The weather has been dry for weeks and we have been making the most of cooking outside on the barbecue. One of our favourite things are these easy dairy-free beef burgers made by my husband. The kids love them. With a few ingredients, you can make these delicious-tasting beef burgers quite cheaply. They taste great and can be enjoyed by everyone. Load them with your favourite dairy-free sauces and toppings to build your own burger.
- cheap and easy to make
- taste great
- can be made ahead and frozen (if using fresh mince beef)
- can be made to the size you choose
- cook on the barbecue, on a hob or in the oven
- can be loaded with pickles, sauces and onions to build your own dairy-free beef burger
- served it up on a dairy-free bun of choice – we used vegan brioche rolls buns from Aldi
- only four ingredients required
- easy dairy-free meal
Equipment required
Sharp knife.
Chopping board.
Measuring spoons (teaspoon and tablespoon).
Large mixing bowl that you can get your hands in.
Baking tray covered with greaseproof paper.
Choosing your meat for best results
Burgers need some fat content for the best results, otherwise they can dry out during cooking. Ordinarily I opt for 5% steak mince when I am cooking but for this recipe 20% or 12% fat content works better. I used Asda’s Reduced Fat 12% beef steak mince which cost me £4.25 for 650g and was sufficient to make five reasonable sized burgers that were quite thick and moist. The beauty of homemade beef burgers is that you can control how big you want to make them.
Easy Dairy-Free Beef Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
- 650g steak mince (20% or 12% fat content)
- 2 heaped teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning (or other similar meat seasoning)
- 2 level teaspoons onion granules
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- Burger buns of choice to serve
- SERVES 4-5 depending on size
- COOKING TIME Approx 10 minutes
Method
Before you start mixing the ingredients, it’s a good idea to take a minute to cut your mince beef up across the length to make it more like ground beef that you would see in America. This only takes a minute but makes it easier to mix and makes for a more tender beef burger. You should always keep your meat as cold, so leave it in the refrigerator as long as possible. Also make sure your hands are nice and cold too.
Place the “chopped” mince beef in a mixing bowl large enough to get your hands in. Add the dry ingredients and give it a quick mix with your hands before adding the Worcestershire Sauce. Give it another mix with your hands ensuring the ingredients are well distributed within the mix.
Turn the mixture out onto a chopping board and divide into four to five portions depending on how big you want them. The size of the beef burger can vary depending on who they intended for. Young children may not want or need as much as an adult so you can size them as you wish. Gently roll the mixture into a ball and then place on the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and gently press out into a burger shape between 1- 2cm thick. Once you have pressed out all of your burgers place the tray in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. We tend to prepare these in the morning and leave them in the refrigerator until required for lunch or dinner.
Cooking
To cook your dairy-free beef burgers, pre-heat the barbecue for best results. Remove the burgers from the greaseproof paper and place on the barbecue, using the gridle plate if you have one. Make sure they are placed firmly on the gridle plate or grill but don’t be tempted to keep pressing them down. Pressing them down will squeeze the juices and flavour out of the burger. Turn the burgers after about 5 minutes and cook the other side. Cooking your burger for 8-10 minutes in total should give you a medium to well done burger but cooking times will vary according to the temperature of your barbecue and how thick the burgers were before cooking. Check they are cooked through before serving. Return to the barbecue for a few more minutes if not sufficiently cooked.
Alternative cooking methods
If you don’t have outdoor space or a barbecue you can still enjoy these delicious non-dairy burgers.
Oven Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 180Fan / Gas 6. Remove the burgers from the greaseproof paper and place on a baking tray in the middle of the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, turning once. Check they are cooked through before serving.
Grill
Cook from chilled under a preheated grill for approximately 15 mins. Turn once or twice during cooking. Check they are cooked through before serving.
Serving suggestions
There is an endless choice of what to serve with your dairy-free beef burgers. We serve in vegan brioche buns* or vegan ciabatta rolls which we buy from our local Adli. We build our own burgers with lettuce, tomato, fried onions and sauces as we each want with a piece of corn on the cob cooked in foil on the barbecue. Corn is quick and simple to cook. We cut two pieces of corn in half (or buy them pre-cut) and wrap them in foil which has been lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Wrap them up and pop them on the barbecue while your burgers are cooking. If you don’t have a barbecue you can cook them in the same way in a conventional oven.
*As I write this the labelling states it is may contain for dairy, but we are ok with that. As always, it is essential you check the labels of all food, every time as manufacturing processes can change at any time.
Are you stuck for dairy-free meal ideas? Then how about giving these delicious dairy-free burgers a try? Quick, easy and totally delicious. Or how about dairy-free pulled pork? Great for cheaper cuts of pork and cooked in the slow cooker.
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