What you need:

Burger buns – I get these in Lidl or Aldi, their brioche buns are about 150kcal each and are super soft an tasty. All supermarkets will have them in one form or another though, just keep an eye out for the ones under 200kcal because honestly, they don’t taste any different to the denser ones.

Cheese slices – Dairylea are my go to but there isn’t much of a difference there so just whatever you prefer or is cheapest.

Sauce – you will want 1-2TBSP to spread over the buns – I love mine with BBQ sauce but there is a variety of directions you can go with flavour here. Most of them will be up to 30kcal per TBSP

Meat – Now there are a few options here. You can buy lean patties at your supermarket which will make up for about 150kcal. Alternatively (and this is my preferred option), you can make your own patties, pulled pork or shredded chicken – See recipes below.

1. Fry, bake or reheat your choice of meat (See recipes below or follow cooking instructions for store-bought patties)
2. Place the buns, flat side up, under the grill for 2 minutes until they start to crisp up
3. Spread BBQ sauce over both buns then add the meat, topped with a cheese slice and any extras.
4. Enjoy?

Optional extras – Fried onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes etc… Keep in mind that if you are frying onions, try to minimise the amount of oil used. I find that using spray oil and adding a splash of water every time they start to stick works very well.

Calories (Excluding extras that are not veg) / burger *(Varying depending on the choice of patty and extras. Assuming about 100g of meat per burger)

• 350kcal – 450kcal*
• Carbs: 38g
• Protein: 33g
• Fat: 13g
  
  Cost: £1.50 / burger
  Hands on time: 10-20min

Beef patties

You will need lean beef mince (5% or less). You could try this with turkey or pork mince also although I haven’t tried it myself (yet!). Lean meats however have a tendency to fall apart easier. What I have recently discovered is that chickpeas help bind them together very well which means you don’t need to add any breadcrumbs, fat or flour plus you get the added fibre and protein from the chickpeas.

3-4 patties depending on the size:

• 250g mince
• 1 small can of chickpeas (200g)
• 1 small egg
• Choice of seasonings: Smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and anything else you might fancy.

• 

Process the chickpeas briefly, then add them to the mince, mix together and gradually add the egg (You may only need half). Season with your chosen flavours and shape into patties (These also make amazing meatballs, by the way!).

Pan fry for 7 minutes on each side or oven bake at 180C for 20 minutes. These can easily be made in advice and just reheated on the pan prior to assembling the burger.

Pulled pork

Pulled pork is another one of those super indulgent looking treats that I just can’t get enough of. The downside is that it takes about 4 hours to make (with very little hands on time mind). But that’s about the only downside there is. The secret to making this lean is using a lean cut of pork and roasting it with some liquid to keep it moist.

4 burgers’ worth of pulled pork (Though I would highly recommend making more because you WILL find a way to eat it!):

• 300g pork tenderloin
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• Spice rub of choice: Can go Asian with 5 spice and hoisin or BBQ with cajun seasonings..

Preheat your oven to 150C. In the meantime, rub the pork with the spice rub and pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side – I suggest you do this in an oven safe dish to save on washing up. Add tinned tomatoes and half a tin of water (This will probably only cover the bottom of the pan), cover the pan with a lid or tinfoil and let it sit in the oven for 3-4 hours. Check every hour or so – if the liquid is getting a bit dry, add half a cup of water. After about 3 hours it should start pulling apart when poked with a fork but it may take slightly less or longer depending on the particular cut of meat.

Once your pork is tender enough to pull apart with a fork, shred it, mix with the remaining sauce in the pan and add salt, pepper and seasonings to taste.

Shredded Chicken

• 4 burgers’ worth of shredded chicken:
• 2 chicken breasts
• Seasonings and sauce of choice – Again, hoisin, BBQ, ketchup – whatever you fancy.

Bring a pan of water to a boil. In the meantime, cut the chicken breasts into roughly 2″ sized chunks (Each chicken breast cut into 3 bits). Put chicken into the boiling water and let it simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the largest piece of chicken and cut through to check if it’s cooked all the way through. Timing is key here as the chicken needs to be just cooked – if left too long it will go tough. Drain, place on a chopping board and shred apart with two forks. Add back to the pan with any seasonings and sauce – you could also add tinned tomatoes here and let it coat the chicken the simmer until reduced slightly.

Any questions or comments feel free to give me a shout!