Grilling is all about meat: hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, shrimp if you’re fancy. But there’s always the one vegetarian at the family BBQ who’s left out, forced to eat just the sides or a hastily thrown together grilled cheese. Us meat lovers need to learn that a veggie burger can be just as good as a cow burger. So let’s leave a little room on the grill so we can make the ultimate veggie burger this summer.
- TMRW The Burger
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Food scientists have done incredible things to replicate the taste and texture of a traditional burger. And all of Sporked agrees that TMRW The Burger knocks it out of the park. It’s one of the best veggie burger patties, seasoned with all of the things you would use to make burger patties at home. And the structural integrity of the patty means that it will stand up to any grill.
Credit: Liv Averett / TMRW
- Oroweat Premium Golden Seeded Sliced Buns
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The greatest trick a veggie burger ever pulled was convincing people that it’s actually meat. One of the best ways to pull off this ruse is to surround it with all the classic burger trappings and Sporked’s best seeded burger bun is the way to go. Not only are these the best seeded buns in the game, they will remind the eater of a Big Mac or Burger King’s Impossible Whopper which, if you haven’t had it before, tastes about the same as the regular Whopper. This bun is sure to convert the veggie burger skeptic.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Follow Your Heart Original Vegenaise
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There’s a reason this mayo ranked as the best vegan mayonnaise; Follow Your Heart has perfected the vegan mayo game. Only expert mayo tasters (is that a thing?) could tell the difference between this plant-based mayo and a traditional egg-based mayo. It’s worth getting even if you just run an experiment on your friends to see if they can taste the difference.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Kroger Yellow Mustard
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I have to be honest: I am not a yellow mustard fan. When choosing a mustard, the more seeds in it the better. This kind of attitude sends Sporked’s mustard expert, Jordan Myrick, into a rage and, since I don’t want to incur her wrath, I agreed to try some. And her best of the best yellow mustards, Kroger’s Yellow Mustard, is really quite good. Jordan makes me keep a bottle in my home fridge so that she can have it if she ever comes over for dinner or takeout. True story.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Great Value Tomato Ketchup
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When it comes to ketchup, you can’t beat Heinz—Sporked already named it best of the best ketchup and rightfully so. But here’s the thing: if you are a serious grill master who is grilling multiple times a week, you are going to plow through ketchup like water. That’s going to do a number on your wallet. So, if you are looking for a budget Heinz replacement, get Great Value Tomato Ketchup. For the price, it’s exactly what you need.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Heinz Sweet Pickle Relish
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I feel like relish is a controversial burger topping; families have been destroyed over whether to use sweet or dill relish. For me, it’s sweet on a burger, and again, Heinz is nailing it with the best sweet relish. Not only is the taste on point, but the squeeze bottle is genius, making it perfect for high-volume relish usage. Also, pickles are vegetables, right?!
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Field Roast Chao Slices
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This is the most controversial choice of all. If you look at Sporked’s best vegan cheese list, editor-in-chief Justine Sterling says the best for burgers is Violife Mature Cheddar. Since Justine is my boss, it would be crazy for me to disagree with her, right? But I must stay true to myself. My number one gripe with vegan cheese is that it doesn’t melt; it just gets hot and wet. If you serve that to non-vegans at your BBQ, there will be a riot. That’s why my choice is Field Roast Chao Slices, Sporked’s best vegan cheese for melting. I want the cheese on my burger to be a gooey mess, and this cheese is the closest I’ll get to that. Justine, please don’t fire me.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
The Veggie Burger
The Buns
The Vegan Mayo
The Mustard
The Ketchup
The Relish
The “Cheese”
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!