This hearty vegan meatball burger with homemade pizza sauce will satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike. It’s not only delicious but pretty healthy and packed with protein at the same time! The recipe for this vegan meatball burger is from the brand new cookbook “Vegan Burgers & Burritos” by Sophia DeSantis.

Ultimate Meatball Burger © Sophia DeSantis

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you guys and tell you a little bit about Sophia’s cookbook. I’ve known Sophia for a couple of years and I was really looking forward to holding her first cookbook in my hands. I mean vegan burgers and burritos made with healthy ingredients! Who could say no to that?! Definitely to me! Vegan fast food at its best so to say! **

© Sophia DeSantis

Sophia is the blogger behind Veggies Don’t Bite, where she shares vegan recipes the whole family will love. And believe me, she knows what she’s talking about; she has three little boys. Sophia’s family made a diet change after a recommendation from her husband’s doctor and they have been enjoying plant-based food ever since.

©Sophia DeSantis

“Vegan Burgers & Burritos” includes 27 burgers recipes, 26 burritos, 19 sauces and 4 sides!

All of the recipes are:

• plant-based
• gluten-free
• refined-sugar free
• feature real, whole food ingredients
• have sauce pairings

I absolutely LOVE burgers and burritos and I just wanna try everything in Sophia’s cookbook! And I mean seriously EVERYTHING! Haha! I tried the vegan meatball burger and the vegan chipotle lime burrito so far and I really loved it! So did my hubby! Next on my list is Sophia’s “fish” burrito with chickpeas and cauliflower.

Vegan Chipotle Lime Burrito © Sophia DeSantis

I love the look and style of Sophia’s cookbook. It’s one of those cookbooks that make you really hungry. You probably shouldn’t look at it with an empty stomach. Or maybe you should and immediately head to the kitchen and make one of the recipes. By the way, Sophia took all of the food photos in the cookbook herself. You can see some of them in this post. She also included some helpful tips on rolling burritos (or how to become a burrito master!).

And all of her recipes are divided into three groups, which can be really helpful to people who are new to cooking:

• Level I: Help! Where’s the kitchen?
• Level II: I can cook.
• Level III: I’m not scared of getting fancy.

© Sophia DeSantis

Let’s take a look inside of “Vegan Burgers & Burritos”. Here are some recipes to make you guys hungry:

• Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger
• Three-Bean Chili Burger
• Tex-Mex for the Win
• Cauli Hash Brown Breakfast Pockets
• The Ultimate Mexican Churro

Giveaway – Win Your Own Copy of “Vegan Burgers & Burritos”

You can win a copy of “Vegan Burgers & Burritos”. All you have to do is leave me a comment under this blog post and tell me what’s your favorite burger and why you would like to win a copy of this book.

Rules: The giveaway ends on Sunday, December 10, 2017 at midnight. Participants have to be older than 18 years and have to live in the United States to enter this giveaway. You can only enter once.

The winner will be randomly selected by lot. If the winner doesn’t respond within 10 days, a new winner will be chosen. I will announce the winner on December 11 in the comment section of this post. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.

**Reprinted with permission from Vegan Burgers and Burritos by Sophia DeSantis, Page Street Publishing Co. 2017. Photo credit: Sophia DeSantis  Lifestyle Photos by Chris Nelson Photography

Vegan Meatball Burger & "Vegan Burgers & Burritos" Cookbook Review

This hearty vegan meatball burger will fulfill any meat lover. Stuffed with greens and loads of protein, then topped with the perfect homemade pizza sauce, it’s an all-in-one type of meal! The recipe for this vegan meatball burger is from the brand new cookbook "Vegan Burger & Burritos" by Sophia DeSantis.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entrée

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Servings: 4 burgers

Author: Sina

Ingredients

Ultimate Meatball Burger:

• ▢ 2 cups chopped mushrooms
• ▢ 2 cups chopped kale
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• ▢ about 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth for sautéing (or a drizzle of oil)
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups cooked brown or green lentils
• ▢ 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• ▢ 1/2 cup oats (gluten-free if needed)
• ▢ 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• ▢ 1/4 cup quick and easy pizza sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried basil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt

To serve:

• ▢ 4-5 buns
• ▢ quick and easy pizza sauce
• ▢ Chopped sautéed kale

• ▢ 1 cup tomato paste
• ▢ 1/2 cup low-sodium veggie broth
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried basil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Burger:

• Sauté the mushrooms, kale and garlic with broth or oil over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Place the the lentils, bread crumbs, oats, walnuts, sauce, thyme, basil, oregano and salt in a food processor and pulse until well chopped. You want a crumblelike texture. Check to make sure the mixture sticks together, and if it doesn’t, pulse some more, but make sure it doesn’t turn into a purée. You can also add a bit more pizza sauce if it doesn’t stick yet, however, you don’t want it to be too wet.
• Place the mushrooms, kale and garlic into the processor, making sure not to add any leftover juices, and pulse a few times until everything is well chopped and incorporated. If the ingredients aren’t mixed after a few pulses, put the mixture in a bowl and mix it with your hands.
• Place the mixture into a bowl, and put it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes; an hour is best. Making this the day before and letting it sit overnight is optimal. This helps all flavors marinate and leads to a sturdier burger.
• To cook, shape the mixture into patties. If you’re not using a nonstick pan, then you may want to prepare the pan by brushing it with a tad of oil to avoid sticking. Place the patties in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat for 15 minutes on each side. Pans and stovetops vary, so begin to check the patties at 10 minutes. If you try to slide yourspatula under a patty and it won’t give, then it isn’t ready and needs to cook longer.
• You can also bake the patties on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 375F (191C) for about 20 to 25 minutes on each side. Allow the patties to cool and set for 5 to 7 minutes. Serve on buns with the toppings of your choice.

Sauce:

• Put the tomato paste, broth, thyme, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, maple syrup, crushed red pepper and black pepper in a bowl and mix well.
• Notes: This sauce is best if made ahead of time and the flavors are allowed to marinate. This also helps the dried herbs to soften and allows the spices to fully combine with the tomato paste. If your sauce seems a little “gritty,”then allow it to sit longer. You can speed this up by heating it slightly. You can use water instead of broth, but the broth adds great flavor. Add more or less broth for the consistency you like. Add more or less crushed red pepper to achieve the level of spice you prefer, or leave it out altogether.

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