Buffalo Ranch Veggie Burgers

I've made many a veggie burger in my day, and I have loved them all for different reasons.  But these are special.  These are veggie burgers that not only I became obsessed with, but my whole family loved.  My mom, for example, dubbed them my best veggie burgers.  Nick ate one.  Kenzie loved them.  And obviously Mark was a fan.  I found them to be excellent the day I made them, but they reheated well, and I devoured them happily for days.

In fact, I have a vivid memory of the last really warm day this fall.  I made up another one of these burgers for myself and threw some potato chips on the plate.  I took the plate and my book outside, and sat there on my front stoop, with Daisy, basking in the final few warm sun rays, happily enjoying this delicious buffalo ranch veggie burger.  It's such a small moment but I remember it so perfectly because it was just a perfect few minutes there.

Now, let me preface by saying that I hate buffalo sauce.  I actually pinned this burger with Nick in mind because he loves it.  But, I don't think you can really taste it at all.  I added more sauce on top of Nick's burger, and that seemed to do the trick with him.  For me, the biggest "sauce" you can taste was the ranch dressing, which is both in the burgers and used as a topping (along with avocado slices and mixed greens).  If you weren't a fan of ranch, you could skip it on top.  The other flavorings in the burger are Montreal chicken seasoning, red lentils (have you ever cooked with these? Theyr'e awesome; they turn to total mush and add great texture to burgers and soups), peas, and yellow mustard.

Let's talk about another awesome part of this burger: the protein.  Besides the fact that the main ingredient is smashed chickpeas, this recipe is gluten free, and therefore calls for chickpea flour and crushed chickpea chips.  That's a triple chickpea attack, people, and leads to each patty giving you 15 grams of protein (AKA you may never eat again!).  They're extremely filling.  Seeing as we are not gluten-free here, I used regular flour and breadcrumbs, so mine were not as protein-packed, but even so, my mom commented on how filling they were.  All you GF people out there, here's a fabulous burger idea for you.  And all you people who aren't.... here's a fabulous burger idea for you, too.  I will most definitely be making these again.  Thinking of eating that burger on the stoop makes me feel happy and nostalgic.  If I can't bring back warm weather, I will at least bring back buffalo ranch veggie burgers.

Recipe:

buffalo ranch veggie burger
from Nosh and Nourish
serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked red lentils
15 ounces canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup sweet peas (you can substitute sweet kernel corn)
1 egg
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (or all-purpose)
1 cup chickpea chips. crushed (or breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon buffalo sauce
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
2 teaspoons Montreal Chicken Seasoning
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
6 - 8 hamburger buns
3 avocados
2 cups mixed greens

Instructions:

1) Mash chickpeas in a medium mixing bowl with a fork, or use an immersion stick blender (I actually used a pastry blender!)

2) Add in all other burger ingredients (everything except buns, greens, and avocado), stirring thoroughly.

3) Set bowl in fridge for half an hour before baking.

4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Form mixture into 6 - 8 patties and place them in a single layer on a greased cooke sheet.

5) Bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through.

6) Serve with additional ranch, buffalo sauce, greens, and avocado slices.