Ingredients

Scale

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 small white onion
1 cup chopped carrots (baby or regular are both fine)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg (optional)
3 tablespoons blackened seasoning, divided (recipe below)
¼ cup olive or grapeseed oil, divided

Blackened seasoning:

2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ -1 teaspoon cayenne

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Instructions

To make the blackened seasoning, mix all the spices together. This will make more than you need here, but it’s delicious on everything!
Preheat oven to 425.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add half the cauliflower, carrots, onion and chickpeas. Add garlic, drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake for 25 minutes until everything is slightly caramelized. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, put remaining cauliflower, onion, carrots and chickpeas in food processor. Pulse until everything is super tiny and begins to come together.
Add roasted vegetables and rice and continue pulsing until everything is the same size and you can grab a handful and it holds it shape. If your processor is not large enough, you can transfer some of the raw vegetables to a bowl and then add the roasted ones.
Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, cilantro, 1 tablespoon of seasoning plus an additional 1 teaspoon of salt. Add egg if using (beat lightly in a separate bowl before adding!). Stir until everything comes together. The mixture will be a little crumbly, but it should stick when you press it together.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in fridge for at least 30 minutes, and up to overnight.
When ready to make burgers, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan (I’ve used nonstick and cast iron - both worked well) over medium-high heat.
Using a ½ or ¾ measuring cup, scoop out some of the mixture and then use your hands to form it into a patty. I found that keeping these thick helped them stick together, but you can make them whatever size you’d like. Sprinkle the rest of the seasoning over both sides of the burgers.
Gently place 2-4 burgers in your pan (depending on size of your pan, you want these to have some room) and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5-6 minutes per side, until browned on both sides, adding more oil as necessary to keep the pan from getting too dry. Repeat with remaining oil and burgers.
Burgers stay well in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

I’ve found the key to helping these stick together is making sure the roasted vegetables are pulsed enough to just start looking like mush. That helps them mix with the raw vegetables. If your burgers really just won’t stay together, add more flour until it’s workable. Also remember that burgers that fall apart are still delicious.

To make the roasted garlic aioli in food processor: Slice off the top of a bulb of garlic, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt. Wrap in foil and roast along with the vegetables when making your burgers. Let cool completely. Squeeze garlic into food processor, add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons light olive oil. Process until just combined. With the processor on high, slowly (like, really slowly!) drizzle in 1 cup of light olive oil to emulsify. Stir in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. There, you made aioli/mayo! Alternatively, you can just mix together roasted garlic and store-bought mayo - also delicious!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 15 minutes