In the case of the veggie burger, homemade is always better than store-bought. Our Black Bean Quinoa Burgers get their bold flavor from chipotle pepper, garlic and cumin. - McCormick Test Kitchens

Most store-bought veggie burgers are flavorless, rubbery disks. With the right ingredients and a little time, you can make your own delicious veggie burgers that all your party guests (not just the vegetarians) will love.

Making your own veggie burgers is actually pretty simple once you have the right ingredients. There are several components you need to get the ideal texture and taste for your patties:

• Binder: Your patties need something to hold all the ingredients together so they don’t fall apart, especially while cooking. Try eggs, beans, or lentils.
• Grains: Choose one or two grains (like quinoa or barley) to bulk up your patties. You can also add in breadcrumbs to help boost the starchiness and counter the mushy texture from cooked grains.
• Vegetables: You have tons of options here, after all it is a veggie burger. Decide what flavors you want to highlight and go from there. For example, if you want a more traditional savory patty, you could use mushrooms, eggplant, onion, and garlic. Or if you wanted to do a Southwest style burger, you could add in peppers, red onion, and corn, then top with avocado and salsa.
• Spices: You can really amp up the flavor of your patties by adding spices into your mixture. Salt, pepper, soy sauce, mustard, or chili powder are all good ones to start with. You could even add in a few drops of liquid smoke for that smokey taste without having to fire up the grill.

By tweaking each of the four major components, you’ll be able to create endless flavor combinations. Whatever ingredients you pick for your patties, make sure you squeeze out the excess moisture from the grains and vegetables. If you don’t, you’ll have trouble keeping your patties together and the burger will fall apart on the first bite.

You can even make a large batch of patties in one session, then freeze the extras to enjoy later. If you need a good recipe to get you started, Serious Eats has a super delicious one. With a little effort, you and your guests won’t have to suffer through any more cardboard Boca burgers.

Image from notahipster.

This article was written by Heather Yamada-Hosley from Lifehacker and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.