These soy bean and veggie burgers are dense, filling patties built from blended soybeans, sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, and a green curry-spiced onion base. They take real time — about an hour and a half start to finish — but most of that is hands-off bean cooking. If you want a homemade veggie burger with actual substance rather than a thin, crumbly disc, this is a solid recipe to have on rotation.
Before you start
The soybeans need 18–24 hours of soaking before you even turn on the stove, so plan ahead — skipping or shortening the soak means the beans won’t soften properly in the hour of boiling, and you’ll end up with gritty chunks in your patties no amount of blending will fix. The second thing that matters is moisture control: sweet potato, broccoli, and carrot all hold a lot of water, and if you don’t let your steamed vegetables drain and cool before mashing them into the bowl, the mixture will be too wet to hold a patty shape. Give everything a few minutes on a wire rack or in a colander before combining.
About the ingredients
- Soybeans: Dried soybeans are in most health food stores and many Asian grocery stores. Canned soybeans won’t work here — they’re too soft and wet to blend into a workable base.
- Green curry paste: Brands vary a lot in heat level. Start with one tablespoon if you’re unsure, taste the mixture before adding eggs, and adjust from there.
- Rice flour: This is the binder and it keeps the patties gluten-free. Plain all-purpose flour works as a direct swap if that’s what you have.
- Red capsicum: This is a red bell pepper. Any color bell pepper works fine.
- Shallot: One medium shallot. If you don’t have one, a small extra onion is a reasonable substitute, though the flavor is slightly sharper.
What can go wrong
- Patties fall apart in the pan: The mixture was too wet or not chilled before cooking. Refrigerate the shaped patties for 30 minutes before frying — cold patties hold together far better than room-temperature ones.
- Patties stick and tear when you flip: The pan wasn’t hot enough before you added the oil, or you flipped too early. Wait until the bottom is visibly set and golden before attempting to turn them.
- Bland flavor all the way through: The curry paste and aromatics go into the blended onion mixture, not directly into the main bowl. If that blended portion wasn’t seasoned well, the whole patty suffers — taste it before combining everything.
- Patties are gummy inside after cooking: This usually means they’re too thick. Keep them to about 3/4 inch thick so the center cooks through without the outside burning. Skip the egg in the mix — it makes the patty mushy — if you find the texture too dense after your first batch.
- Mixture is too stiff to shape: A little water or a splash of olive oil stirred in loosens it up without compromising the bind.
Make-ahead notes
The fully mixed, uncooked patty mixture keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days — store it in the bowl covered with plastic wrap and shape the patties just before cooking. Shaped raw patties can be frozen on a parchment-lined tray, then transferred to a zip-lock bag and kept frozen for up to 2 months; cook from frozen over medium-low heat with a lid on the pan for the first few minutes to help the center warm through. Cooked patties reheat well in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side, which keeps the exterior crisp better than a microwave does.
Guilt-Free Soy Bean and Veggie Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup soybeans washed and soaked for 18 to 24 hours; change water 3 or 4 times
- 2 small sweet potatoes organic
- 1 medium broccoli organic
- 2 cups carrot finely grated
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium red capsicum chopped
- 8 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 2 tablespoons curry paste green
- 1 medium shallot
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 1 cup rice flour
- 3 medium eggs organic
Instructions
- Put soybeans in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 hour until beans can be squashed with a fork.
- Blend cooked soybeans up and put them in a large bowl.
- Steam sweet potato and broccoli, mash up and add to bowl with grated carrot.
- In a frying pan, stir fry onion, capsicum, spices or curry paste until onion goes slightly brown. Now add garlic and shallots to the pan and stir for one more minute. Next, put all the frying pan contents (once cooled a little) into a blender and add fresh coriander or parsley and blend up. Now add all that to your big bowl.
- Mix all together with rice flour and eggs.
- Make it into a burger shape, and you can lightly dust with plain flour (or cook as they are) and cook in a little olive oil in your frying pan using a spatula.
- Alternatively, you can grill them. Cook until a little bit crispy on both sides.
- Serve with homemade tomato sauce, Natural yogurt and a green salad.
Nutrition
Common questions
Can I use canned soybeans to save time?
No — canned soybeans are too soft and waterlogged to blend into a firm patty base. Dried soybeans that have been soaked and boiled give you a drier, denser texture that actually holds together.
How do I know when the patties are cooked through?
These are vegetable-based patties with no meat, so the target is a firm, set center and a golden-brown crust on both sides — there’s no minimum internal temperature concern the way there is with meat. If the outside is browning too fast before the center firms up, lower the heat and cover the pan for a couple of minutes.
Can I make these vegan by leaving out the eggs?
Yes. Replace the 3 eggs with 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed mixed with 9 tablespoons of water, left to gel for 5 minutes before adding. The patties will be slightly more fragile, so chilling them before cooking is especially important.
Can I bake these instead of pan-frying them?
Yes. Place shaped patties on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20–25 minutes, flipping once halfway through. The exterior won’t get quite as crisp as pan-frying, but it’s a hands-off option.
The mixture seems really soft — how do I get it to hold a shape?
Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before shaping. If it’s still too loose, work in an extra tablespoon or two of rice flour until it holds together when pressed.
What’s the best way to serve these?
The recipe suggests homemade tomato sauce, natural yogurt, and a green salad, which all work well because the patties have bold curry flavor that pairs better with cooling, acidic sides than with heavy sauces. A toasted bun with sliced cucumber and a dollop of plain yogurt keeps things simple and lets the patty flavor come through.