5 meaty veggie burgers for vegan grilling season

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Do you love a veggie burger that you can really sink your teeth into? Look no further than this round-up of 5 meaty veggie burgers, perfect for vegan grilling season.

It’s grilling season at last!

After a snowy spring and a winter that just wouldn’t go away, it’s finally time to dust off the grill, and get cooking in the sunshine.

Everything is better on the grill – from grilled tofu with lemon & rosemary, to veggie fajitas, and all the way to grilled banana splits with chocolate peanut butter sauce.

But sometimes when you’re heading to a cookout or just needing something cozy and familiar, only a veggie burger will do.

There are loads of vegan burgers on the market nowadays (and of course, you can make your own). Store-bought burgers range from having ingredients that are very vegetable & bean based to burgers that are so meaty, they make you do a double take.

My preferences are on the meatier side of things when I’m looking for a veggie burger. So I tend to choose ones that are made from seitan or soy.

If you also prefer a meaty veggie burger, here are 5 burgers for this vegan grilling season I think you’re going to like!

(Curious about why vegans would eat something that tastes like meat? <—– Find out why here.)

Field Roast FieldBurger

FieldBurgers are my go-to choice in the summer. It is highest in calories of any of the options here. But that means it’s a fatty, juicy burger that really feels like a summer indulgence. One patty is 290 calories and has 16 grams of fat.

(Apparently, they lowered the fat & calories at some point, because when they first came out the burgers were 340 calories with 24 grams of fat.)

The fat gets a little crackly around the edges, which is downright addictive to me.

These burgers are seitan-based, but also include barley, garlic, onions, mushrooms, celery, and carrots. They include a lot of flavorful spices, which gives them a distinctive flavor profile.

You can find Field Roast burgers at many natural grocery stores in either the fresh or frozen case.

Looking for another Field Roast option? Their Celebration Roast is also amazing on a vegan banh mi.

Herbivorous Butcher hamburger

This hefty vegan burger from Herbivorous Butcher is one that really fills you up. It is the kind of burger you can really sink your teeth into.

It has a seitan base and is seasoned with vegan Worcestershire, soy sauce, brown sugar, and molasses. This burger has 260 calories with 7 grams of fat.

And if you feel like straying from burgers, of course, Herbivorous Butcher has loads of vegan meats that are perfect for the grill. (And here are some barbecue side dishes to go with them!)

Herbivorous Butcher products aren’t sold everywhere, but they are expanding. They also ship throughout the U.S. & Puerto Rico.

Gardein beefless burgers or sliders

The Gardein beefless burger is David’s usual summer pick. It has a strong grilled flavor right out of the package, which means that even if you have to cook it in a grill pan, you’re still going to have a lot of smoky flavor.

It is a thin burger, which David really likes in case he feels like making a vegan Big Mac – either full-sized or in mini form.

Gardein Beefless Burgers are made with non-GMO soy and wheat in addition to kamut, amaranth, millet, and quinoa flour. One beefless burger has 140 calories and 5 grams of fat.

I used the Gardein beefless sliders to make these Mini Mac’s (a.k.a. vegan Big Mac sliders). 

Gardein has a huge distribution. Within the U.S. it can be found at large chain stores like Target and Walmart, as well as the usual natural grocery store circuit.

The Beyond Burger

Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burgers are a newer darling in the bunch.

Truth be told, I prefer to have someone else cook my Beyond Burger. The flavor is terrific. But the experience of cooking it is so startlingly meat-like, it takes some mental gymnastics to not have it bother me.

It comes in two burgers to a pack. And it looks very much like red ground beef patties right in the package.

They are made from pea protein isolate and get their signature color from beet juice extract & annatto. One patty is 270 calories with 20 grams of fat.

Beyond Burgers can be cooked on an indoor grill pan (as shown above). However, keep in mind that they have a lingering scent. So I recommend cooking them outside or in the air fryer, which seals in the scent, if you have the option.

(To air fry the Beyond Burger, cook at 360 degrees for 9 minutes, stopping once to flip. Or go for 8 minutes and finish it off in a grill pan as I did here.)

Or you can pick one up at a restaurant that sells them. They seem to be spreading like wildfire around the country. (I love the way they prepare them at Zombie Burger.)

Beyond Burgers are sold in natural grocery stores, as well as some Target locations. Sometimes they are sold in the meat department. Other times they’re with the other veggie burgers in the refrigerated or frozen section.

Upton’s Naturals Classic Burger

I’m a longtime fan of Upton’s Naturals products, and their burger very much fits in the flavor wheelhouse of their other products. It also has an ingredient list that is on the slim side.

These seitan-based burgers also include eggplant and tofu with soy sauce, garlic, natural hickory smoke concentrate, and spices for flavor. They have the least amount of calories of any in this line-up with 168 calories and 5 grams of fat.

You can find these burgers at some natural grocery stores. Or if you’re in Chicago, get them hot & ready to eat at Upton’s Break Room.