The $6 Burgers You Should Always Stock in Your Freezer (They Taste Homemade!) (2024)

• Groceries

published about 9 hours ago

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Forget everything you know, or once knew, about veggie burgers. Few grocery categories have seen as much innovation and change in the past few years than the plant-based section. More people are opting in — beyond just vegetarians and vegans — and brands are taking note.

What was once a lackluster aisle (let’s be real, shelf) is now a booming and highly trafficked corner of many grocery stores with new brands and exciting flavors popping almost every month. (Have you tried these Field Roast sausages yet?!) For the first time in a while, veggie burger lovers no longer have to shop the default option because that’s all there is. But which ones are worth adding to your cart? We set out to answer that very crucial question.

The Best Veggie Burgers at a Glance

The world of frozen veggie burgers is large and ever-expanding. From plant-based alternatives that mimic beef burgers to creative spins on a classic vegetable patty, there are a lot of (truly, countless) options out there.

For the purposes of this test, we’re limiting it to just vegetable- and legume-based burger patties available for purchase at grocery stores today. We sourced a variety of name- and store-brand veggie burgers based on popularity, availability, and price. Our editorial team also pitched in to round out the list of 10 contenders. The brands ranged in price from $6 to $8, but all came in packs of four.

After tasting our way through a ton of options, we found two veggie burger champs that we totally loved (and one unexpected superstar brand).

Best Veggie Burger: Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers

Most of our tasters agreed: Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers is the veggie burger MVP! With a light green exterior that turns golden-brown when cooked, they loved the display of vegetables peeking through this burger. “It looks fresh, and green — truly the quintessential veggie burger,” said Cullen, our home associate editor at Apartment Therapy.

But it’s not just looks; this burger has flavor. Brian, our director of people operations, says it’s so good that it “tastes homemade.” What really sets Dr. Praeger’s apart is its balance between freshness and heartiness — a rare feat for a veggie burger. It won’t leave you hungry afterwards, either; it’s thick, savory, and everything you’d want in a vegetable-forward burger.

What’s So Great

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Runner-Up Veggie Burger: Dr. Praeger’s Crunchy Cauliflower Veggie Burgers

The Dr. Praeger’s Crunchy Cauliflower Veggie Burgers surprised us. While many of our tasters loved the crunch, we found its crisp — almost breaded — texture to be more reminiscent of a chicken nugget or cutlet than a veggie patty. This unique quality, while appealing to some, didn’t resonate as much with us compared to the Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers. Cullen actually likened it to “eating a crispy hash brown,” while others found it slightly mushy.

Nikol, our shopping writer, remarked that she especially loved its fried-food quality: “It’s not what I usually go for in a veggie burger, but I would totally buy it.” Despite its unconventional patty, it still has a crisp, flavorful bite that made it a top contender.

What’s So Great

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Honorable Mention Veggie Burger: MorningStar Farms Garden Veggie Burger

Opinions on the MorningStar Farms Garden Veggie Burger were pretty mixed. Alex, our editorial assistant, enjoyed its “Southwest flavor” and appreciated how the “edges get crunchy,” adding a nice texture to each bite. With its mix of carrots, onion, mushrooms, and soy concentrate, this patty held its shape remarkably well, and its heavy dose of garlic powder, soy sauce, and jalapeños, among other spices, came together to make a pretty flavorful veggie burger.

However, not all testers were convinced. Kate, our executive director, felt that the burger “tastes a bit too much like breakfast sausage” to qualify as the top veggie burger option. Ali, our associate groceries editor, agreed, describing its flavor as “breakfast-like” and potentially off-putting to veggie burger purists. We’re not ones to ever diss on creative breakfast ideas, but it’s not exactly what we look for in a great veggie burger.

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Best Bean Burger: MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burgers

The MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burgers dominated our bean burger category, impressing tasters on appearance, taste, and texture. Its thick patty, bursting with “whole beans and corn kernels” caught the eye of Marisa, our director sales research and consumer insights, who also praised its flavorful base, noting that it’s “a touch spicy,” a sentiment that most enjoyed. Mara, our senior groceries editor, echoed the praise, emphasizing the standout “mix of smoky, spicy seasoning” in each and every bite.

To double down on taste — because, let’s be real, flavor is everything — it is abundantly clear that our tasters absolutely loved this burger. Brian even equated it to having a “meat-y flavor,” which is pretty high praise in the veggie burger world! Hearty, thick, and delicious, this is the bean burger that reigned supreme in our tests. But, as a quick heads up for our vegan friends, this burger does contain eggs.

What’s So Great

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Runner-Up Bean Burger: Dr. Praeger’s Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Dr. Praeger’s Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers came in just a few points behind its California Veggie Burger (and our winner) cousin, impressing us with a hearty mix of ingredients. To be more specific, this burger contains beans, quinoa, corn, onions, potatoes, and jalapeños. The vegetable-, grain-, and legume-packed patty gives the burger a more complex, well-rounded flavor. In fact, Marisa especially loved the “earthy quinoa taste to this one.”

These tests always remind us that taste is subjective because while some folks like Alex, our editorial assistant, absolutely “love the flavor” of this burger and found it to be “crispy and slightly spicy,” others noted that it is a “bit bland.” Despite the tough competition in the bean burger category, this burger still earns a solid runner-up spot as a reliable, delicious alternative.

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Honorable Mention Bean Burger: Gardein Chipotle Black Bean Burger

Ali “loves the slight warmth from this one” so much, we knew that it deserved an honorable mention. She even ranked this Gardein Chipotle Black Bean Burger as her top choice and sampled it repeatedly during the taste test. At $8.19, it’s the most expensive pick of the pack, but that didn’t stop her from snagging a pouch on her way home after the test. “I would eat it over and over again,” she says.

Where it slightly missed the mark? Flavor. Tasters were split on this end, with some noting that it was a “bit too salty,” while an unexpected sweetness threw others off. Despite this, it still earned high-enough marks to be included among our winners.

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How We Tested the Veggie Burgers

We recruited a mix of eight vegetarian and meat-eating staff members to randomly taste 10 different veggie burgers found at grocery stores today. Burger patties were cooked on sheet pans in the oven, according to box directions by Maya, our studio assistant. Once the burgers were ready, she cut the patties into bite-size pieces and assigned each one a letter — from A through J — to hide the brands.

Tasters were handed an empty plate and encouraged to sample veggie burgers in random order (to avoid giving any one patty an advantage) before marking down their findings. We also had burger buns and water, as well as ketchup and mustard, on hand for palate cleansing (and enhancing) between and for tastings.

Tasters rated each of the veggie burgers on a scale of one to five (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like; 5 = Yes, Please!) across four criteria — look, smell, texture, and flavor — and included any specific observations, tasting notes, and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you buy this veggie burger?

Why You Should Trust Us

To discover the best veggie burger on the market, we recruited eight volunteer testers (including a mix of vegetarians and vegetable-enthusiasts who work at Apartment Therapy Media, our parent company) to evaluate 10 different veggie burgers based on texture, look, smell, eagerness to repurchase, and, of course, taste.

Testers were unaware of the brands involved and sampled each one randomly. Each taster independently filled out a score sheet, scoring and ranking each burger without larger discussion or influence from the group throughout the entirety of the test. It was only after all evaluations were completed that we tallied the scores to determine the winners.

Did your favorite veggie burger make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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