If you don't eat meat, veggie burgers are wonderful. The right vegetarian burger recipe can be just as satisfying as a meat burger but, of course, full of healthy veggies and good-for-you proteins. When you order veggie burgers at a restaurant, you have to be careful-- oftentimes they fill them with extra fat to make up for the lack of meat. But when you make a vegetarian burger recipe at home, you don't have to worry about any of that. You know everything that goes into your burger, and that all of it is good for you.

Even if you're not a vegetarian, occasionally making homemade veggie burgers can be a great way to add some extra vegetables into your family's diet... or just reduce the amount of fatty meat you eat. As a bonus, veggie burgers are generally very cheap to make, saving you money while they help make you healthy. Nice, right?

These homemade veggie burgers are rich and flavorful and, well... wonderful. Because they use garbanzos instead of a darker bean, they won't fool anybody into thinking they're made of meat... but they'll get veggie burger lovers everywhere excited about dinner. You can sub natural peanut butter for the tahini, but in this vegetarian burger recipe, I think the tahini complements the flavor of the garbanzos better. Makes 4 patties.

Also, if caramelizing your own onions sounds like a pain, just buy them at the store. Nobody will know the difference. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 C. canned, cooked garbanzos (chickpeas)
1 recipe for caramelized onions (see below)
1/2 C. panko breadcrumbs
6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
2 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. olive oil, for sauteeing

Caramelized Onions:
1 1/2 lbs. sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp. butter
salt and pepper

Instructions for caramelized onions: 1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onions. Cook until onions start to be translucent.

2. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until caramelized and brown, about 40-45 minutes, stirring often. If they start to stick during cook time, add a small splash of water.

3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Feeling lazy? Simply buy jarred or frozen caramelized onions and use them, instead.

Instructions for vegetarian burger recipe: 1. Drain and rinse garbanzos. In a medium mixing bowl, mash garbanzos with a fork or potato masher.

2. Add remaining ingredients (except for olive oil) and mix until well combined.

3. Make four 1" thick (or so) patties. Refrigerate several hours, or freeze until ready to use. This helps the garbanzo veggie burgers to set up.

4. Heat a heavy skillet over high heat. Add olive oil.

5. When skillet is hot, add burgers.

6. Reduce heat to medium, and cook burgers approximately 5 minutes each side, until crisp and cooked through.

7. To make these on the grill, pre-cook them, and reheat them on the grill. Otherwise they'll tend to fall apart.

8. Serve this vegetarian burger recipe on toasted wheat buns garnished with yogurt, lemon, sprouts, avocado... whatever you like.

I really love the flavor of this vegetarian burger recipe. With the cumin, coriander, and cilantro, it almost reminds me of falafel-- but made with all veggies. Don't wimp out on the garlic, as plenty of garlic really makes these burgers. These are great served as traditional burgers with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and all that jazz... but they're also wonderful with a big scoop of mint-yogurt sauce, diced tomatoes, and fresh onion.

You can use dried bread crumbs in these in a pinch, but fresh whole wheat crumbs will keep these burgers moist and help them stick together better. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 1/2 C. grated carrot
1 1/2 C. grated zucchini
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tbsp. natural peanut butter
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 C. fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, as needed

Instructions: 1. Saute onion and garlic in a lightly greased skillet until onion starts to soften, about five minutes.

2. Add carrots and zucchini and saute about 10 mins more, til veggies have softened.

3. Stir in the cumin, coriander, cilantro, and peanut butter (you can also use tahini). Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool 5-10 minutes.

4. Dump veggie mixture in a medium mixing bowl. Add egg and breadcrumbs and mix until well combined. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.

5. Shape four veggie burgers from mixture. They should hold together decently well.

6. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet. Add burgers and cook about five minutes a side, until browned and cooked through.