Roasted Cauliflower Burgers
These Roasted Cauliflower Burgers are a flavor-packed veggie burger option for your next burger night. Made with roasted cauliflower, cheddar cheese, raisins, carrots, onions, and quinoa, they’re a delicious meat alternative.
Serve your cauliflower burger on a toasted bun with your favorite toppings, or enjoy a cauliflower patty atop rice or a vibrant salad for a wholesome and satisfying meal. Burgers are just a vehicle for your favorite condiments anyway, right?
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Ingredients
Cauliflower
This recipe for baked cauliflower patties is an adaptation of the Test Kitchen Spiced Cauliflower Burger. We found that recipe bland and mushy. This recipe has a longer roast and caramelizes the cauliflower for more cauliflower burger flavor.
Do you love cauliflower? Make my cauliflower mac and cheese or add roasted cauliflower to my 4 ingredient potato soup or cast iron pan-roasted chicken breasts.
Veggie burger ingredients
Texture was the bigger problem for that Test Kitchen Spiced Cauliflower Burger recipe. It needed a drier mixture that would hold together better.
This version adds cheese for binding and increases the egg from one to two. It also has more green onion, raisins, and cumin for even more flavor pop.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Make a spicy cauliflower burger by adding diced jalapeños or a pinch of cayenne pepper into the cauliflower patty mixture.
- Add a tablespoon or two of chopped toasted pecans, peanuts, or your favorite nut.
- Add some chopped herbs like parsley or cilantro.
Recipe tips and tricks
Step 1: Chop the cauliflower into small pieces so it’s quick to cook and you get more caramelization. Then toss the chopped cauliflower with salt, pepper and just enough olive oil to coat.
Bake for 40 minutes or so until the cauliflower has browned, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly until cool enough to work with. (Don’t wash the baking sheet!)
Making the cauliflower burger mixture
Step 2: Put the cooked cauliflower into a bowl and mash it with a potato masher or fork until the pieces are small (Panel #1, below). You can also use a food processor, but you want the pieces small, not pureed.
Step 3: Add the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, carrot, green onion, panko, raisins, cumin, and paprika – everything but the egg (Panel #2, above). Mix and taste to adjust for salt and pepper.
When you’re happy with the taste, add the beaten egg, mix, and then let the burger mixture rest for 30 minutes. If you want to make the mixture ahead of time, you can leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Cooking the cauliflower burgers
Step 4: Pack the mixture firmly onto the used baking sheet, either by hand or into rings. This saves the addition of more oil if you were to fry the cauliflower burgers, and the patties will keep together perfectly when flipped.
You can also make free-form patties to bake or fry in a pan. Just be careful when you flip them over.
Step 5: Bake for 15 minutes on a middle rack of the oven. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes, until the patty has been lightly browned. Serve warm!
What to serve with cauliflower burgers
- For condiments on a cauliflower burger, you can’t go wrong with a sweet relish. But my homemade barbecue sauce or creamy lemon tahini or sumac dressing are also great options.
- Go Tex-Mex with spicy pickled onions and an easy guacamole.
- Make baked beans with apple pie filling as a side.
- Go bunless! Serve these cauliflower patties with rice and green beans or a salad like this raw carrot salad or rainbow salad.
- If you’re looking for beverage pairings, burgers, regardless of type, call for beer in my world.
Recipe FAQs
I reached for a mild, white cheddar, but any mild, melty cheese would work as a binder. Try Swiss or Monterey Jack or even a creamy feta.
I’ve made a lot of burger buns trying to find one that is better than a store bought bun. I’ve landed on this pretzel roll from Test Kitchen kids. It’s easy to make, has great flavor, and is sturdy enough to handle any burger.
Veggie burgers are often too fragile to cook directly on your grill, but you could cook your cauliflower burger in a grill pan.
Yes, freeze the cooked patty on a baking sheet overnight, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then store it in a freezer bag for a few months. To reheat frozen patties, defrost them in the refrigerator and then heat them in a frying pan over low heat.
Related veggie burger recipes
Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery veggie burgers and veggie meatballs like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Roasted Cauliflower Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup (2 ounces) grated cheddar or other cheese
- 1 carrot, chopped fine
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ½ cup panko
- ½ cup raisins
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- On a baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with the salt, pepper and just enough olive oil to coat. Bake for 40 minutes or so until the cauliflower has browned, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly until cool enough to work with. (Don't wash the baking sheet!)1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped into small pieces, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- Mash the cauliflower pieces in a large bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the egg. That is the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, carrot, green onion, panko, raisins, cumin, and paprika). Mix and taste a bit to adjust for salt and pepper.½ cup cooked quinoa, 1 carrot, chopped fine, 2 green onions, chopped, ½ cup panko, ½ cup raisins, 1½ teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika
- Add the beaten egg, mix, and then let rest for 30 minutes. If you want to make the mixture ahead of time, you can leave it in the refrigerator for longer.2 eggs, slightly beaten
- Pack the mixture firmly onto the used baking sheet, either by hand or into rings, and bake for 15 minutes on a middle rack of the oven. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes, until the patty has been lightly browned. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
This cauliflower burger recipe was originally published on May 21, 2021. It was last updated July 16, 2023.
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