This grilled Vegan Hawaiian Burger is excellent for outdoor summer BBQs. Use the included easy chickpea patty recipe or your favorite meatless burger patty. Top this island-inspired burger with grilled pineapple rings and a sweet Huli-Huli sauce for a delicious summer dinner.
What does Huli mean?
The word Huli means ‘to turn’ in Hawaiian. The word's origin comes from cooking chicken on a grill using a homemade spit. Each time the spit was turned to baste the other side people would shout “HULI”.
Well, we aren’t going to be grilling and basting any chickens. Instead, we will "baste and grill" our vegan Hawaiian burgers.
How to Make Vegan Hawaiian Burgers
Start by cooking the burger patties on the grill. You can use my homemade black bean patties, chickpea patties, or your favorite vegan burger patty.
Once the patties are fully cooked, add the sauce to one side then 'Huli' (turn) it to coat the other side.
For an extra Hawaiian taste, top your vegan burgers with grilled pineapple. I usually use canned pineapple rings. They're convenient, easy, and yield enough juice for the sauce!
What is Huli-Huli sauce?
Huli-Huli sauce is a sweet Hawaiian-style sauce made with simple ingredients such as pineapple juice, ketchup, tamari, and coconut sugar.
It has a sweet, savory, and salty taste similar to teriyaki sauce.
This sauce will take any vegan burger to the next level.
To Serve
Enjoy a grilled Huli-Huli vegan burger at your next…
- summer BBQ
- luau
- family gathering
- pool party
- beach party
Or just make them because they are delicious!
We'd love to hear from you!
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Recipe
Grilled Vegan Hawaiian Burger
Ingredients
Burgers
- 8 chickpea patties, or vegan burger patty of choice (see notes)
- 1 can of pineapple rings
Huli-Huli sauce
- ¾ cup pineapple juice from the can of rings
- ⅓ cup organic tamari
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar*
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup*
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Chickpea Burger Patties
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas, or 2 (15oz) cans
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup corn, rounded
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup onion, diced (Tip: use a ring or 2 from the "topping" onion)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, or to taste*
for serving
- 8 burger buns
- Lettuce
- Red onion
- Grilled pineapple rings
Instructions
Huli-Huli sauce
- In a saucepan, whisk the ingredients together until the cornstarch is fully mixed in.
- Now, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Adjust the heat to keep the sauce at a simmer.
- Whisk the sauce until it thickens to a glaze consistency. (If it becomes too thick whisk in a bit more pineapple juice.)
- Taste and adjust flavors. If your pineapple is on the sour side you may need to add more sweetener. You can go with more coconut sugar or switch it up and use maple syrup.
Chickpea Patties
- Pulse walnuts, corn, and oats in a food processor until roughly chopped.
- Add the remaining ingredients and pulse again until everything is combined. (Don’t over-blend. We don’t want to make patty paste.)
- Divide the mix into 8 balls. Flatten and shape each patty to the size and thickness of your buns.
- In a large non-stick skillet, cook the patties over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes per side. (add oil to your pan if you’re not using a non-stick)
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To freeze, place parchment paper between the patties. Store in an air-tight container or bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Grilling & Glazing The Patties
- Heat the grill. When hot, spray with oil.
- Baste one side of the precooked patties. Place them on the grill with the un-basted side down. Grill for about 1-2 minutes, then flip and baste the top.
- Grill for another 1-2 minutes or to your liking.
- While the patties cook, grill the pineapple for about 3 minutes per side.
To Serve
- Place the lettuce on the bottom bun. Top with the grilled burger patty, more sauce if desired, red onion slices and grilled pineapple rings.
Notes
Nutrition
**Nutritional info is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients I used and for convenience and as a courtesy only.**
Vegan Summer Favorites
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Donald Poe
These recipes look great. Although,the vegan diet that I'm trying to follow includes no grains,except buckwheat,I think.
But thanks for sharing. I have a medically incurable blood disorder called polycythemia vera. The man who recommends this diet says I can be cured naturally by eating the vegan,grain,sugar and alcohol free menu. I hope it works. The alternative that M.D. Anderson is giving is taking a chemo pill the rest of my life to suppress my bone marrow from overproducing. Not what I want.
Thanks,
Where you get your protein!
I'm sorry to hear about your condition Donald. I hope you can find some recipes that work for you!