16 Best Veggie Burgers In America

Veggie burgers are nothing new in America, but their popularity has increased dramatically in recent years. In years past, most veggie burgers were typified as bland hockey pucks of mushrooms and black beans, bound together by mystery ingredients best left unsaid. Nowadays, things are a bit different. Once menu rarities, they've become as commonplace in restaurants as regular burgers, from high-end chef-driven concepts to quick-service and fast food. Companies like plant-based Impossible Foods continue to experience enormous growth and omnipresence and are met with such crowd-pleasing success that colossal companies like Burger King have expanded their meat-free offerings. 

The nationwide appetite for plant-based burgers is only growing, with the market share expected to reach $14.9 billion by 2027, notes Globe News Wire, and delivery apps like DoorDash and GrubHub reporting orders for veggie burgers increasing by 433% and 362%, respectively (via Impossible Foods).

Beyond delivery and grocery stores, restaurants are rising to the in-demand occasion too, offering unique house-made veggie burgers made with flavorful and unique ingredient alternatives enticing enough to lure the meatiest carnivore. While the demand for beef burgers will never fade, there's room in the market share for much more. By investing considerable energy and creativity into menu items, rather than adding them as an obligatory afterthought, restaurants are beckoning a bold new era for vegan and vegetarian cooking, with burgers front and center. For proof, check out these epic veggie burgers, all scratch-made and wholly distinct, from restaurants across America.

Rich with distinct flavors like sweet potato, lion's mane mushroom, and Korean barbecue, the Lerm Burger at The Plot sets itself apart. The Oceanside restaurant is 100% zero-waste and plant-based, with almost all protein alternatives made in-house, and scrap ingredients used to make things like ketchup with beet skins. That rigorously scratch-made, sustainable ethos is particularly prominent in the Lerm Burger.

Made by executive chef Davin Waite, patties are made with a blend of meaty lion's mane mushrooms, roasted yams for a tinge of sweetness, and three types of beans: pinto, black, and garbanzo. Oats and wild rice are added to lend texture — oats give the patty a crispy exterior when cooked, while the rice traps moisture inside and ensures a toothsome chew. Once off the griddle, burgers are topped with Korean barbecue sauce and a vibrant avocado-cabbage slaw, then served on fluffy oat milk buns locally sourced from Hokkaido Bread Company. Rounding it all out is a side of house-made fries with beet scrap ketchup, for a zero-waste vegan spin on an Americana comfort food feast.

Far beyond fast-casual restaurants and meatless food trucks, veggie burgers have become familiar fodder at upscale chef-driven restaurants as well, especially at the type of restaurant that prioritizes farm-to-table cooking, vegetable-packed patties are an apt way to exhibit true innovation and ingenuity. Case in point: Graze restaurant in Madison, from local star chef Tory Miller.

The beloved restaurant is renowned for its seasonal, locally sourced small plates and intricate entrees, like heirloom tomatoes with sweet corn and rigatoni with eggplant, chèvre, and basil pesto, all made with ingredients sourced from area farms. The same is true of its stunner of a veggie burger, a beet- and a walnut-formed patty that serves as a nutty and earthy base for a heap of crisp cucumbers, red onions, arugula, feta cheese, lemon Greek yogurt, and oregano vinaigrette on a brioche bun. Altogether, it's a veggie burger that sings of bright Mediterranean flavors made with the best Midwest ingredients.

Rooted in rustic, soulful American cuisine, with an emphasis on local sourcing and New England seasonality, Woodford Food & Beverage is an apt place to sink your teeth into one of the most wholesome and satisfying veggie burgers in the nation. Located in Woodfords Corner, this neighborhood charmer is a fan favorite for Maine lobster, smoked trout mousse, roast chicken, and prime Angus steak, but don't overlook the highly intentional veggie burger, layered with flavor and craft.

Patties are made with black-eyed peas and black beans, hearty winter squash, white and brown rice, and cremini mushrooms. Crisped over high heat on the grill, the golden-brown burgers are tucked into a toasted custom brioche bun from Norimoto Bakery, topped with a bright, crunchy cabbage and carrot slaw, and dressed with house-made pickles, vegan mayonnaise, and house-made tamarind barbecue sauce for a condiment that toes the line between sour and smoky. All sandwiched together, you've got a meat-free burger that's at once tangy, spiced, nutty, and rich with umami, served with a pile of spiced fries.

Don't be misled by the name; the only butchering being done at The Butcher's Daughter, a restaurant, cafe, and juice bar with locations in New York City and Los Angeles, is of vegetables. The self-described "vegetable slaughterhouse" takes a butcher-like approach to its entirely plant-based menu, slicing and dicing fresh produce for fresh juices, salads, pizzas, pasta, curries, and more — including a particularly superlative veggie burger.

Each location offers slight variations on its veggie burgers, but the Classic Butcher's Burger at the Venice location in California stands out for its use of unexpected surf and turf. Available on the daytime menu, it features a patty made with beet and ground kelp, which lends a potent salinity and balances beets' innate earthiness with a taste of the sea. The burgers are topped with tomato, arugula, caramelized onions, heady harissa mayo, and gruyere cheese on a Dijon-infused brioche bun for added tang.

Decked out like a hip, modern tavern, in a historic brick-clad building in the Paseo Arts District, Oklahoma City's Red Rooster is the kind of idyllic neighborhood restaurant that becomes a fixture for locals — the type of comforting go-to where diners can mosey up to the bar for clean comfort food made from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and scratch-made snacks, sandwiches, and dishes, including a standout veggie burger that gives its beefy menu cohort a run for its money.

Hearty and hefty, the beet and black bean creation is a thick patty that manages to be meaty without meat. Piled up on a buttery bun dotted with poppy seeds, the burgers are sandwiched with a generous smear of zesty Dijon, avocado wedges, and grilled onions for a dose of caramelized sweetness. Far from an afterthought addition, the pickles are thick house-made slices that lend a pleasant crunch and tang.

In a city known for Sonoran hot dogs, one fast-casual joint in Tucson zigs against the bacon-wrapped zag. And what Beaut Burger lacks in beef (or any other animal protein for that matter) it more than makes up for with inventive, unexpected layers of eclectic vegetarian flavor.

The casual counter-service operation, nestled in a funky shipping container park on the city's west side called the MSA Annex (there's a newer location in Phoenix now as well), is so crafty and inventive with its internationally inspired accouterments that you won't miss the meat at all. Every burger patty is handmade from scratch, using different combinations of vegetables, beans, millet, and spices, and served on your choice of either a split-top potato bun, house-made slow-fermented English muffin, or a gluten-free millet and chia bun. From there, optional burgers run the gamut from the classic (ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onion, and pickle) to the decidedly not classic (peanut butter, tamarind chutney, and romaine). A real winner, though, is the B9, which tops the patty with a thick slab of roasted eggplant, salty pepita pesto, and house-made mozzarella.

A sunny all-day cafe in West Hollywood seems like the perfect breeding ground for vegan eats and killer veggie burgers, and, indeed, Strings of Life does not disappoint. The Australia-inspired cafe is a nod to the founder's hometown of Melbourne, where cafes emphasize wholesome and pure ingredients for produce-driven dishes and exceptional coffees. Served along meatier fare, including a beef burger, that ethos is on full display with its signature veggie burger.

Created by executive chef Jordan Mathurin, the SOL Veggie Burger features a house-made patty formed from chickpeas and cashews, doubling down on the nutty and toothsome texture, while imbuing a tinge of sweet and salty. The complex patties are delicious as is, but Mathurin gilds them with gooey Swiss cheese, fresh avocado, alfalfa sprouts, a tangy-sweet tomato-onion relish, and their signature aïoli-like SOL sauce for a vegetal, better-for-you spin on an Americana mainstay.

Smash burgers are all the rage right now — even if they're made without meat. Such is the case at Hugh Baby's BBQ & Burger Shop, a Nashville restaurant that, at least by name alone, sounds more like a carnivorous paradise than a destination for veggie smash burgers, but this cute and homey counter-service joint is full of flavorful surprises.

The vision of founder Pat Martin, Hugh Baby's veggie burger was the result of considerable research and development to ensure a product that was as tasty and tempting as it was original. With the goal to achieve a texture akin to a beef burger, while avoiding the stereotypically pasty consistency of lackluster veggie burgers of yore, the restaurant incorporates crushed cashews for contrast and crunch, and smoked mushrooms and black beans for some of that savory meatiness you'd get in a beef burger. Opting for a smash burger size and shape, each patty is between ¼-inch to ½-inch thick, cooked to order on a flattop grill over medium heat for a quick couple of minutes. They're then built like the signature beef burger, with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickle, and Comeback Sauce (a creamy Southern-style condiment made from mayo, ketchup, and chili) on a toasted potato bun. The end result? A smash burger that oozes nostalgia and smoky flavor, without any of the meat.