Veggie Burger Smackdown
Photo by Bush's® Beans
Summer is here and grilling season is well underway. In an effort to grill green, and satisfy my 6 year-old, self-proclaimed vegetarian daughter, I have been on the lookout for the world’s best vegetarian burger. To aide in my search, my family and I took on what we deemed, “The Great Veggie Burger Smackdown-2009.” We looked through recipes, scoured store shelves, and came up with our top 3 contenders: the Griller Prime by Morningstar Farms, the Burger Original by Boca Burger, and a homemade veggie burger that looked almost too good to eat. Here’s how they all fared:
Boca Burger’s Burger Original
Looks: Of the 3, the Boca Burger looked the least like an actual burger. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I respect a veggie burger that doesn’t try to be something it’s not.
Taste: I think my husband summed it up when he said, “I’d eat it, but I wouldn’t ask for it.” The Boca veggie burger didn’t taste like a burger, but rather like a veggie patty. And as I said, this is fine, if it’s a really yummy veggie patty. But overall I’d have to say the The Boca Burger is good in a pinch, but entirely unforgettable as a meal.
Morningstar Farms Griller Prime
Looks:
Somewhere in between a veggie burger and a meat burger, the Griller Prime is dark in color without any visible chunks of veggies. It looks tasty…not scrumptious…but definitely appetizing.
Taste: I could not believe my eyes when my picky 3 year old, who turns her nose up at ANYTHING she hasn’t seen before, not only ate this burger, but asked for more. Since the smackdown, she has asked for this burger several more times by saying…”I want a veggie burger…the one that I liked.” The Griller got equally rave reviews from the rest of the family.
The Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burger
Looks: I had high hopes for this burger. I mean, in the picture (the one shown above) it looks fantastic. And when you make it at home, it comes out looking just like this. So if you ever need to do a veggie burger photo shoot…I can wholeheartedly recommend this recipe.
Taste: Unfortunately, I can’t actually recommend eating this burger. My 6 year old described it as “gross” and my 3 year old (who actually does like black beans) took one bite, and then did not even acknowledge this burger on her plate. I have to agree. It turns out this burger actually did look too good to eat. This particular veggie burger recipe, while yummy looking, falls short in the taste department. It’s mealy, mushy, and well…gross.
And the winner is…
Hands down, the Griller Prime by Morningstar Farms is the veggie burger for my family. Although I’m still experimenting with homemade recipes, this is the burger I serve to my family when we want to go green on the grill.
Got a Favorite? Win a $25 Amazon GC
So let’s hear it. Got a favorite veggie burger recipe? I’d love to hear it. And I’d love to try it on my (as yet unsuspecting) family. I’ll give a $25 Amazon Gift Card to the best recipe (as judged by my clan.) To enter, post your recipe here AND tweet or blog about this contest. Include the link to your post or your twitter ID in your comment. Contest ends June 30th!
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