Jamie’s Italy was my first cookbook, and this wonderfully talented guy won my heart and a special place on my kitchen shelf ever since. I still find inspiration in his work after all this time, and I’m always happy to watch every show or project he’s up to. Last year, in one of the episodes of his Friday Night Feast show, he had to dream up a burger together with vegan guest star Ellie Goulding, and boy, they sure did it! That green monster bathed in spicy vegan mayo haunted me and soon turned into a favorite in our house (of course, after my signature Ultimate Veggie Burger :).
Making a vegan burger that actually stays together and yet tastes delicious is an incredible challenge. While it’s so easy to add an egg or two and get the job done, for the vegan version, most of the time you end up with unedible pieces of mashed food that question your presence in the kitchen. Last year, I decided to exclude eggs from my diet for a few weeks every once in a while, and this vegan burger was a great savior for me. I have it with a side salad, in a bun, or simply as a snack, because it is so well flavored and filling that you simply don’t need anything else.
I did make some little changes to Jamie’s burger. I replaced the plain flour with a whole wheat one (you can also use a gluten-free version), added cannellini beans instead of broad beans (because I don’t manage to find them very often), added some aromatic herbs to enhance the taste and gorgeous green color, skipped the onion rings because I try to stay away from too much frying, and instead, served them with sweet potato and beet chips. The taste is simply gorgeous, but what really makes these burgers a hit is the spicy vegan mayonnaise, because of the genius idea of adding a sundried tomato paste, which gives that umami taste everybody was talking about a while ago.
Nutritionally speaking, this vegan burger enriches your diet with fiber, protein, and minerals. The unique antioxidants in green peas also offer protection against chronic stomach diseases, and also promotes heart health with their anti-inflammatory properties. It’s so amazing to take a bite of something so delicious, and yet nourishing and filled with health-promoting nutrients. Of course, calories aren’t something to think about when having a burger!
Monster Vegan Burger by Ellie Goulding and Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen sweetcorn
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup cannellini beans canned
- 1 small onion finely diced
- ½ bunch of fresh coriander
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 75 g whole wheat or gluten-free flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- Coconut oil for frying
- 1 handful fresh arugula rocket
- 3-4 dill springs
- 1 handful baby spinach leaves fresh
- 2 pickled cucumbers sliced
- 1/2 lime juice only
- 4 large good quality whole wheat or gluten-free buns
- For the spiced vegan mayo
- 1 spring onion
- A pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ garlic clove
- 1/2 cup chickpeas canned
- 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes soaked for at least 30 mins into warm water
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon juice only
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- For the beet and sweet potato chips
- 1 medium beet peeled
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- A pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Place the frozen veggies into a bowl and set aside to defrost, about 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
- Transfer the defrosted veggies into the blender, together with the cannellini beans, onion, coriander, parsley, flour, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, and pulse to obtain a rough paste.
- Add the sesame and sunflower seeds, and pulse again to incorporate.
- Shape the mixture into four burgers using your palms, cover with a plastic foil and freeze them for 10 minutes, then transfer into the refrigerator. (the last steps are important for keeping them firm).
- Cut the beet and sweet potato into thin slices using a mandolin, place them on a baked sheet, drizzle with coconut oil and vinegar, season with salt and toss to coat evenly. (you can separate the sweet potato from the beet to avoid the pink coloring of the last one).
- Bake for 15 minutes until crispy, then remove and set aside to cool.
- Add the spring onions, garlic clove, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, Dijon and lemon juice into the blender, and process to combine, then gradually add the olive oil until you obtain the mayonnaise consistence.
- Spray a cast-iron skillet with coconut oil, add the burgers and cook over low heat for 5 minutes on each side, until golden.
- In a medium bowl add the arugula, spinach and dill, drizzle with extra olive oil and lime juice, and mix to combine.
- Cut a burger bun into halves and toast them for a few minutes on a hot griddle pan or under the grill
- Spread some mayonnaise on a burger bun base, add a vegan burger, top with another bit of mayonnaise, then layer 3-4 beet and sweet potato chips, 1 slice of pickled cucumber and fresh greens salad, close with the bun top, then continue the same with the other burgers.
- Serve warm or pack to go.
Notes
Nutrition
This burger looks incredible! I love the beautiful green colour and the sweet potato and beet on top. Pinned!
Thanks so much! 🙂
yummy 😀
love love love !
Yeah, the recipe is simply genius!!!
Oh my!!! This burger looks insane! Thanks for sharing, Ana. And gorgeous photos, as always. xo
Thanks Sophie, loved the recipe from first seeing it during Jamie’s show. It is amazing!!!
This looks so delicious, Ana! Yummy! Just came across your blog and I really like it! I’ve actually made a vegan green monster burger myself a couple of months ago and it was among the most popular recipes on my blog in 2015. 🙂 Here’s the recipe if you’re interested: http://veganheaven.org/recipe/green-monster-veggie-burger/
Thank you, and wow, your burger looks mouthwatering, love it! 🙂
This recipe is incredibly wet. I could not form patties.
I was making these for dinner tonight. I guess I’m going to opt for store bought patties or maybe try to bake them to draw out the moister.
Sorry to hear they didn’t turn out well, they should definitely stay together because most of the ingredients are on the solid side. Did you also add the flour? I hope they finally turned out well at least when you baked them.
I will try anything vegan recipes. However, I always use 2 tablespoon of flax seed (ground) along with Bob Mill’s GF all-purpose wheat flour. That helps the burger to stay firm. Also, pat dry all vegetables to reduce the moisture. I will update on my burgers. Thank you for the recipe. Yes….I, too, love Jamie.
Thanks for sharing your tip, flax is always a great addition for keeping the burger composition together, I use it in my signature beet burgers and they always turn out great!
This burger looks incredible oh my god! Georgeous photos as well!
xx
Mathilde
http://flavietherese.wordpress.com
Thanks Mathilde 🙂 xx
I don’t use added oils in recipes so I was wondering what I might sub in the vegan mayo recipe to get the consistency but not the fat of the oil. Any suggestions?
Maybe some blended soaked cashew will do the trick!
Haha, I’ve gotta admit – the title that said the burger was made by Jamie Oliver and Ellie Goulding (two of my favourite British people, lol) drew me in. I adore the twists you added to this burger, and the beet and sweet potato chips add just a nice crunch and colour to the burger! 🙂
Yesss, love them too 🙂
You are so right, it’s not an easy task to make an amazing vegan burger! This one looks pretty amazing and I bet it tastes great too! Thank you for sharing:)
Thanks for your visit – I’m always happy to discover a new inspiring blog 🙂
I just made this and I’d have to agree with Sarah^, it really was too wet to form the patties, even with additional flax seeds that was suggested.
It was scrumptious however. And the vegan mayo, though it didn’t resemble it much was out of this world!
Indeed, the taste is amazing, Jamie did it awesome as always! I used the same recipe and they turned out just fine.
This looks like a challenge, given the long list of ingredients but it also seems so worth it!
Don’t worry about the long ingredients list, many of them are just spices, and all the effort is definitely worthy, Jamie’s burger is simply great! Let me know if you make this recipe, I’m sure you will love it!Xx
Hi Ana,
The recipe looks fantastic.. Can you recommend a sub for the cannellini beans? I am allergic to legumes. Are the cannellini beans creates volume in the recipe?
Thanks,
I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Hey Suprina, the beans are for volume and creaminess indeed, but you can easily substitute them with the same amount of cooked quinoa or millet (also gluten-free). Thanks for your words, let me know how it turned out 🙂
Hello Dear, are you actually visiting this site daily, if so after that
you will absolutely take pleasant knowledge.
I posted a link to your blog on my Facebook group called True Food. You might check it out: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154171536404507&set=gm.228351960869630&type=3&theater
Thank you so much for all the nice words you wrote when posted my recipe! I’ve also shared your post to my page 🙂
Thank you for your great article.
In fact many carnivores prefer vegan venues, as i found out on this article :
http://animal-welfare.org/worlds-best-burger/
Anybody likes vegan burgers ?
Terribly mushy. Inedibly so. Bitterly disappointed after the most effort I have ever put into a burger/possibly any meal ever. Made this over two days and I’ll have to resort to some old store bought patties from the bottom of the freezer.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you! I can assure you the recipe works just fine, after all is Jamie Oliver’s 🙂
It looks absolutely mouthwatering! I’ve had it pinned for a good while, but been reluctant to make it because I don’t have 3 friends willing to try a vegan burger! And eating it for dinner and lunch for two days will wreck my calorie goal. I’m not vegan myself, but I’m really cutting back on animal products and I’m totally game for this – can the patties be frozen? That would be awesome.
I never tried freezing them, but I think they’ll do just fine. If you are not a vegan, try adding an egg to the mixture – it’s a promise that the burgers will stay together and encourage you for trying new plant-based recipes further on 🙂
This vegan burger is amazing, great recipe and so delicious. Thank you for sharing with us.
Aww, is definitely a favorite of mine too! I love everything Jamie-made 🙂
Thank you sooooooo much for sharing this recipe. It is hands down my new favourite vegan burger pattie! Apart from being RIDICULOUSLY delicious!!! It’s REALLY quick & SUPER easy to make.
I don’t like fresh coriander. Any suggestions for a substitute?
You can use parsley instead.