I do like a good vegan burger with a bit of substance and lots of flavour – something which will hold together in a bun rather than crumbling or squishing out all over the place – and these Beetroot and Millet Burgers do the job very well indeed!
Millet is one of those underrated grains often derided as ‘bird food’ but it is one of the most versatile, nutritious and delicious grains around and, unlike some of its trendy cousins, it is cheap! We’ve been scoffing it throughout human history and cultivating it for about 10 000 years so it’s obviously doing something right! It works really well in burgers and roasts because its natural stickiness holds everything together nicely.

Beetroot and Millet Burgers with Dill Yoghurt
Ingredients
MILLET AND BEETROOT BURGERS
- 75 g millet
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 1/2 small onion , peeled and finely chopped
- l large clove garlic , peeled and crushed
- 75 g spelt flour
- 25 g rye flakes
- 40 g fresh beetroot , peeled and grated
- 40 g carrot , peeled and grated
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/2 tsp tamari
- freshly ground black pepper
DILL YOGHURT
- 4 tbsp dairy free natural yoghurt
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp fresh dill , finely chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the millet, put it into a saucepan with 200ml vegetable stock. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 - 25 minutes until tender and the stock has been absorbed. Transfer to a bowl.
- Preheat your oven to 180C
- Add the remaining ingredients to your millet and mix well.
- Whisk the dijon and dill into the yoghurt.
- Line a baking sheet with non stick baking parchment and spoon the burger mix into 6 equal heaps, flatten with your hand into burger shapes.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, flip them over and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve the burgers hot or cold with the dill yoghurt.
I served this batch up with some delicious new potatoes and the first of the french beans. I used coconut yoghurt because I think it complements these beetroot burgers and their flavours really well but any non dairy yoghurt would also work. They are also great in a burger bun with some vegan mayo and mustard or with sweet chilli sauce and a portobello mushroom….oh the possibilities!
If you can’t get spelt flour use plain and if you can’t get rye flakes use rolled oats. You could substitute carrots for the beetroot and if you’re not a fan of caraway switch it for coriander seeds instead! If your mixture is a bit sticky add some more rye or oats and if it’s too dry sprinkle in a little water until you have a millet burger which holds together nicely when you shape it.
These beetroot and millet burgers freeze really well and it’s worth making a double batch so you can whip them out for a lazy summer weekend supper or just cos you fancy one for lunch just increase the cooking time by 5 – 8 minutes and you’re done!
See how perfectly shaped my vegan burgers are? I’ll let you into a secret, I form them by spooning the mixture into a pastry cutter and then pushing it out carefully onto my baking tray 😉
Why Not Pin These Millet Burgers for Later?
If you like these millet burgers, you might also like my
Green Lentil Burgers with Sweet Pepper Sauce
and my Vegan Picnic Pies
Or you could try
Cathy’s Smoky Mushroom Burgers at Planet Veggie
Jac’s Cajun Spiced Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burger at Tinned Tomatoes
Natalie’s Superfood Butterbean Burgers at The Tofu Diaries
Rebecca’s Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers at Strength and Sunshine
Kate’s Black Bean and Jalapeño Burger at The Veg Space
Mel’s White Bean Artichoke Burgers at A Virtual Vegan
This recipe for millet burgers was created for Superfood Magazine and appeared in the March/April 2017 edition alongside 5 more ancient grains recipes created by me 🙂
I love burgers and it’s good to have healthy ones sometimes! I’m also glad you said how you got your burgers so perfectly round as I was going to ask if you had a fancy gadget or something 🙂
Just a biscuit cutter and my fingers 😉
Those look stunning! And a bonus that they are healthy too. I don’t often use millet but must give these a try. Lovely photos!
I love millet in burgers, sausages and patties because it holds everything together with its natural stickiness but also adds some texture – it’s a win, win!
These look delicious Chris, very inventive and healthy too-)
Thank you Camilla 🙂
We love homemade burgers. Funnily enough fresh dill is one of my favourite herbs for creamy dressings, it’s so tasty. Shared!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 Dill has such a lovely delicate, summery flavour, it’s fab in dressings and sauces!
I’ve been dabbling with vegan and vegetarian burger patties but have not used either beetroot or millet yet. Fab idea!
Thanks Michelle 🙂 Do let me know how you get on if you have a go!