Vegan Thai Veggie Burger Recipe in Lettuce Wraps {Gluten-Free} (2024)

Last Updated on April 12, 2019 By Vicky 14 Comments

Vegan Thai Veggie Burger made with quinoa, lentils, squash and massaman curry paste. Servein lettuce wraps. Soft, spicy and flavorful. Perfect for a weeknight dinner. Gluten Free too.

Sometimes I forget how much I love vegan veggie burgers. I mean they’re kind of the best. And they’re an endless variety of combinations. So many choices of ingredients. I mean you can make veganchipotle black bean burgers, superfood vegan veggie burgers, sweet potato and squash burgers,zucchini chickpea burgers,vegan sweet potato tofu burgers, you get the idea. The list can go on and on.

This time I wanted an Asian flaire to my veggie burgers.

Massaman curry. Why not right? At home my go to brand of Thai curry paste is always always always Maesri. I have tried so many different curry pastes on the market and find this one has the strongest flavor with the freshest spices and ingredients. This one is the closest one to an authentic hand pounded Thai curry paste (and trust me after about a dozen Thai cooking classes all over Thailand, I should know).

Now thebest thing you can do is obviously make your own Thai curry paste, but let’s face it who’s got the time? I have had that on my to-do list for the last 2 years, along with a million other tasks I’ve decided to mentally place on there and conveniently never get to. So for now the pre-bought stuff will have to do.

Since I am currently in Colombia I sadly could not find my go to Maersi pasteand had to go with one of their brands. Tear tear. Nowhere near as good, but I had to make do. The base of these Thai veggie burger is quinoa + red lentils + squash.

I’m find of obsessed with red lentils. They’re just the best, and I don’t know what’s going on in US supermarkets but I could not find them anywhere (thankfully Whole Foods had them). So when I saw them in Colombia I bought the biggest bag there was – 3 pounds. And now I’m brainstorming red lentil recipes until the end of time.

And it turns out a vegan Thai veggie burger is the perfect use for them. I boiled the diced squash and lentils together (adding too much water, as always) and this wouldn’t be as much of a problem if I had a strainer, which the apartment seems to be lacking. In that case resort to the good old balancing act of the lid over the pot, letting a tiny stream of water run out, but making sure not to let those miniature lentils out. It’s a test of patience to say the least.

Then mix the rest of the ingredients together, mashing in the squash as you go. Add in lots of fluffy and crunchy gluten-free panko breadcrumbs (best breadcrumbs ever by the way) and start forming patties. For extra crunch and flavor dip those formed patties in more panko and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Pan fry and serve this Thai Veggie Burger in lettuce wraps (who needs empty bread carbs and calories?) topped with chopped tomatoes, sesame seeds and a vegan aioli.

This Thai veggie burger is kind of my new favorite meatless vegan dinner right here.

As a side note – the Thai veggie burger is on the soft side. They are not super firm which is just how I like them, but for those who want a very firm burger I suggest adding more panko and adding a chia or flax egg.