Serves: 5

Many great-tasting vegetarian patties are available to replace the familiar hamburger. Eat them as a meal all by themselves or tucked into a bun with all the burger toppings you love. Most vegetarian burgers work well on the grill if they are marinated first or brushed with a little vegetable oil to help prevent sticking. Vegetarian products that don’t grill well are the low-fat or fat-free products because either they become rubbery or they crumble.

Legume Burgers: These burgers can be a combination of beans, lentils, vegetables, grains and tofu. Build a terrific burger by starting with California Black Bean Burgers, or Italian Bean Cakes. Look for plain or flavored legume burgers in the freezer section of the supermarket. Just follow the package directions to heat and eat.

Vegetable Burgers: Some patties are a combination of chopped vegetables with no added cheese, legumes, grains or tofu. Some combinations might be mushroom, carrot, ripe olive, onion and bell pepper. They are found in the freezer section of most supermarkets.

Cooked portabella mushrooms and thick eggplant slices also make tasty "patties" on whole-grain buns or bread. Jazz them up by topping with pesto, cheese or fresh vegetables.

Meat Analog Burgers: Meat analog patties are nonmeat and often made from soy protein or tofu. Other ingredients include vegetables or grains. Some have beef, chicken, pork or fish flavors added, so they taste more like meat. You can find them in the freezer section of most supermarkets. Natural-foods stores and food cooperatives usually carry a wide variety of these patties.


From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Cheesy Polenta Bake
Chunky Vegetable Lasagna
Easy Vegetable Chow
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Roasted Vegetable Stew
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Three-Alarm Spaghetti and Pinto Bean Chili
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VEGETARIAN BASICS
VEGETARIAN MUNCHIES TO HAVE ON HAND
VEGETARIAN SUBSTITUTIONS