Vegan Big Mac Recipe

OH YES WE DID! We created a VEGAN Big Mac burger!

Jerome and I were driving to the fruit and veg market the other day and we drove past a McDonalds fast food restaurant. I thought of how crazy it would be to make a vegan version of the popular Big Mac burger. So I decided to make one as close to the taste of the original as possible. I thought that if I made a really easy vegan version, people may start making their own "Veggie Macs" at home.  The more veggie macs that are made at home results in less real Big Macs being purchased. What an exciting thought hehe! Not only is this burger healthier and yummier than the original, it is also extremely easy and crazily filling! What a great way to impress your dinner guests with a vegan Big Mac! I would absolutely love for you to try this recipe and tell me what you think. If you are like me and have one meal a week where you can eat whatever you want, why not try your own fast food meal? You could even make some yummy oven-roasted chippies to go with it! Hope you all have a lovely day :) Have a look at the photo at the top of the page... Jerome is a photography genius! It looks so real weeee! ^-^

serves 2

Vegan Big Mac Sauce (Makes 1/2 cup):
   75g silken firm tofu
   ¼ tablespoon water
   ¼ teaspoon salt
   ¼ tablespoon lemon juice
   1 ¾ teaspoons brown sugar
   2 teaspoons dijon mustard
   ¼ tablespoon olive oil
   1 ¼ teaspoons white vinegar
   1 ½ tablespoons French dressing
   3 teaspoons pickle/gherkin relish
    ½ tablespoon finely minced white onion*

Other:
   4 soft bread rolls (2 used for the whole roll and 2 used only for the bottom half)
   1 gherkin, thinly cut into 8 slices
   2 tablespoons minced white onion*
   1 cup thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
   2 vegan cheese slices (I used Toffuti American Cheese Slices)

Veggie Burger (Makes 4 patties):
   1 yellow onion
   2 cloves garlic
   1 tablespoon oil plus 4 more tablespoons for frying
   1 can chickpeas 400g , drained
   1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
   2 1/2 cups tightly packed breadcrumbs
   2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
   ½ teaspoon salt
   ¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1. Make the Big Mac sauce – Add all the sauce ingredients except for the minced onion and pickle relish to a bowl or blender and blend until combined. Stir in the minced onion and pickled relish. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Set aside.
2. Make the veggie burgers - In a food processor, add all veggie burger patty ingredients and process until roughly combined. Divide the mixture into four parts and roll each into a well-combined ball. Flatten the balls with your hands as flat as you can make them. Add one patty to a fry pan on high heat with one tablespoon of oil and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until browned and crispy on the outside. Repeat this for each veggie patty. Once all patties have been fried, set them aside.
3. Cut 2 bread rolls in half and set aside. With the two remaining bread rolls, cut them in half and discard the top layer. Keep the two bottom layers for the middle layer of your final burgers. So now you will have two top layers and four bottom layers to use.
4. Layer your burger – Add one bread roll base layer to a plate, top with 1 ½ tablespoons big mac sauce, ¼ cup lettuce, 1 layer of cheese, one veggie patty, ½ tablespoon onion, 2 pickle slices, then add another bottom layer, top with 1 ½ tablespoons big mac sauce, ¼ cup lettuce, 1 veggie patty, ½ tablespoon minced onion, 2 pickle slices and add the top of the bun. There you have your veggie mac burger! Repeat this step for the other burger.
5. Serve immediately!

• Note: this recipe is trying to imitate the popular McDonalds Big Mac burger so it does contain quite a bit of salt to mimic the taste. Feel free to cut down the salt to your own liking. On that note, cut down the oil content too if you want a healthier dish.
• *Use a fresh white onion. A fresh onion will taste way better raw.
• Yes this is not an overly healthy recipe, but it is a great alternative to fast food if you are craving a greasy burger!
• If your bottom bread roll layer is too thick, slightly trim it so it can be a thinner middle layer.
• If your Big Mac sauce doesn't taste too much like Big Mac sauce, i find that adding more and more dijon mustard and gherkin relish helps to attain the original flavour. 
• Toffuti American Cheese Slices can be purchase from selected Woolworths stores and some health food stores... they are delicious on this burger!
• To make the Big Mac sauce easier, you could just use 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise and add the dijon mustard, minced onion and gherkin relish until you attain the original flavour.