Our Vegan Cuban Mojo Burgers will transport your tastebuds to the Caribbean! They pack a citrusy punch and are topped with a mojo reduction and plantain chips!
We booked a trip with Val’s parents to Havana, Cuba early last year for her dad’s birthday. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had other plans for us, and we had to cancel the trip. That didn’t stop us from experimenting with Cuban flavors and traveling to Havana through our kitchen.
🇨🇺 WHAT IS MOJO SAUCE?
Immigrants from the Canary Islands (which is located off the coast of West Africa) brought mojo sauce to Caribbean. There are variations of the sauce throughout the region. But in Cuba, mojo traditionally contains olive oil, cumin, garlic, oregano, and the juice of bitter orange. Bitter orange, or naranja agria in Spanish, is central to Cuban cuisine. It tastes like its name suggests.
Bitter orange is tough to find outside Cuba and Florida. Why Florida? In 1959, Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution. He allied Cuba with the Soviet Union and introduced communism. This led to a mass exodus of Cubans seeking refugee status in the United States. Today the majority of Cuban-Americans live in south Florida. Many Cubans in Florida grow bitter orange trees in their backyards.
Most famously, mojo is used as the marinade for roast pork. But since we don’t dine on swine around these parts, we decided to give the classic American hamburger the Cuban treatment.
💡RECIPE TIPS
As we mentioned above, it’s tough to get your hands on bitter orange. To approximate the flavor of bitter orange, we used a combination of navel orange, lemon, and lime juice. After sautéing up onion and garlic, we added cumin, oregano and a bay leaf. Then we added our citrus juices and simmered until our mojo sauce reduced by half.
For our plant-based burger patties, we spiced them up with Cuban seasonings. Then we brushed our burgers with the mojo reduction and topped them with red onion, red cabbage, cilantro, and avocado. Last but not least, we sprinkled plantain chips over our burgers for sweetness and crunch.
Give our Vegan Cuban Mojo Burgers a try the next time you fire up that grill!
🎉 DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN CUBAN MOJO BURGERS?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE VEGAN GRILLING RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
Vegan Cuban Mojo Burgers
Ingredients
For the mojo sauce:
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon onion minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of 1 lime
- Juice of 1 lemons
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
For the burgers:
- ¼ teaspoon each of lemon orange and lime zest
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon onion finely minced
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 lb of plant-based ground “meat” “minced” meat
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
Suggested toppings:
- avocado sliced
- red onion sliced
- cilantro
- plantain chips
Instructions
- Make the mojo sauce: In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until golden brown. Add garlic, cumin, oregano and bay leaf and cook 1 minute. Add citrus and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has reduced by half and thickens. Set aside.
- Make burger patties: In a mixing bowl, add citrus zests, garlic, onion, and seasonings to plant-based "meat." Use hands to combine thoroughly. Divide plant-based ground “meat” mixture equally into four balls. Flatten into burger patties and make an indentation in each patty with your thumb to prevent the burgers from swelling.
- Brush each patty with oil and grill to desired level of doneness. Then lightly toast the burger patties over the grill (optional).
- Assemble your burgers: Place patties in buns. Brush the burger patties and tops of each bun with mojo reduction. Top burgers with sliced avocado, sliced red onion, cilantro, and plantain chips. Enjoy!
What’s up colleagues, pleasant post and fastidious arguments commented here, I am
genuinely enjoying by these.
Cuban food is sooo good, yo. The mojo is on point.