The ultimate junk food gone healthy, the nacho burger. Veggies, protein and incredible flavor all in one easy meal! Something the whole family will love!
We have a tradition in our house, we call it "Nacho Sunday." As traditions go, you really can't beat this one. With the creation of my Ultimate Cheese Sauce a while back, we decided to introduce our 3 and 4 year old to the ultimate junk food that I just so happened to make healthy.
End result? Two little kids covered in cheese, beans, avocado, salsa and chips with huge grins on their faces. And lets not forget not one single complaint about dinner. Ultimate success!
This Vegan Nacho Burger Is Insane!
So the obvious step up from actual nachos is making them into a burger, because next to nachos, burgers are one of our all time favorite foods.
Well, lucky for you all, this nacho burger turned out so good it was a must share on the blog. You. Are. Welcome. Just look at this beast?! Don't think you can fit it in your mouth? Well, you probably can't. But in our house, the messier the better 😉 Move over Carls Jr., there's a better burger in town. For real, this one won't give you a heart attack.
These nacho burgers are so darn easy to make
Seriously. I use a frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe's to make it even faster. You literally put everything in a bowl, mix with your hands and shape into patties.
Putting the mixture in the fridge for a short time will thicken it and make these burgers really sturdy. And get this, they are GRILLABLE. Yup. I tested them out on a real outside barbecue grill. The kind with a real grate. And it worked! I'm talking did not fall apart and were delicious!
The key was to let the mixture get really cold in the fridge, then shape the patties. They held together beautifully.
So how messy will your nacho burger be?! I want to know! Leave a comment here, find me on Facebook or tag me on Instagram in your main comment at both @veggiesdontbite #veggiesdontbite so I don’t miss it! I respond to each and every comment I see, so I’m never ignoring you! Well except if I'm getting messy with this burger. Then I'm ignoring it all!
The Ultimate Mexican Nacho Burger
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 15 oz 15 ounces black beans , drained and rinsed
- 15 oz 15 ounces pinto beans , rinsed
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes , about 1 three inch tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped onion , about ½ a three inch onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup chopped mild nacho jalapeno slices
- 3 tablespoons cornmeal
- sea salt , to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)
- burger buns , gluten-free if needed
Toppings:
- Ultimate Cheese Sauce
- Guacamole
- Easy Fresh Mexican Salsa
- Vegan Sour Cream
- Jalapeno nacho slices
- Tortilla chips
- Lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Chop tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeno slices if haven’t already. Cook rice according to package directions or use a precooked version.
- Rinse beans and place into a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients except the cornmeal. Using your hands, mix well by squishing everything together.
- Add cornmeal and combine again with your hands.
- Taste and add salt if needed. Combine more.
- Set mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour, the longer the better. This will allow the cornmeal to suck up the liquid and will make the mixture sturdier so you can grill if preferred.
- Meanwhile, make toppings of choice if not prepped already.
- Once mixture is ready, shape into 4 inch patties.
- Bake at 375°F/180°F on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes on each side, or until just browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool and set in for about 5-7 minutes.
- You can also cook on stove top over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side (depending on stove).
- Make sure to keep pan covered to help the burger cook throughout and achieve the best texture possible. This helps prevent a mushy burger. Check every few minutes to prevent burning, should be slightly browned when ready.
- These are also grillable. If you grill these on the BBQ make sure to grill cold, right from the fridge. Grill on low heat until browned on each side. Carefully flip, if they don’t flip easily allow to cook longer.
- Top with lettuce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, jalapeno slices and chips and smother with cheese sauce.
- Stuff into your mouth, the messier you get the better.
Notes
- To make this even faster and easier, you can use a pre-cooked frozen rice like the organic brown rice from Trader Joes.
- To make this spicy use spicy jalapeno slices.
- I did try and freeze these, and although they do keep well they also collect water when freezing due to the tomatoes. Once defrosted, they will need to be reshaped since they fall apart a bit from the water collection. However after I reshaped each patty, they cooked just fine.
- You could also try partially cooking before freezing, although I haven't tried that.
- Tips to prep ahead: Chop veggies/cilantro and cook rice. Make/prep toppings of choice.
- Baby/toddler food idea: Puree beans, rice and avocado (from the guacamole) for baby. Cook burgers as is for toddler but don’t add jalapeno slices unless very mild. Cut up burgers into pieces or cook in small burger bites and dip in cheese sauce and guacamole. Can also give avocado pieces instead of guacamole.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Richa {VeganRicha.com}
Dang, so much awesomeness and that height!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Richa!! It was definitely challenging to get in my mouth! Lol.
Michelle@healthiersteps
I'm just imagining me biting into this burger right now. I know it tastes good!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Michelle! It's a favorite!
Mel @ avirtualvegan.com
Burger, beans, nachos, cheese....heaven!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Mel! Yup, all my favorites!
Levan @ Crazy Vegan Kitchen
Very very appetizing photos and amazing burger recipe. Look at that 'nacho' drip - I dare anyone to resist that. Amazing stuff!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Levan! It's a family favorite around here. I've even had a few non vegan friends love it!
Howie Fox
They are grillable??? I'm SOOO SOLD 😀
Love the looks of this burger too. All veggie burgers I made so far we're average at best! I should give this one a try!! 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Howie! I didn't set out to make it grillable. Just to make a burger I wanted. But we got invited to a BBQ and I brought some along to try them out and they worked great! Make sure you don't skip the refrigeration step. It help thicken the mixture and makes it stay together well!
Linda @ Veganosity
Guess what I'm making for game day this weekend? These look fabulous, Sophia!
veggiesdontbite
Oh yay!! Thanks SO much Linda! Perfect game day food. Wait until you see my recipe coming Thursday!! The best game day app!! Let me know how you like them!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
Okay so I already wanted to dig in when I saw the pick on FB, but now I come here and see that you put tortilla chips on top and the cravings just went to a whole new level!!!! And that gooey sauce <3 Your house around dinner time sounds like a very fun and delicious place to be 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Ha! Thank you so much! Oh yeah. Chips is the key!! And cheese! I swear we have been eating these non stop! The boys love them!
Jenn
I love a good messy burger....especially one that has gobs of gooey cheese sauce!!! This looks incredible!
veggiesdontbite
OMG me too!!! The messier the better in my book! More over Carl's Jr. LOL Thanks so much Jenn!
Ryan @ Feed by Round Pond
This looks so messy and so delicious. Put some sweet potato fries on the side and I am good to go!
veggiesdontbite
Oh yeah, sweet potatoes fries are a must! And the messier the better! LOL. BTW, did I see RP is coming out with a hot sauce?! I'm SO in on that!!
Lucie
This burger looks insanely delicious!!! I'm totally topping it with a double portion of your amazing cheese sauce too! It's going to be a very messy BBQ 😀 but so gooood <3
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Lucie! Double the cheese just means double to goodness! LOL, grab some napkins!
Mandy
I. Am. Dying!!!!! This seriously looks beyond amazing. I love that you do Nacho Sunday...such a great tradition! I am impressed that you created a veggie burger that holds together on a real grill!! Wow! Such a beautiful burger...I'll be sure to have plenty of napkins ready when we make this!
veggiesdontbite
Food is always the best traditions to start! Especially when it's healthy food! I didn't intend on making a grillable burger, but then we got invited to a BBQ and since we always just bring our own burgers when we attend, I thought it would be fun to see how these held up. They are so sturdy after putting them in the fridge a bit, I was curious. Low and behold it worked great!! Huge plus is that so many people tried them since I brought a bunch, and all of them gave them a huge 2 thumbs up! They were the only burgers gone, the meat ones were still sitting on their serving platters. LOL! Thanks so much and I can't wait for you to try them!
The Vegan8
I got my big on and I'm ready! This looks so huge and fabulous and messy...just how a burger should be!! I love all the fixins you have on the burger too! Big fat yummy!!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Brandi!! It's SO SO good! Definitely messy, but I agree burgers should be messy! LOL! And although the burger itself is delicious, the toppings add so many great flavors!
The vegan 8
Oh yes, the more toppings the better!! I love a fully flavored burger though, it's the star, I honestly love to eat them by themselves with no buns at all. Looks so good!
veggiesdontbite
Oh yeah. I love eating them on their own too! This one has a very fresh Mexican flavor and is so good just dipped in hot sauce. Mmmm!
Jenn
Looks amazeballs!!! I wanna take a big messy bite!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Jenn!! It definitely is messy! LOL
Beverley @ sweaty&fit
I am always on the hunt for delicious vegetarian burgers! I love the ingredients you added to yours. Definitely pinned for later 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Beverley! It's so simple and so flavorful! Let me know how you like it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Grillable AND that cheese!? Now that's a perfect smokey, spicy, hearty, amazing burger!
veggiesdontbite
YES!!! LOL! Thanks so much, we have been eating this like mad!