"Enlightened" Chef Chloe's Drive-Thru Burgers & Special Sauce
Eight in a Batch--You'll Definitely Want More! Just Double the Batch & Save Kitchen Clean-Up Time!
My Rule: If you make a recipe four times in less than a month, you know you have a winner on your hands.
People: This one's a winner.
Goodbye Boca Burgers, Match Meat, & Bean Burgers posing as Old-Fashioned Drive-Thru Burgers. This "enlightened" recipe rocks and all the meat-like ingredients are high-powered players: Lentils, low-fat tempeh, & walnuts for crisping/browning.
I totally owe this recipe to the genius of Chef Chloe. I've adapted it from Chloe Coscarelli's cookbook: "Chloe's Kitchen".
I call it "The Enlightened" Best Burger & Sauce, ever!! The texture, the taste, the nutrition--is simply amazing. And, these burgers do not fall apart--like other burger-posers.
Turns out--it makes sense to just double this recipe--and save yourself the kitchen clean-up X two.
By doubling the recipe you end up with 2 pounds, 13 ounces of "plant-based delicious "raw meat". Enough to make 16 burgers, or turn some of it into Italian meatballs, by adding oregano, basil, fennel seed, parsley & red chili pepper--or maybe use some of it for a "no-meat" loaf.
The "raw meat" can be kept refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. If you freeze it "raw", it will keep for one month. Cooked burgers should keep in the FREEZER for two months, maybe more--if they last that long.
Did I mention that it's actually delicious eaten raw? It's all pre-cooked, so it's not really raw. Jazz it up with some Dijon mustard, maybe some sauteed mushrooms, and spices, and Voila! It's chopped liver.
Your choice.
The burger is fantastic on a sprouted whole grain bun topped with Chloe's special sauce, sliced tomato, & pickles or just crumbled on top of a hefty salad & topped with Chloe's special sauce, or my Creamy Chipotle Topping.
Heck, you could crumble it into a burrito with all the fixings. Delicious!
Very versatile.
A Burger & Special Sauce in the Making
It's Much Easier Than It Looks
Two Slabs of Low-Fat Soy Boy Tempeh Cut Into Quarters
Steam the Tempeh for Twenty Minutes - Removes All Hints of Bitterness
Toast the Walnuts for Ten to Twelve Minutes in a 350 Degree Oven
Saute Onions & Garlic Without Any Liquid in a Covered Pan - Stirring Occasionally
Softened Onions & Garlic - No Oil, No PAM, No Liquid
Pulse Processed Steamed Tempeh
Pulse Process TJ's French Lentils (homemade or canned are fine) & Add to the Tempeh
Pulse Process the Toasted Walnuts to Very Fine--Not Into Flour
Mix Oat Flour & Spices Into the Softened Onions & Garlic
Pulse Process the Seasoned & Floured Onions & Garlic
Mix Well - Tempeh, Lentils, Walnuts, & Onion Mixture! Hands Work Best - 2 lbs. 13 oz. - 5 1/2 Cups of "Homemade Plant-Meat"
Raw: A Double-Batch Makes 16 Delicious Burgers - 1/3 Cup of Meat Per Burger
Out of the Oven in Twenty-Two Minutes - Beautifully Browned, Firm & Delicious
No-Fat Creamy Special Sauce with Sweet Pickle Relish & Fresh Dill
The Special Sauce - Can Double as Thousand Island Dressing, Too.
The 100% No-Oil Plant-Based Drive-Thru Burger - Better Than the Real Thing
Crumble It on a Salad & Top with the Special Sauce or Creamy Chipotle Dressing
"Enlightened" Old-Fashioned Drive-Thru Burger & Special Sauce
- 2 8-ounce package of low-fat tempeh, Soy Boy. (This is available at Whole Foods, TJ's or other health food stores.) Note: You can use regular tempeh if you can't find Soy Boy Low-Fat--the fat content is just much higher.
- 1 very large sweet onion, chopped
- 2 or more garlic cloves, chopped (your choice as to quantity)
- 3 cups of already cooked lentils or 1 package of TJ's Steamed French Lentils (17.6 ounces), French or brown are preferred. (I used, & recommend, Trader Joe's aka Melissa's Steamed French Lentils, available in the refrigerated section. It has a long shelf life, so you can stock up!)
- 1 cup of walnuts, toasted (350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully! Note: Chloe uses twice the amount of walnuts)
- 1 cup of oat flour (easily made with rolled oats blended in a Vitamix, but packaged oat flour is just fine) Note: any flour can be substituted.
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, optional
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup of Mori-Nu low-fat firm tofu
- 1-2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon or yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons of ketchup (low-sodium, low-sugar, if possible)
- 2 tablespoons of sweet pickle relish (reserve to mix in AFTER the "wet ingredients" are blended!)
- 1 tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped (reserve to mix in AFTER the "wet ingredients" are blended!)
Preparation:
1. Combine tofu, garlic cloves, mustard, & ketchup in a blender & process until smooth.
2. Add the pickle relish after the ingredients are blended. Mix to combine.
Note: This could easily substitute for a Thousand Island Dressing. Crumble a burger on top of a salad, & dress with the "Special Sauce". A Drive-Thru Burger Salad!
Nutritional Facts Based for 1 Burger = 1/3 cup of "Meat" (Recipe Makes 16 Burgers)
Nutritional Facts for the Works: Drive-Thru Burger, Sprouted Alvarado Street Bun, Tomato, & Special Sauce
I sincerely hope you & your family enjoy these as much as the Lab Rat & I do. It's great have a "storehouse" of delicious burgers in the fridge or freezer that you know are super healthy.
Don't get put off by the process. It's easier than it looks & you end up with 16 burgers.
Let me know how they turn out for you.
We too have discovered these burgers! These are a favorite on family movir night!
Posted by: Rosanne | December 11, 2012 at 07:34 PM
@Rosanne: Yay!! So happy to hear you've also found these yummy gems!
Posted by: Healthy Librarian | December 11, 2012 at 07:56 PM
We can't have nuts...any other suggestions?
Posted by: Mari-Ann | December 11, 2012 at 08:38 PM
@Mari-Ann: Honestly, I think this will be delicious, & work-out without the nuts. It sticks together--& should still brown up nicely in the hot oven on parchment paper. I don't think you'll miss the nuts. Make a half batch, not the full batch & experiment.
Posted by: Healthy Librarian | December 11, 2012 at 08:47 PM
I can't wait to try these! I have all the ingredients so will give them a whirl tomorrow. I have enjoyed Jeff Novick's 5 ingredient burgers from his DVD Birgers and Fries because they are so quick and easy to make, but this looks fun for a more gourmet burger. Thanks so much!
Posted by: Jean Myers | December 11, 2012 at 09:34 PM
These sound absolutely yummy - I can't wait to try them. Thanks for the pictures; they are a nice walk through.
Posted by: Cherie | December 12, 2012 at 03:37 AM
Hi, Thanks for the recipe! You mention garlic in the burger recipe but I don't see the amount in the ingredient list.
We can't have walnuts so I am going to try almonds as a substitute.
Posted by: Lisa | December 12, 2012 at 07:07 AM
Thanks for pointing out my omission, Lisa. Aarghh! So easy to miss something, no matter how many times I've proofed the recipes. Yes, you need 2 or more garlic cloves, chopped--according to how much you like garlic. 2 is the minimum. I've corrected the recipe post--both in the regular blog & the "recipe on 1 page". Thanks so much. I'm sure almonds will work just fine! Let me know, will you?
Posted by: Healthy Librarian | December 12, 2012 at 08:40 AM
We just prepared these burgers, as well as your rockin' roasted potatoes, and what an awesome meal we had! Everything was so tasty but, as I was preparing and cooking and my husband was washing every dish, pan, bowl in our kitchen, we thought no wonder people go to McDonald's! BUT, I have 13 more burgers in my freezer and a big leftover bowl of potatoes in my refrigerator. Thank you for making the recipes so user friendly and now I know how much time and measurement you put into each and every recipe you put online. You make my life so much easier and healthier! Love trying everything you post!
Posted by: Deb Richter | December 17, 2012 at 04:18 PM
I have been waiting since you promised to post this! Yippee! I can't wait. I like Susan Voisin's veggie burgers made with lentils. I know these will be delicious. Thanks for tweaking and enlightening and sharing.
Posted by: Dawn | December 17, 2012 at 05:25 PM
I'm eager to try this recipe but a couple of questions first. I live in the "woods".... Hour drive to Wegmans grocery store where I was able to find soy tempeh and some cans of lentils. Never having eaten tempeh or lentils will this suffice as substitutes for the items you've mentioned? Lightlife organic soy tempeh and canned lentils....hoping this will work.
Posted by: Betsy | December 17, 2012 at 09:52 PM
@Betsy: It should work just fine. That's what the original recipe calls for. I just lightened it with low-fat tempeh & I prefer the taste, texture & convenience of TJ's shelf-ready already steamed French lentils. Good luck!
@Deb Richter: Yay! Thrilled that you liked them & thanks for the kind words. Totally, agree about the kitchen mess--which is why is pays to make a double batch. Plus it's exercise & you can't cook or wash dishes sitting down.
Posted by: Healthy Librarian | December 18, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Friday lunch is our burger or hot dog day. The week is done neither one of us really wants to cook so we look forward to an easy lunch. While this recipe takes a bit of time both in prep and clean up, it is well worth the time and energy to make several meals in one session.
We have tried beet burgers, black bean burgers, tempeh burgers and god knows what else. Some were good, some were horrible, most didn't hold their shape giving the burger a bit of a pablum mouth feel.
We didn't make the sauce we used the usual ketchup, mustard, onion, tomato and lettuce we used to use on beef burgers and the tastes married well. I liked the addition of walnuts and the way the lentils and flour held all together was worthy of a celebration. The mouth feel was as close to the burger of old than anything we have tried in the last year.
Our only regret was we only made half the recipe. Also I guess we like our burgers a bit bigger as we only made 6 patties.
Thank you for your information and your recipes. We look forward to your posts.
Posted by: Julie | December 18, 2012 at 04:57 PM
I made this recipe last week. They came out great, and they freeze well.
I love finger food but I'm not a big fan of burgers, so I made meatballs, using a tablespoon (measuring spoon). I used the ingredients I had: 2 medium red onions instead of one large sweet yellow onion, black lentils instead of green, dried oregano instead of basil. Also, I don't have a food processor, so I used a potato masher. The lentils and onions were still identifiable, but they held together very well.
I used West Soy tempeh, which I'd had in the freezer. (It has about 5.5 g fat per 3 oz of tempeh.) The other brand I saw at Whole Foods, Turtle Island, has 3.5 g fat per 3 oz. of Organic Tempeh (vs. Soy Boy 5-Grain, which has 3 g fat per 3 oz. of tempeh). So it is possible to find low-fat tempeh on the west coast.
Posted by: tanya | December 22, 2012 at 05:15 PM
Absolutely delicious. This recipe is a keeper. I like how the 'burger' hangs together and has a firm texture. I very lightly pulsed the tempeh leaving it more crumbly than pre-paste and I think it added to the chewiness. We got 24 burgers out of this and I froze most of them for quick meals. The sauce is good too.
Posted by: Cherie Dover Perkins | December 30, 2012 at 12:50 PM
What is the best way to cook these after freezing them? I made a big batch but only cooked 8. I froze the other 8. Now I'm not sure if I should defrost them in the microwave and then place them in the oven or if I should just put them frozen into the oven and hope they don't dry out too much. Anyone have any advice? Thanks!
Posted by: KimB. | January 01, 2013 at 01:16 PM
@KimB: Did you store them individually wrapped? That's how I did it--& then defrosted them in the microwave. I agree, about thawing in the oven--don't want to dry them out. Or use a low oven & have them in a baking pan that's well-covered. They defrosted very quickly for me.
Posted by: The Healthy Librarian | January 01, 2013 at 01:20 PM
@TheHealthyLibrarian: I froze the 8 burgers on a baking pan lined with parchment paper, covered with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. I decided to just leave them sitting on the counter while I was preparing Happy Herbivore's Baked Beans (delicious BTW) and discovered they defrosted quickly. As soon as the Baked Beans come out of the oven I will just turn the oven up a little and put the pan of burgers inside. We really LOVED these burgers last week, especially with the Special Sauce. Unfortunately I was unable to find low-fat tempeh here in NC at Whole Foods, TJ's or Harris Teeter, so I am going to try making these without nuts the next time just to lower the fat a little more.
Posted by: KimB. | January 01, 2013 at 02:00 PM
I love your site and I wanted to love these burgers! Usually I think a recipe through before I make it but I got caught up in the excitement and went straight to the kitchen.
My thoughts on these burgers, I agreed with the reduced amount of walnuts, tempeh (soybeans) and lentils - one or the other for me, and a small amount of onions - I think it's a missed opportunity not to add more veggies.
They were dry and pretty flavorless although my husband liked them with the sauce. I like burgers to taste great sans sauce.
They were good crumbled in a onion - cabbage sauté (water of course.) So all was not lost.
Given how much I admire your work and your blog it's a little awkward to post a critique that isn't glowing...this is just my preference in burgers, others seem to love them.
Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with abundant health, and thanking you for sharing all your research, recipes, and movie suggestions. (We watched Monsieur Lazhar after reading about it here - loved it!)
Warm regards,
Judon
Posted by: Judy Donovan | January 08, 2013 at 06:38 AM
@Judy: Thanks for the feedback. No problem. Sorry, you weren't as excited about them as we are. Just made another batch to store away in the freezer. I think you're right--why not add more veggies? I liked them as they are, but, hey, adding more seasoning & more veggies is a great idea. Barb Watson added sauteed mushrooms & liked them a lot. If you give it another go--let me know what you add to them--if it's an improvement. This is a work in progress. Right?
Posted by: The Healthy Librarian | January 08, 2013 at 06:45 AM
Thanks for enlightening this recipe, Debbie. Always good to get more oats, and it means that the mixture can be eaten "raw" as you say...in fact I think I prefer it this way!! The kids ate the burgers happily - the ultimate test!! Next time I'm going to try the mixture as "liver pate" with wholegrain mustard and mushrooms, just as you suggested. Do you think that using tempeh adds nutrition over and above using canned beans such as suggested by Jeff Novick and many others?
Posted by: Michelle | January 13, 2013 at 10:38 PM
Just wanted to report in as well--thank you for this recipe. Since we're avoiding soy right now, I subbed about the same amount of pinto beans for the tempeh. These were kind of scarily meat-like on the griddle! :) Kids gave it a 10/10--I liked the texture and the little hints of nuttiness. I took your advice -- doubled the batch and froze half of them, and I'm glad I did! Thank you.
Posted by: heidi | February 20, 2013 at 05:41 PM
I love your site - so very helpful and informative!
One question: I tried these burgers last night based on the positive reviews. They were easy to prepare and held together very well. I steamed the tempeh as directed however, when it was time to eat them, the flavor that significantly overpowered the burgers was a very strong bitterness - I am assuming from the tempeh?? It truly ruined the great burger experience! I would LOVE any suggestions or feedback and I will try the recipe again since it seems to be a worthwhile one!
Thank you in advance for any feedback.
Posted by: Cyd | June 19, 2013 at 05:48 AM
Just made these yesterday and had one for breakfast and lunch. They are excellent and I can't wait to try other variations. Thanks so much and I appreciate your blog.
Posted by: Bev Sansom | August 07, 2013 at 03:05 AM
I make these all the time and wanted to mention how we reheat ours from frozen.
I defrost in the refrigerator overnight or in the counter if I haven't planned them. Then I just pop the patty in the toaster and enjoy a burger within minutes!
Posted by: Sarah | September 25, 2014 at 09:19 AM