Making oat milk at home has become a routine bringing undeniable benefits! I’ve talked a lot about how this choice can impact our body health and household economy, but there’s more! An additional convenience comes from utilizing the “waste,” known as okara, resulting from the homemade plant-based milk production, creating genuine, healthy, and delicious dishes! Here is another vegetarian recipe, which, depending on your needs, can easily become vegan and lactose-free! These mini burgers are based on oat okara, used as an egg substitute. An incredible resource for those who need to reduce their consumption or follow a specific diet requiring its total absence! Okara is also rich in nutrients, so, on its own, it already provides an excellent nutritional base. To this ingredient, I added potatoes, carrots, zucchinis, red Tropea onion, fresh green onion, and peas. A full load of vitamins and minerals with the lightness of oven cooking, but if you wish, you can also fry them or cook them in an air fryer! They will still be crispy on the outside and soft and tasty inside! You can serve them both as a delicious appetizer to accompany an aperitif and enjoy with friends, or as a vegetarian main dish to offer your kids, considering how hard it is to get them to eat vegetables! This way, they will not only enjoy them immensely but even ask for seconds.
If you are interested in other recipes, both sweet and savory, using oat okara or any other type of plant-based milk, here are some ideas you can draw inspiration from below:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: approx. 20 mini burgers
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, and it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 7 oz oat okara (or okara from other plant-based milk)
- 2 potatoes (medium)
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup zucchinis
- 2 carrots (small)
- 1 fresh green onion
- 1 red Tropea onion
- 3 tbsps breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsps pecorino cheese (grated)
- to taste sweet paprika
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 lemon zest (unwaxed)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Pan
- 1 Vegetable peeler
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Baking mat
Steps
Start by washing and cleaning all the vegetables, namely carrots, potatoes, red onion, fresh green onion, and zucchinis, then make, with the help of a knife, a brunoise of each vegetable, meaning cubes of approx. 1/8 inch (fig. 1).
In a wok or wide non-stick pan, brown the garlic for 2′ with two tablespoons of oil and two tablespoons of water (fig. 2). Add the vegetable brunoise and let it sauté for a few more minutes (fig. 3).
Pour in a little hot water, cover with a lid, and cook for 15′ on low heat. After this time, add the peas, adding hot water only as needed, and continue cooking for another 5′-8′. The vegetables should be soft (fig. 4). Adjust with salt and pepper, then turn off and season with parsley to taste (fig. 5).
Once the vegetables have cooled, mix them with the oat okara in a large mixing bowl (fig. 6). Add the paprika and breadcrumbs and mix. If the mixture is still too soft, you can add another tablespoon of breadcrumbs at a time but don’t overdo it* (fig. 7).
Add the grated pecorino and mix again with a spatula until you obtain a compact mixture (fig. 8 and 9).
Finally, season with the zest of an unwaxed lemon using a citrus zester or a long-blade grater, mix again, and cover with food wrap. Let the mixture set for 30′ in the fridge (fig. 10). After the resting time, with always well-dampened hands, form your mini burgers weighing 1.5-1.7 ounces each, flattening them with your hands (fig. 11).
Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and drizzle them with a splash of oil (fig. 12).
Put in a preheated oven at 375°F for 25′, then turn them very gently and lower the oven temperature to 350°F for another 8′-10′ or until fully golden. Turn off and take out.
Serve slightly warm or cold at room temperature accompanied by a fresh seasonal salad, they will be a hit!
And voilà…your vegetarian mini burgers with oat okara are ready to be enjoyed!
Enjoy from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can store the vegetarian mini burgers with oat okara in the fridge in suitable containers with airtight lids for up to 3-4 days. Freezing is not recommended.
Tips and Suggestions
🟣* If the mixture is too soft, add a little breadcrumbs at a time. I always recommend not to overdo it, as the rest in the fridge will help firm it up, but if you add more breadcrumbs than the recipe states, do not forget to adjust with a little salt. Alternatively, you can add 1 tablespoon of chickpea or lentil flour, which will give more flavor compared to breadcrumbs.
🟣 For a vegan and lactose-free version of the mini burgers with oat okara, simply replace the pecorino with nutritional yeast, also known as nutritional yeast, or in flakes or granules. It is a “deactivated” yeast resulting from the processing of brewer’s yeast, subjected to an instant drying process at low temperatures, or freeze-dried, to preserve its nutritional properties. Nutritional yeast is not usable for baking, nor for preparing sweets but used as a flavor enhancer, generally in place of grated cheese in vegan diets and for those intolerant to dairy products.
