National Veggie Burger Day Date in the current year: June 5, 2024

A veggie burger is just what its name suggests: it is a hamburger patty that contains no meat. Veggie burgers can be made from a variety of ingredients, including legumes, mushrooms, nuts and seeds, grains and pseudograins (such as buckwheat or quinoa), tofu, soy meat, and seitan.

Although veggie burgers may seem like a recent invention, especially to those who don’t know much about the history of vegetarianism, plant-based patties have existed in various Eurasian cuisines for thousands of years. For example, falafel is a staple Middle Eastern dish. It is a ball- or patty shape fritter made from chickpeas, which can be served on its own or used in sandwiches.

The term “veggie burger”, however, is relatively recent. It first appeared in print in 1976, referring to a hamburger topped with vegetables. The people credited with introducing veggie burgers in the current sense of the term are Greg and Craig Sams. The Sams brothers established Harmony Foods, now known as Whole Earth Foods, in 1970 and created the veggie burger, which they called “VegeBurger”, in 1982.

However, they may have been not the first ones to create early vegetarian burgers. Paul Wenner, the owner of the Gardenhouse, a vegetarian restaurant in Gresham, Oregon, developed meatless burgers for his restaurant around 1981 or 1982. He named them Gardenburgers. Three years later, Wenner established a company to produce veggie burgers commercially.

An increasing number of restaurants and fast food companies have started offering veggie burgers over the past couple of decades. In India, where vegetarianism is widespread due to religious reasons, veggie burgers are served by all major fast food chains including Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. The first fast food chain to start selling veggie burgers on a nationwide basis in the United States was Burger King.

National Veggie Burger Day was founded in 2016 by Amy’s Kitchen, a family-owned American manufacturer of non-GMO and organic convenience and frozen foods (burritos and wraps, canned soups, pizzas, casseroles, dumplings, enchiladas, lasagnas, mac & cheese, pot pies, ravioli, veggie burgers, and more). The holiday aims to celebrate all kinds of veggie burgers and highlight their positive impact on the planet.

There are many ways to celebrate National Veggie Burger Day. You can learn more about different types of veggie burger patties and choose the one that you like the most, go out for veggie burgers, experiment with veggie burger recipes, or host a vegetarian BBQ or a veggie burger cook-off at your house. And don’t forget to snap a photo of your delicious veggie burger and share it on social media with the hashtags #NationalVeggieBurgerDay and #VeggieBurgerDay.