My ultimate vegan okara burger recipe makes hearty, savoury, beautifully textured patties that hold together perfectly. I recommend serving on a sourdough roll with beetroot, lettuce, sautéed mushrooms and barbecue sauce!
Edit: Thanks to user feedback, I have slightly streamlined the method so that the wet ingredients can all be combined in one step. I love how much you all love this recipe and I read all of your comments, so please keep it coming!
Okara is the protein-rich soy pulp that is a result of the soy milk and tofu making processes. It is mild in flavour and the perfect texture for burgers and falafel. It is currently my favourite way to make a barbecue-worthy burger patty or rissole. I also have an awesome no-chicken okara nugget recipe!
Where can I source okara?
If you make your own soy milk then you will likely have an abundance of Okara that you don’t know what to do with. Well now you know – make burgers or nuggets!
I am currently sourcing Okara from Soy’oy’oy, a brilliant Tofu maker based near Hobart, Tasmania. If you are lucky enough to be in the area, pay them a visit at Farmgate markets in Hobart or visit soyoyoy.com.au. (Also their marinated tofu is the best damn thing on this planet).
It’s also worth asking local soy product producers if they will sell you their Okara, or ask at your local health/vegan food store.
How do I make okara burger patties?
These vegan okara burgers are super easy to make. First mix up a chia seed “egg”, stirring in tomato paste, worcestershire and soy sauce and set aside. Combine flour, arrowroot powder, baking soda, salt, mixed herbs and spices in a large bowl. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry, and fold in the cooked rice, okara, coriander and nutritional yeast. Use wet hands to form 8 burger patties and cook for 5 minutes per side.
Do these burgers keep?
You can refrigerate cooked patties for up to 3 days but for best results I would recommend refrigerating uncooked, and cooking just before eating.
Let me know in the comments below if you made these. I also love to hear your ideas and substitutions. Share your creations on Instagram with #IHTBvegan @ihtbvegan
Okara burger patty - Best vegan burger!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- ¼ C water
- ¾ C plain flour
- ¼ C arrowroot flour - or tapioca (interchangeable)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp mixed dry herbs - or Italian mixed herbs
- 1 tsp ground smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce - check it's vegan - some contain anchovies
- 2 cups steamed okara
- 1 cup cooked brown rice - day old works best, but made fresh will also do
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
- oil for cooking - I find that a combination of olive oil and coconut oil works best
Instructions
- Make a chia egg by combining chia seeds and water in a small bowl. Mix through tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and soy sauce and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine plain flour, arrowroot (tapioca) flour, baking soda, salt, mixed dry herbs, smoked paprika and cumin.
- Make a well in the centre of your flour mixture and pour in the chia egg mixture. Add in the cooked rice, okara, coriander and nutritional yeast. Mix until combined and a dough-like mixture forms. Note: It should be moist but hold together when pressed between your fingers. If it’s too dry, add a tsp of water at a time. If it’s too wet, add one teaspoon of flour at a time.
- Line a large plate or tray with baking paper. With wet hands shape about ⅓ cup size balls into a 1cm-ish thick burger patty. Place onto baking paper and continue with the remaining batter to make approx 8 burgers. Note: I do 2 layers on a plate with a piece of baking paper between.Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (but up to a day if you want to make them in advance).
- When you are ready to cook them, heat a generous dollop of olive on a fry pan or barbecue plate to a medium-high heat. Place the burger on the fry pan/barbecue plate, it should sizzle. Repeat with as many will comfortably fit (I do 4 at a time). Cook for 5 minutes per side. Serve on a sourdough roll with lettuce, sautéed mushrooms, pickled sliced beetroot and barbecue sauce.
How incredible is Okara!? This recipe is such a great way to use okara and so easy. THANKS!
Okara is totally underrated in my opinion! Thanks for your review 🙂
This is delicious with a perfect mix of flavors–so nice to have an okara patty that does not taste like sandpaper. i did not have flour so I subbed in mashed potatoes and it was fine. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Thanks for the review. Great idea to sub in potato!
Your recipe looks amazing! One question… you say to use steamed okara… if I make my soymilk, how do I steam okara? And, can I freeze the patties? If so, is it best before cookinf or after? Thank you so much!
Hi Danielle,
I use steamed Okara as that’s how my supplier provided it, but this recipe will still work with raw Okara (because you are cooking the patties.) Yes you can freeze the individual patties – prior to cooking is best. Let them partially defrost before cooking – and you will need to cook them slower and longer than you would a fresh batch. I’ve only done this once so can’t remember the exact timing, sorry! Hope this is helpful 🙂
Simone
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, my husband loves it too… he is getting more into the plant-based food… because I keep talking about all benefits (for us, the animals and the planet). As I said, I use my own soy milk (so good!) and I found out that people cook the okara in the microwave… its perfect. For the taste and price, you just can’t beat it.
I buy a 50 pounds bag of organic soy beans… and I calculated my cost for making one recipe of soy milk, 2 litres… which makes 1 lb of tofu with this milk recipe.
For me, it cost $0.25 to make 1 lb of tofu… this time I will make a “ground beef like” recipe to make a spaghetti sauce… and I also make your recipe… with the okara leftover from the soy milk recipe.
I estimate that buying the same quantity of lean ground beef would cost about $10… to make the same meat based ground beef and ground beef patties, it would cost about $20… $0.25 with plant based for both… and so much better… and your patties are wonderful. Thank you so much again.
Hi Dani, thanks so much for this wonderful and detailed review. How great is that cost comparison!
Delicious and easy to make. Always have all ingredients in the kitchen. I make my own tofu and usually make a japanese okara burger recipe but wanted to try something different for the okara. Found this recipe awhile back and finally made it for lunch today. My husband and I both loved them on Turkish bread with salad.
I popped my raw okara in the microwave for 3 minutes and the end result was absolutely yum. Best thing I’ve made with okara so far. Thanks a million!
Great way to use some okara. We are making our own tofu so we have lots.
Fantastic recipe, patties turned out just right. Only ingredient we changed was the Chia which we substituted with linseed.
Hi Peter, Thanks for your review, glad you enjoyed it. Good on you for making your own tofu!
Thank you for this recipe!! Over the pandemic, I’ve started making tofu from scratch, and for the past year or so have been searching for the best ways to use okara (also known as biji in Korean, which is the type of food I generally make with my tofu). Honestly the (vegan) recipes I’ve found online are pretty limited, and I’ve had a few fails trying to use it along the way. And then I found this recipe, and it’s been more delicious each time I make it! It’s now a tradition – the day after we run out of homemade tofu, I make these okara patties. They hold together, brown beautifully, and taste fantastic. I use flaxseed meal in place of chia, and cornstarch in lieu of arrowroot (although in this last batch, I had run out, so I used a comparable amount of regular flour and it turned out fine). I also tried replacing a tablespoon of the tomato paste with a tablespoon of gochujang (a Korean red pepper paste) for a little bit more spiciness, and that was great too. I normally make a Carolina-style (mustard and vinegar-based) barbecue sauce to top these with – a lovely combination. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for your detailed comment. There are some great tips and substitutions in here!
I make my own soy milk so am always left with a mountain of okara. I’ve tried so many different recipes with it but this is the only one that doesn’t leave the okara with a grainy, gritty texture. The burgers are fluffy and soft, with a nice crispy outside (I’m going to try adding flour or breadcrumbs to add to the crunch next time) and a great flavour. I’m also going to experiment with adding some more veggies
Thanks so much for your review and have fun experimenting with the recipe 🙂
I purchased okara with my farm box with no idea how to use it. I made these last night and they are the absolute best veggie burgers yet. Thank you for this recipe, it’s fantastic.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for your review 🙂
Is the nutrition information for this available?
No sorry, I haven’t calculated out the nutritional information.
I made tofu for the first time a couple of days ago and have been trying to use up the okara. First I made some brownies that were great. Then I found this recipe. I made them today and my husband’s first remark was, “they don’t fall apart!” I think that’s his benchmark. And they were good, but I think next time I will add a little more oomph to them. Maybe some caramelized onions, balsamic vinegar, pepper, or dijon mustard. Also, I didn’t fry them on the stove but used my toaster oven’s air fryer setting and cooked them on parchment paper for about 14 minutes, turning halfway through. Overall they are a keeper. The recipe is a little labor intensive, so I think I will make it easier the next time by having all the dry ingredients mixed ahead of time, as well as the wet ingredients. Thanks for this recipe.
Some great additions there, yum! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
This looks yummy! Haven’t made yet! Wondering if they can be oven baked as i dont use non stick pans nor oil. Advice?!
Hi there! My apologies as I seemed to have overlooked your comment earlier. I haven’t baked these exact patties, but with similar recipes I would bake them at 200*C for 20 minutes, flipping each patty over at 10 minutes in. If they aren’t crisping up as much as you would like, finish them off under the grill/broiler. Hope this helps!
Can i put it on the oven? Time? Temp?
Hi there, thanks for your comment. I haven’t baked these exact patties, but with similar recipes I would bake them at 200*C for 20 minutes, flipping each patty over at 10 minutes in. If they aren’t crisping up as much as you would like, finish them off under the grill/broiler. Hope this helps!
Thank you for this recipe! I recently started making my own soya milk and had lots of the pulp (which I now know is called okara) left. I’ve been so surprised at how many different ways there are to use it up, but this one is the tastiest and easiest that I’ve tried so far. I’ve had bad luck with veggie burgers not sticking together in the past but no issues here. I can’t tell you how pleased I am
Thank you for your lovely comment! Made my day 🙂