French Onion Veggie Burger

This French Onion Veggie Burger is a veggie version of the delicious Avalon Burger from Ted's Montana Grill. It's all about the condiments!

Our challenge this month for Progressive Eats is to make a 'copycat' version of a restaurant dish. I followed that guideline but went a step further and took the delicious Avalon Burger I had enjoyed at Ted's Montana Grill and turned it into something lighter and leaner, this French Onion Veggie Burger.

To be clear I am calling this a Veggie burger but it's not strictly vegetarian, although that would be easy enough to achieve. I added some bacon to the Caramelized Onions; you can skip those if you want to eliminate all meat and use a vegetarian cheese to replace the Gruyere if strict enough to avoid rennet.

I only recently made my first veggie burger, this Greek Veggie Burger; it was so good that I'm now determined to craft a couple of delicious versions to keep stocked in my freezer and share with friends.

I'm not turning to a vegetarian diet, but I am limiting most red meat and pork from my diet but I'm not steadfast either. If the spirit moves me, and a burger at Ted's might do it, I'll have a burger or my favorite Ribeye Steak. I'm reminded of my friend Susan, The Wimpy Vegetarian. She is not so strict that she won't veer; yeah, that's my goal too.

The only real change is that I eliminated some of the spices and sun-dried tomatoes from that version and added caramelized onions instead. It was enough to give it a different flavor profile and then the good stuff came on top.

Because the Greek burger turned out so nicely, I stuck to pretty much the same base for this one, only changing up some seasoning. The ingredients include the following; a somewhat long list but also pretty much pantry staples...except maybe my favorite Tri-Color Beans. Seriously get them (but if not, use what you have!).

What you'll need:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup white wine
2 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup tri color beans
1 & 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 large egg, whisked
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

I melted Gruyere cheese on top and smeared it with my homemade Roasted Garlic Aioli before topping it with my Caramelized Onions in the Instant Pot. If you don't have an instant pot, no worries, but you will need additional time to get the onions caramelized in a pot on the stove-top so plan ahead for that.

Altogether it is such a great burger you might forget it's veggie too or even enjoy it more simply because it is!

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is Copycat Recipes, and our host is Karen who blogs at Karen's Kitchen Stories

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it's a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious copycat inspired dishes!