Step 1

Whisk together flax and water in a small dish and set aside to thicken. Place the walnuts in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until ground into a meal. Empty walnuts into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2

Place the tempeh and chickpeas in the food processor and pulse until crumbly. Do not over-process: you want the burgers to have some texture! Add the tempeh and chickpeas to the bowl with the walnuts, along with the flax egg, onion, and garlic.

Step 3

Place the chopped beet, barbecue sauce, Dijon mustard, tamari or soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce in the food processor. Process until smooth (the beets might not be completely pureed, but this is okay).

Step 4

Pour the beet mixture over top of the other ingredients in the bowl. Add the cumin, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper (I added 1/4 tsp of salt and a few generous grinds of pepper). Stir to combine.

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 6

Using a 1/2-cup measure, divide the mixture into 6 equal patties.

Step 7

Bake for 30 minutes, or until crispy around the edges.

Step 8

Serve on buns with vegan cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mustard, and additional barbecue sauce. These burgers are best accompanied by baked sweet potato fries and your favourite craft beer!