ottawa foodies

I am hosting a BBQ next week and find myself in need of some veggie burgers. I have taken a look at some of the recipes in the various forums on this site but I am not sure I will have time to make the burgers before the event (I am also hesitant to use this particular group of dinner guests as a guinea pig for a new recipe). So, I am in need of some recommendations for the packaged or pre-made options. The only discussions I found on the site date back to 2006. Does anyone have any more current suggestions?

Thanks!

M'y dd recommended these last week but did say they were a bit thin: Forum - new nut and veg burger

If they don't need to be vegan, I like the PC portobello swiss veggie burgers and the original Gardenburgers.

My absolute top favorites are the Amy's Organic California burgers. Pricy, but absolutely delicious. AND they stay together on the grill.

Got these at Costco recently. Was really impressed with them. Best veggie burgers I've bought.

Some vegetarians like the fake meat and others do not. I'd ask your vegetarian guests if they have a recommendation. There are Nut Burgers - thread here: Forum - new nut and veg burger

^ This comment is very true.

There are three styles of veggie burgers. There are the ones that imitate meat, the ones that are a bunch of vegetables packed together (Dennys uses these) and the "others".
Gardein falls into the first category, PC has one that fits into the second and the Amy's ones I mentioned fall into the third.

I'm a type two and type three veggie burger person, myself.

My favourite VBs are Yves.. frozen or refrigerated. Available everywhere. This is a imitation type of burger.

I could not find the Gardein burgers at Costco, but I did find Kirkland Garden Burgers. They have cheese in them though, so vegetarian, not vegan.

Found a review of them here:

thebestnewproductsonline.com

Plan to try them later today myself.

I'd really like to find good burgers that are vegan and have very little additive ingredients besides veggies and spices - so I guess they would fall under category 2 as classified above. The only ones I've been able to find that moderately fit the bill for me are Sol Cuisine, my favourites being the Spicy Black Bean. They have amazing other flavours too, check out the whole line here: solcuisine.com/canadian-retail

Does anyone have any other recommendations for me that would satisfy those needs? :-)

lovealwayserica - Last time I was at the Les Fougeres store in Chelsea I noticed they had frozen lentil pecan burgers that I'm pretty sure were vegan. I haven't tried them, but everything else I've had from there has been great. In hindsight I wish I'd bought them and will probably try them next time I'm out that way. I'm not sure if you can buy their products at any stores here in town, or if you have to go out to the store in Chelsea.

A couple of the Gardenburger flavours are vegan (Veggie Medley, Black Bean Chipotle), though those may have more ingredients than you want.

Frozen Les Fougères products are available at La Brulerie on St-Joseph near Taché (but not sure if the veggie burgers would one of the options), La Boîte à Grain on St-Joseph (much further north, passed St-Raymond and the likely have the burgers) and Freshmart, the grocery store in Old Chelsea on the 105. However, the latter is a few minutes from Les Fougères itself.

Not a big fan of soy burgers, but my fav store bought veg burger is Soyarie's ganmo burger. Un-fancy and modest on all fronts: packaging, size, number of ingredients (all pronounceable), cooking instructions. But, they also:

- look nice - they hold their form with nice grill marks.
- are versatile: Put 'em on the top grill, flip when convenient (half-time US vs. Portugal) and they'll likely be edible. If you really mess up, cut into cubes and toss into the salad as high-protein croutons.
- are nutritionally dense per point above about relatively few ingredients. Hockey puck sized, smallish compared to some of the other monsters on the market, but they are satisfying w/ an understated yum appeal.
- are a local biz. based on the other side of the river, non-gmo at that.

The Kirkland Garden Burgers did not taste like meat or cheese, but they were quite good. They had a satisfying texture and flavor. My daughter liked hers too. But we will look for a better vegan one.

Speaking of veggie burgers, World Burger has a veggie burger, 5 Guys doesn't.

Zoglos has a lot of frozen vegan products.

Some that are fake- looking and some only vegeables. All their products are vegan and the bigger independent stores have them (Rideau st, the independent at Somerset, also the baseline one should have all their products).

They do not contain preservatives and are made in Israel...

I would also recommend the PC Portobello Swiss burger. They are fantastic.

Todric's also makes a veggie burger.
It kind of reminded me of a Falafel as it was made w chick peas and other vegetables.
I think you can buy the patties from them if you ask.

Soyarie has some items like other grain burgers and some patty with seeds and tofu that I remember being good.
-haven't bought those in quite a while.

I actually know the guy whose parents own the Soyarie company.
He is working as a Japanese chef in Vancouver thesedays.

But nice to know that Soyarie is locally made!

Also, the Table restaurant sells some kinds of veggie patties they make so you can cook them at home.
Family brought me a package last year and they were good too!

I try to eat vegan whenever I can, but I just couldn't get use to Falafel. Even with lots of garlic sauce on it. :-)

But a good veggie burger with lebanese garlic sauce on it and the fixings (onion, tomato, lettuce, ketchup) . . . that sounds pretty good :-)

Not useful for BBQ but Cedar's grocery food counter has a veggie wrap made w fried vegetables- they use the cauliflower, eggplant and whatever and I get that w hummus, fresh vegetables and some tabouleh in it w pickled turnip!

It is around $4-5 for this sandwich.

I can't eat garlic or raw onion or much cooked garlic even without getting really sick.
hummus is usually ok as there is not too much garlic usually.

My semi herbivore wife has recently become a big fan of portobello mushroom burgers. We experiment, but sun dried tomatoes, basil and provolone make a good combination of toppings for them. The plus-minimal prep time.

The best ones I've tried were from Costco, but I haven't seen that brand in quite some time. I believe they were Veggie Patch "ultimate meatless burger"...they could seriously pass for a 'decent' frozen burger made with actual beef. I was pretty surprised/impressed, but I ate quite a few of them when my youngest was eating as a vegetarian. It was probably the one thing on the planet that seemed to taste as good microwaved as it did fried or grilled.

best frozen veggie burger ?

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