I think I’ve made this claim before but if there’s one meat that I miss being vegetarian, it’s lamb. My mom is an expert at cooking lamb, it’s kind of a staple at the holiday’s in our house and was one of my favorite foods growing up. Now, as a vegetarian, I can’t recreate a whole leg of lamb, or chops necessarily, but with the help of protein packed tempeh and a TON of spices, I was able to come very close with these Burgers.
I attempted to make a “lamb” spiced tempeh before for pita bread pizzas and it came out so good that I took the flavor profile from that dish, turned it into a burger and it was a smashing success!
Tempeh is truly the best substitute for dishes like this one where I needed it to still have that meaty texture. It is especially good as a substitute for any sort of ground meat. It has a natural nutty flavor but also blends incredibly well with other herbs and spices.
For this dish, I loaded it with all the spices you would find in Gyro meat so bright fresh parsley and mint, combined with deep and rich flavors like coriander, cumin and cinnamon. The soy sauce adds a saltiness but also gives it the proper coloring you need.
Finally, this cucumber ranch sauce is perfect here! It’s basically tzadziki but I made it with vegan mayo instead to give it more of that ranch vibe. If you’d like, just substitute yogurt for the mayo and boom, you’ll have tzadziki.
This dish is a great weeknight dinner! They pull together very easily and quickly and are so fully of flavor it’s honestly hard to believe it’s not meat. The toppings I used on mine were cucumbers and tomatoes but you can customize them to your liking. Get cooking friends!
Lots of Love,
Jackie
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Spiced Tempeh “Lamb” Burgers
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 8 burgers 1x
- Category: Burgers, Dinner, Sandwiches
- Cuisine: Mediterranean, Grilling
Description
Meatless lamb spiced burgers made with meaty, protein packed tempeh, cooked with the warm, full flavored mediterranean spices, fresh mint and parsley and topped with a creamy cucumber ranch.
Ingredients
- Burgers
- 2 cups tempeh, crumbled
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 of a large white onion, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs (see notes)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Cucumber Ranch
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup cucumber, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- Toppings (optional)
- Sliced Tomatoes
- Arugula
- Feta cheese
- Sliced Cucumber
- Sliced Red Onion
Instructions
- Put the tempeh into a food processor and pulse about 5 times until fully broken up. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the olive oil and stir until fully combined. If the mixture is too dry, add another egg, if it’s too wet to mold into burgers, add more breadcrumbs about a quarter cup a time. It should be moldable like a dough.
- Heat the olive in a skillet and use some to grease your hands. Remove about 1/2 cup of the burger mix at a time and mold it into a burger shape with your hands.
- Drop into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until the sides are browned and crispy.
- To make the cucumber ranch mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Assemble the burgers by toasting the buns, smearing the cucumber ranch on both sides and adding any toppings you want.
Notes
Vegan- to make this fully vegan, substitute the eggs for a flax egg. You might end up needing some more bread crumbs as well just to make sure these stay together.
Gluten Free – use gluten free breadcrumbs. You can use a gluten free flour here instead as well but you’d need more of it than you do the breadcrumbs.
