Vegan Smash Burgers with Special Sauce
Crisp-edged, juicy plant-based smash burgers cooked on a very hot griddle, topped with melty vegan cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce and a tangy vegan special sauce on toasted buns.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Wait
- 10 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Makes
- 4 double-patty burgers (8 patties total)
Steps
Before you start
- Keep the plant-based ground in the fridge until you form the balls. Warm plant-based meat gets sticky and smears on the spatula.
- Make the special sauce first and chill it at least 10 minutes so the flavors blend.
- Set out the buns, toppings, sauce, cheese and spatula before you turn on the heat. Each batch cooks in about 4 minutes.
- Turn on the kitchen fan or open a window. A very hot pan makes some smoke.
Mix special sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the vegan mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickle brine, smoked paprika and garlic powder until smooth and evenly pink-orange.
- Cover and refrigerate while you prep everything else.
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Ready when: Sauce is uniform in color with no streaks of mustard or ketchup
Tip: Taste it. Add a few more drops of pickle brine if you want it tangier.
Prep the toppings
- Shred the lettuce, pat the pickle chips dry with a paper towel, and slice the onion paper-thin if using.
- Set them in separate piles near the stove.
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Ready when: Lettuce is in fine shreds and the pickles are dry to the touch
Tip: Wet pickles steam the burger and make the bun soggy, so dry them well.
Form the balls
- Divide the cold plant-based ground into 8 portions of about 70 g (2½ oz) each.
- Gently roll each into a loose ball without compacting it, because tightly packed balls give dense burgers.
- Set each ball on a parchment square on a plate and refrigerate until the griddle is ready.
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Ready when: Eight even, loose balls that hold together but aren't packed hard
Tip: Wet your hands lightly with cold water if the mixture sticks to them.
Toast the buns
- Heat the skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Spread the vegan butter on the cut sides of the buns.
- Toast them cut-side down for 1 to 2 minutes, working in batches if needed.
- Move them to a plate, then wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
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Ready when: Cut sides are golden brown and crisp
Tip: Don't walk away. Buttered buns go from golden to burnt in seconds.
Heat the pan
- Set the skillet over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Brush or wipe it with about half the oil using a folded paper towel held in tongs.
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Ready when: The oil shimmers and a flick of water sizzles and vanishes at once
Tip: A cast-iron pan holds heat best. A thin nonstick pan won't brown the patties well.
Smash first batch
- Place 4 balls in the pan, spaced at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
- Cover each with a parchment square and press down hard with the burger press or spatula for about 10 seconds until the patty is about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and 4 inches (10 cm) wide.
- Remove the parchment, then season each patty with a pinch of the salt and pepper, using about half in total.
- Cook, without moving them, for 2 minutes.
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Ready when: Edges are dark brown and lacy, and the top surface looks moist with beads of juice
Tip: Smash only once, right at the start. Pressing again squeezes out the moisture.
Flip and melt cheese
- Slide the spatula or bench scraper under each patty, scraping hard so the browned crust stays attached, and flip.
- Immediately lay a slice of vegan cheese on each patty.
- Cook 30 to 45 seconds, covering with a lid or metal bowl for the last 20 seconds if the cheese is slow to melt.
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Ready when: Cheese is soft, shiny and slumping over the edges and the underside is deep brown
Tip: Vegan cheese melts slower than dairy, so trapping steam under a lid helps.
Stack and repeat
- Stack each cheesed patty onto another to make double stacks, and rest them on a plate.
- Wipe the pan, add the remaining oil, and let it reheat for 1 minute.
- Repeat the smashing, seasoning, flipping and cheese steps with the remaining 4 balls.
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Ready when: Second batch has the same dark, lacy edges and melted cheese
Tip: Keep the first batch loosely covered with foil so it stays warm.
Assemble and serve
- Spread a generous spoonful of special sauce on both cut sides of each bun.
- Layer lettuce and onion on the bottom bun, then add the double patty stack, 6 pickle chips and a little more sauce.
- Set the top bun on and serve right away.
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Ready when: Cheese is still melty and the patties are hot when the burger is assembled
Tip: Build the burgers right before eating. The crisp edges soften within about 10 minutes.
Good to know
Tips
- Roll the balls loosely. Overworked or packed plant-based ground makes dense burgers.
- Smash within the first 10 seconds in the pan. After that the crust sets and the patty will stick or tear.
- Don't crowd the pan. Crowding drops the temperature and the patties steam instead of forming a crust.
- Use a stiff metal spatula and scrape at a low angle so the crispy brown crust lifts off with the patty.
Make ahead
The special sauce keeps up to 5 days in the fridge. The patty balls can be formed up to 4 hours ahead, covered, and kept refrigerated. Shred the lettuce and slice the pickles and onion a day ahead.
Storage & reheating
Best eaten immediately. Store cooked patties (without buns or toppings) in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months. Reheat patties in a hot skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Leftover sauce keeps in the fridge up to 5 days.
Substitutions
- plant-based ground meat (raw, beef-style) → Any raw, beef-style plant-based ground (such as Impossible or Beyond) at the same weight. Brands with more fat form crispier edges; very lean ones can taste drier.
- vegan American-style cheese slices → Shredded vegan cheddar, about 2 tablespoons per patty. Sprinkle on right after flipping and cover to melt.
- vegan mayonnaise → Unsweetened plain vegan yogurt mixed with 1 teaspoon olive oil. The sauce will be tangier and slightly thinner.
- vegan burger buns → Gluten-free burger buns. Toast them a little longer, as they brown more slowly.