My secret to binding burgers with no egg and no breadcrumbs is chia seeds.
The chia seeds do not add crunch to the burger so do not panic. You can't tell they are there at all. Even my burger-loving burger aficionado husband has given this recipe his seal of approval!
Why This Recipe Works
- Delicious allergy-friendly hamburger patties
- A simple homemade burger
- Egg-free, gluten-free and easy to make dairy free.
Ingredients you will need
To make these homemade burgers you will need ground beef, tomato purée, chia seeds, and your preferred herbs and spices.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Minced beef: Ground beef can be subsitutued for lamb mince or chicken mince. If using chicken mince add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the mix to keep the patties moist.
- Chia seeds: Black or white chia seeds both work in this recipe.
- Tomato purée: Passata, tomato sauce, kethcup or a pasta sauce can all be used as an alternative.
- Herbs and Spices: Use your favourites. I like: Paprika, Oregano, Garlic Powder and Onion Flakes.
I am an ambassador for Countdown supermarket, they support my blog by providing ingredients for recipe creation and testing. I used premium beef mince, herbs and spices from their range in this recipe.
How to Make Burgers without Egg or Breadcrumbs
Below are illustrated step-by-step instructions to make my homemade burger patties, if you prefer just the written instructions then head straight to the printable recipe card below.
Step one:
Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly with your hands preferably.
Step two:
Divide the meat, roll into balls, portioning based on the size of the final patty or meatball you want. Place the balls on a plate and refrigerate for 20-30 mins
Step three: Heat a frying pan or bbq to a medium heat.
Press the refrigerated balls flat into patty shapes and cook over a medium heat, until browned and cooked through, for small patties like pictured this was around 3 minutes each side. Larger patties will be 4-5 minutes each side.
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
No matter what you call them, burgers, Rissoles of Meatballs, the texture of this recipe is perfect for little hands making them brilliant mini burgers for baby-led weaning. They hold their shape, don't crumble but are soft and juicy.
The recipe works fine as either mini burger patties or rissoles as we would call them in New Zealand. Or as meatballs for any dish you need meatballs, or as a large style burger patty for a full-on adult burger
Another wee hack of mine to make burgers for little hands, is to use toast rounds to make the buns, it makes everything easier to hold for little ones. I explain how to do it mini toast burgers for toddlers.
Top Tips
- No matter what you call them, burgers, Rissoles of Meatballs, the texture of this recipe is perfect for little hands making them brilliant mini burgers for baby-led weaning. They hold their shape, don't crumble but are soft and juicy.
- The recipe works fine as either mini burger patties or rissoles as we would call them in New Zealand. Or as meatballs for any dish you need meatballs, or as a large style burger patty for a full-on adult burger
- Another wee hack of mine to make burgers for little hands, is to use toast rounds to make the buns, it makes everything easier to hold for little ones. I explain how to do it mini toast burgers for toddlers.
- Chia seeds work as a great egg replacer. 2 tablespoon of Chia Seeds soaked in 3 tablespoon of water is the equivalent of one egg. I use this as an egg replacer in my ultimate allergy-friendly cookie recipe and it is such a winner.
- In this recipe you do not need to add additional water to make the chia egg, the moisture from the minced beef and tomato purée is sufficient.
Other recipes you might like
Homemade Burgers (No Egg and No Breadcrumbs)
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef
- ¾ cup tomato purée
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- Spices I like 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon onion flakes, ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly with your hands preferably
- Roll into balls, portioning based on the size of the final patty or meatball you want
- Place the balls on a plate and refrigerate for 20-30 mins
- Heat a frying pan or bbq to a medium heat
- Press the refrigerated balls flat into patty shapes and cook over a medium heat, until browned and cooked through, for small patties like pictured this was around 5 minutes each side.
- Serve
CR says
How do I make it for vegetarian kids?substitution of beef??
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Hi sorry I have not tested this recipe with vegetarian alternatives. There are some vegetarian burger options in this post though https://mykidslickthebowl.com/mini-toast-burgers-toddlers/