These are my favorite, easy to fix and stay together more or less, which seems to be my biggest complaint about homemade veggy (vegan) burgers:
New York Times Veggie Burgers
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes with zesty mild chilies, drained
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup parsley or cilantro
2 cups quick rolled oats
8 whole grain buns
Fresh veggie toppings and healthy condiments
Preheat oven to 450º.

Process the first seven ingredients using an immersion or a regular blender or food processor.

Remove contents into a large bowl and stir in the oats.

Form into patties, place on a sprayed baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes.

Turn oven up to broil and cook for 2 more minutes, until the tops are nicely browned.

Toast the buns and pile on your favorite toppings.

Bean Burgers
(source: Eat More, Weigh Less - by Dr. Dean Ornish)

Makes 6 5-inch burgers

1/2 c. minced green onions (I also use chives)
1-1/2 T. minced garlic
2 T. white wine or vegetable stock (I use water)
1 29-oz. can cooked drained pinto beans
3/4 c. cracker meal
2 egg whites (I use 1 whole egg)
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 t. SPIKE seasoning powder (found in health food stores)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a small nonstick saute pan, braise the onions and garlic in the white wine until soft.

In a medium bowl, combine the sauteed onions and garlic, beans, cracker meal, egg whites, parsley, vinegar, and seasoning powder. Mash well with a fork or potato masher until blended but not entirely smooth.

On a parchment-lined nonstick baking sheet, drop the mixture by 1/2-cup amounts (I use 1/3-cup) and flatten gently with a spoon to form 6 5-inch "burgers." Bake for 25 minutes, or until set and beginning to brown lightly. Serve hot.

179 calories, 2 g. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 738.2 mg sodium

Grainlady note: I make a couple recipes of these and keep the "burgers" vacuum-sealed in a FoodSaver bag in the freezer. I quick pan-fry to warm them through and crisp up the outside to reheat them. I serve them on homemade multi-grain burger buns.

-Grainlady

Alton Brown has a recipe on Foodtv.com that uses split peas. I made it once and it was quite good. A bit involved, though.

I'll have to make them again.

I don't like homeade veggie burgers, (my recipe is with lentils and I haven't made it since the 70's). Too mushy for my taste. I LOVE Morningstar Farms garden burgers though.

Both of my favorite vegetarian burger recipes come from allrecipes.com. The first one is chickpea/falafel burgers:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Seans-Falafel-and-Cucumber-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I don't use the cucumber sauce so can't tell you how good it is but the burgers are very good.

The second one is a recipe for cottage cheese patties:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegetarian-Cottage-Cheese-Patties/Detail.aspx

Once again, I don't care about the sauce. I grill/pan fry the burgers in a bit of BBQ sauce. The recipe is very flexible and you can use different spices to make into the flavor your want. Other reviewers also have very good suggestions on what to do to make the burgers even better.

These two are staples in my kitchen.

Al

Although I don't like veggie burgers (but I may just try Al's falafel recipe since I love falafel, and that's mushy, so go figure, lol!), but I do like this recipe for Wheatloaf, and you just might too Barb, so I'm posting it. Somehow I expect mealoaf to have a mush quality. It is very tasty but not low fat.

Wheatloaf (got the recipe from my friend Rachel years ago)

1 cup finely ground walnuts of pecans (I always use walnuts)
1 cup toasted wheat germ
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (Use whatever kind you like)
3/4 cup tomato juice (I use either a little can of tomato sauce or V-8 juice.
3 eggs, well beaten. You can do two eggs and two egg whites to cut the fat a little bit.
1 tsp. thyme (or basil or some other herb if you don't like thyme)
1/4 tsp. marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the nuts, wheat germ and cheese. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Turn into an oiled loaf pan. Bake 45 min.. Serve like meatloaf. If you top your meatloaf with ketchup you can do that to this too. Would also be OK with a little brown gravy. I've used this as a stuffing for green peppers too.

I think I got this recipe off a display at a Safeway store. We ate a lot of these 'back when' because lentils were cheap and we were (not very strict) vegetarians. DH still asks for lentil burgers or lentil burritos every now and then.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Surprise Burgers

Recipe By : Katie, from a grocery store recipe card
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Vegetarian

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/4 cups lentils
3 cups water
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs -- more if necessary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano -- * see note
1 egg -- optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil
cheese slices

Wash lentils. Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes.

Add onions and carrots. Cook 15 minutes or more until lentils and vegies are tender.

Stir in bread crumbs, seasoning and egg.

Drop lentils by rounded 1/3 cupfuls into hot oil. Flatten with pancake turner. Cook until firm and brown on both sides. Top with cheese slice and cook until cheese is melted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : * I use sage and a little thyme...use whatever herbs you like for meatloaf.

What timely recipes. I'm trying to add more legumes to our meals. This is a great way.

Do you think those cottage cheese patties could be made with ricotta?

Pink,

To get around the mushiness, try adding more (or some, if the recipe doesn't have any to begin with) brown rice to the recipe.

It adds body and will help suck up extra water in the mix that might contribute to mushiness.