with you, is a simple variation on the traditional recipe. I love adding chipotle chilies to various sauces and this time, instead of tahini, I decided to use roasted cashews in the hummus. The experiment really worked-- I know I'll be making this amazing hummus again and again.
I can't wait to share this vegan beet burger recipe with you. It involves a few steps, but none of them is hard. If you try this once, I guarantee you too will be making it again. And again. All through Spring and Summer.
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Vegan Beet Burger Recipe
Ingredients
For Beet Burger Patty:
- 3 large beets (scrubbed clean)
- Cooking spray
- 2 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Ground black pepper and salt to taste'
- 1 teaspoon dry sage
- Juice of 1 lemon
For Chipotle Cashew Hummus:
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas. If using canned drain thoroughly.
- 1 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (finely minced)
- 12 roasted cashew nuts (see recipe notes for nut-free version)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
For Caramelized Onions:
- 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
To serve:
- Leafy greens like baby spinach, baby chard or baby kale. A mix of spring greens would be great here also.
- 8 whole wheat burger buns (If you want to make your own, see link for my whole wheat burger buns in the recipe notes)
For serving
Instructions
Make the Beet Burger Patties:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet, spray with oil, place the beets inside in a single row, and fold the foil over to cover completely. Crimp the edges of the foil to seal.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife inserted in the thickest part of the beet goes through cleanly and without resistance.
- Remove the baking sheet and let it cool for 15 minutes, then open the foil and let the beets cool until they can be handled.
- Peel the beets by rubbing the skins off, then slice into ¼-inch-thick slices.
- Heat the olive oil in a wok or large saute pan.
- Add the garlic, sage and salt. Add the beets and salt and saute for about five minutes.
- Sprinkle on the lemon juice and set aside.
Make the Chipotle Cashew Hummus:
- Place the garlic pods in a small piece of aluminum foil sprayed with oil, roll up the foil into a ball, and roast with the beets for 30 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, discard the skins and reserve the gooey, roasted garlic.
- Place the chickpeas, cashew nuts, roasted garlic, chipotle chili and salt in a food processor. Add enough water to make a smooth paste that's thick enough to smear on a burger bun. Blend into a really smooth paste. If you are using the extra virgin olive oil, pour it in through the feed tube as the hummus is blending.
Make the Caramelized Onions:
- Heat the oil, add the caramelized onions and a pinch of salt. Saute for a minute, then add the ground black pepper and sugar.
- Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become golden brown and soft. Turn off heat and remove to a bowl.
- To build your burger, cut a whole wheat burger bun in half, smear some hummus on the base of the bun, layer on some greens, then a beet patty, and finally some caramelized onions. Smear some more hummus on the top half of the bun before capping off your burger.
- Dig in, and enjoy!
Shez
I made these for dinner tonight, and they were delicious! I had to use regular hummus because the family hates chipotle flavors. I still can't get over how these simple ingredients combined to make something spectacular
Carolyn
Oh. My. Gosh. OhMyGosh. I was the toast of our 20-person cookout last week because of these. You've made me a superstar!
I made all three items. Each one individually was delicious, all three together were amazing.
I made them slider-size because I wanted to make sure I had enough for everyone, and set up a make-your-own station for them, and they were scarfed down in five minutes. The beets are fantastic raw with the marinade, or cooked: cooked makes them softer the whole way through. One little boy (four years old!) grabbed a plastic fork, plunged it into the middle of a beet, and stood next to the platter eating his way around it. Priceless.
All the cooks at the cookout wanted the recipe, and it was duly emailed to them.
Shweta
I made these for dinner today. Everything about the burger from the roasted beets to the hummus rocked. The hummus with chipotle chili is a brilliant idea. Loved it!!
Thanks for the recipe!!
Vaishali
Hi Shweta, how lovely to hear that, and so thrilled you and your family liked the burger. It's one of my favorites too. So happy you let me know. 🙂
Trish
I made these last night for dinner - wowza! My non-vegan husband raved on and on about them. He even tweeted about it and took photos of the finished product LOL. My son isn't into beets but even he ate half. Perhaps in the future I'll caramelize mushrooms for him instead as he loved everything else about the burgers, especially the cashew hummus! Definitely will be making more of these babies in the near future, especially as the summer approaches. Thanks for the fab recipe!
Vaishali
Trish, that's wonderful! Thanks for letting me know. Glad you and your family enjoyed it. 🙂
Shipra
Amazing. I am feeling hungry. Thanks for sharing.
Vaishali
Shipra, thanks!
Claire
These look amazing, Vaishali! I like beets but I only love them when they're roasted like yours. Hummus and grilled onions sound perfect with them. One question - your hummus calls for red pepper flakes but no chipotle. Did you mean chipotles in adobo or chipotle chili powder?
Vaishali
Claire, that's what you'd call really dumb oversight on my part. 🙂 You need one chipotle chili. I've added it to the recipe.
Claire
No worries - I've done that! I was mostly wondering because I put a bit of cumin in my hummus and there is some cumin in the canned chipotles.Thanks!
paulo
Wonderful recipe. One suggestion...
When using Chipotle Chiles, unless you are used to a lot of heat you will have to strike a balance between heat and flavor.
Mitzil's Chipotle Powder is ROASTED not just smoked so you get a lot of chile and smoke flavor without as much heat.
Richa
so pretty! i was wondering what that dark color was. it is all beet!
Fawn @ Cowen Park Kitchen
Cashew Hummus? For certain I'm going to be trying that one. I can't believe I haven't already thought of that, I love cashews so much!
chow vegan
Wow, that is one yummy looking burger! 🙂
divya
oh... just look at this!!! can't stop drooling...
Pallavi Kulkarni
That hummus rocks! I can just imagine the fantastic taste explosion with the beet and those gorgeous hued caramelized onions and the creamy hummus. mmmmmm!