"veggie burgers" news and stories

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Meatless Fridays? No problem! Kitchen Daily expert Lauren Braun Costello has a winning recipe for a vegetarian dish your family will love -- savory Mexican veggie burgers. The beans get flavor from a variety of vegetables, and are topped with exciting garnishes like grilled pineapple, sliced avocado and her quick jalapeño ketchup.

Get Lauren's recipe for Mexican Veggie Burgers with Grilled Pineapple, Avocado and Jalapeno Ketchup.

Summer means grilling season -- burgers, steaks, hot dogs, and chicken are the usual suspects. So what's a vegetarian to do? The good news is that there are lots of meat-free products on the market -- from "hot dogs" to garden burgers, even faux chicken patties. Problem is, they can vary wildly in how good they are.

We invited a few friends over, fired up the grill and taste-tested meat-free burgers and dogs. We opened up 16 products: a mix of varieties and brands.

Our top nine picks are below (including our favorite), taking into consideration the texture, flavors, seasonings and overall taste in each.

Keep reading for the seven products that did not pass our taste test -- and why.

So it turns out that skipping the all-beef patty in favor of a veggie burger might not be as healthy as it seems. Yes, you're avoiding saturated fat and quite a few calories, but you may be ingesting something more disturbing: hexane.

What is hexane? It's not something you want to be eating, that's for certain. An EAP-labeled air pollutant and neurotoxin, it's used to help separate oil from protein in veggie patties. And, as Mother Jones first reported, it sticks around in your burger like an unwanted (and toxic) condiment.

This isn't an isolated batch or limited to one manufacturer -- many brands of soy-based burgers, including Boca Burger, Morningstar Farms, Trader Joes and Amy's Kitchen, contain the stuff.

There are some vegetarians out there who swear up and down that a veggie burger tastes just like the real, meaty original. Well, we disagree, but that also doesn't mean that veggie burgers are bad. In fact, vegetable patties can offer a whole other realm of flavor -- especially when they're made from freshly sautéed mushrooms.

Next time you have a hankering for meat-free burgers, don't pick them up at the store. Instead, whip up the veggie burgers above, courtesy of Chef John's Food Wishes. A simple mix of sauteed 'shrooms and onions bound together with oatmeal and breadcrumbs, they look pretty delish. The recipe can be found right here, and while you're at it, skim the rest of the site as well. We're betting you'll find some tasty grub videos you can't resist.

Any vegetarians out there? Got a secret veggie burger recipe or fave storebought brand?