A terrible thing happened the other day, the air conditioner in my car broke. It wouldn’t be such a terrible thing except that it’s like 100 degrees outside and I have a 30 minute commute to work. I’ve seriously considered getting one of those spray bottle things with the fans attached that used to be all the rage at summer camp.
The best part is that after a week and a half of waiting for the mechanic to call me to tell me the part was in, I finally call them to find out the guy forgot to order it! So, now I have to go another week or so driving around in the heat trap. Because of this I’ve been hanging around the house a lot on my days off and making early morning runs to the grocery store to avoid the heat of the day.
I’ve been doing a lot of recipe testing, cooking and eating in the last few weeks and it has been pretty nice! Sometimes I feel like an 80 year old in a 20-something body because I’d be perfectly fine never leaving the house! Especially if it means that I get to eat these veggie burgers all day long.
For these veggie burgers I used one of my regular bases of brown rice and chickpeas and then I added in a bunch of sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic. They are fresh and summery, but also hearty and great for the cold weather too. Although I did add some cheese to my burgers, the actual burgers themselves are vegan which is great if you are lazy like me and don’t feel like heating them up before eating them 🙂
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Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Veggie Burgers
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry brown rice, or 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups garbanzo beans
- 1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 3/4 cup packed basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, gluten free if necessary
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 6 hamburger buns, gluten free if necessary
- Optional toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese (dairy or non-dairy)
Instructions
- Cook the brown rice according to package directions. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and basil to the food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until it turns into a paste like mixture. Remove from food processor and place into a large bowl.
- Add the brown rice and garbanzo beans to the food processor and blend for about 10 seconds, until mixture is broken down, but not completely blended. You still want it slightly chunky. Add the rice and garbanzo bean mixture to the tomato and basil mixture. Next add the garlic, salt, pepper, ketchup and breadcrumbs to the bowl. Use your hands to mix everything together and make sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Form the mixture into 6 equal size patties and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate veggie burger patties for 30 minutes for a firmer veggie burger.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cook veggie burger patties for 3-5 minutes on each side, until browned and heated through. Enjoy on a hamburger bun topped with your favorite toppings!
Notes
Veggie burgers will stay good in the refrigerator for about 5 days. They can also be frozen and re-heated at a later date.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: Entree, Gluten Free, Vegan
Hahaha, the exact same happened with me. Luckily it’s totally cold here, so I don’t need AC at all 😀
This veggie burger looks insanely good, Izzy! Would you please send me one here NOW?! I wanna have it so badly ♥ Pinned!
These look great, Izzy. I love how fast they are to whip up. I’m a big fan of a good veggie burger! Sorry about your car AC – we’ve had a couple of terrible heat waves here – it was 105 last week – but it feels like 120 when you first get in the car so I feel for you!
I pretty much exclusively eat veggie burgers instead of regular ones, so I’m always looking for a new one to try. These look delish! I love how they have sundried tomato and basil in them.
Thanks Amanda! Even when ate more meat I always loved the veggie burgers much better!
Heyya.,Ahh! It’s only been like 80 here lately, but we still have the AC on in our house (Because we’re wimps). I can’t even imagine being in a crazy hot car for half an hour :'( at least you have these veggie burgers! They sound delicious.
I can’t wait until we get 80 degree weather here! The hot car has not been fun at all, but hopefully either I will get it fixed soon or it will get cooler! Thank you 🙂
Oh nooo! An AC-less car is definitely a big bummer especially this time of year, when it can still get super-hot! Hope it gets fixed asap! Meanwhile, I think I’m just gonna hang out over here and DROOL over these veggie burgers. Because seriously, I’m obsessed over here! Love sun-dried tomatoes and basil together!
Ugh I don’t think I could survive without AC in my car! It’s been so hot here lately, though I know the weather is even hotter by you! Hopefully these burgers made you feel just a little bit better. I love the sun-dried tomato and basil combo, Izzy! Sounds fantastic!
These are such beautiful vegggie burgers, I can’t stop staring at them! Adding sun dried tomatoes to them sounds so delicious. Pinning this so that I definitely make it in the near future. Oh, and I hope your air conditioning gets fixed ASAP. No one wants sweaty commutes to work lol.
Delicious- basil is the best 🙂
haha I am totally an 80 year old a lot of the time too! I’d be fine not leaving the house very often!! And huge boooo about the air conditioning in your car! That totally stinks!
But these burgers! Love the basil and sun-dried tomato flavor!
Ooooh… I bet the sundried tomatoes give these AMAZING flavor. And they look like they stay together perfectly– always a win for me when it comes to veggie burgers!
No AC in your car?! And you live in the dessert?! Oh Izzy, don’t drive anywhere! That is awful. I would show up everywhere a sweaty mess. Stay home and cook : ) Especially if it’s these veggie burgers. They look and sound delicious!
Oh man, it’s been 100 degrees here and I don’t know what I’d do without A/C in the car or the house! One of those fans is probably a good idea. 🙂
I love the sound of these veggie burgers with the sundried tomatoes and basil! I still have never made my own and so need to try these. 🙂
Ugh, what a time for the AC to break down 🙁 …such an expensive inconvenience, but I hope you get it fixed up soon.
These burgers look amazing! It’s always a nice change to have a veggie burger 🙂
Stay cool!
Toodles,
Tammy<3
No air conditioning? Ahh! It’s only been like 80 here lately, but we still have the AC on in our house (Because we’re wimps). I can’t even imagine being in a crazy hot car for half an hour :'( at least you have these veggie burgers! They sound delicious.
Sun-dried tomatoes are the perfect addition to a veggie burger and your look delicious. In fact, I can’t make a veggie burger without them.