This recipe for wild garlic tofu patties is such a good way to use foraged wild garlic. The vegan patties or burgers are easy-to-make, delicious and nutritious. Stuff them into pitta breads, burger buns or sandwiches. Serve with a dip as an appetiser or for parties. Or nestle into a buddha type bowl.
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To harvest the first wild garlic of the season is a real joy. Not only is wild garlic delicious and nutritious, but it’s a sign that the long dark days of winter are over and spring is here.
Wild garlic, also known as ramsons (Allium ursinum) grows abundantly in our UK woods and hedgerows. It’s easy to identify, the whole plant is edible and you can eat it both raw and cooked. What’s not to love?
What To Use Wild Garlic For?
When I was a teenager, I discovered wild garlic, (ramsons). I used to add a leaf to my cheese sandwiches which perked them up no end. But, I was the only person I knew back then that actually ate it. Fast forward a few years and it’s now quite trendy to forage and eat this exciting pungent spring herb.
Before you go out foraging for wild garlic, please do ensure you know what you’re picking and that you have permission to do it. You can find out more about it in my wild garlic pesto post.
It took me a good few years to experiment with it further. Eventually, I reckoned I’d try making pesto with the leaves. Everyone now knows that wild garlic pesto is a thing, but it wasn’t then. It was with some trepidation that I took my first taste. And of course, it was delicious. I’ve made wild garlic pesto without fail every year since.
You can, however, use wild garlic in many other ways. It works well in so many recipes.
- Finely chop into a salad.
- Make wild garlic oil.
- Blend it with oil, vinegar and salt to make a salad dressing. Or try my creamy wild garlic dressing instead.
- Blitz it into soup. It goes really well in my nettle soup.
- Whip it into butter to make green flecked garlic butter.
- Add to spring risottos. It works particularly well with asparagus or mushrooms.
- Whizz it up to make pesto.
- Finely chop and add to savoury muffins, cheese scones or homemade bread.
- Whisk into eggs to make an omelette or jazzed up scrambled eggs.
Or, you can of course, make these wild garlic tofu patties.
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties
Wild garlic tofu patties are vegan, delicious and nutritious. If you use gluten-free oats, they’re also gluten-free.
One of the things that’s particularly good about them is that they’re fairly quick and easy to prepare. This makes them ideal candidates for weeknight suppers. Or make a batch at the weekend for weekday lunch boxes. They’re at their best when freshly cooked and warm, but they’re still pretty good at room temperature too. You can also reheat them quite successfully. See the section on this further down the post.
What Do You Need To Make Wild Garlic Tofu Patties?
Wild garlic is so flavoursome you don’t really need lots of other ingredients to bump up the flavour. Lemon provides a little zing and lifts the patties to a higher plane. I’ve used both the zest and juice. The clean, green peppery notes of parsley are a good complementary addition too.
I’ve added grated carrot for texture and a bit of additional nutrition. Other than salt and pepper, oats are the only other ingredient. They soak up any excess moistness and help to hold the patties together.
Out of season, or if you can’t get hold of any, feel free to swap the wild garlic for something else. Any other soft leafy greens or herbs will work, wild ones or otherwise. Spinach makes a great substitute. But if you use other types of green, grate in a clove or two of garlic to the mix as you won’t be getting that gorgeous garlicky flavour from the wild garlic.
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties: Main Ingredients
- Wild garlic – can swap for other flavoursome wild greens or leafy herbs
- Parsley – not essential, but recommended
- Tofu – ready pressed if you can get it
- Lemon – zest and juice
- Carrot – grated, but no need to peel.
- Rolled oats – ensure they’re gluten-free, if required
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties: Equipment
- Food processor or blender.
- Non-stick frying pan. I use my cast iron skillet*.
- Microplane* – useful, but not essential.
- Ice cream scoop* – useful, but not essential.
How To Serve Wild Garlic Tofu Patties
Small patties are ideal to tuck into warm pitta breads along with mayonnaise and salad leaves. Or make them larger and enjoy in a burger bun with mayonnaise and pickles alongside sweet potato fries or these delicious air fryer corn ribs. And don’t forget a salad or two.
They work brilliantly as an appetiser or at parties. Simply serve with a dip. Tzatziki makes a particularly good accompaniment. The cooling nature of the yogurt and cucumber help to modify the pungency of the wild garlic. I made vegan tzatziki to go with the ones you can see here.
You can also serve these vegan tofu patties with rice and veggies. Or if you’re looking for an interesting and delicious protein element for a buddha type bowl, nestle two or three of the smaller patties in amongst the grains and veggies.
As well as stuffed into pitta breads for lunch, we also enjoyed our patties for dinner the next day. We ate them with quinoa, red cabbage, salad leaves and a dressing. Delicious.
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties: Step-by-Step
The recipe makes enough to feed four to eight people depending on what else you’re eating and how you’re eating them. It makes eight burger sized patties and thirteen to fourteen smaller ones.
Step 1. Rinse Leaves
Wash the wild garlic and parsley leaves well in clean water, then give them a good shake and leave to drain. If you have a salad spinner, use it. You need the leaves dry rather than wet.
Step 2. Zest Lemon
Zest the lemon into a medium sized mixing bowl. A microplane* is excellent for this.
Step 3. Whizz Tofu And Leaves
You need firm tofu, not silken tofu for this recipe. It’s fairly easy to find ready pressed tofu these days. If yours isn’t, however, you’ll need to press the tofu to extract any excess water before using it.
Drain the tofu, then crumble it into a food processor. Roughly chop the parsley and wild garlic leaves and add those. Throw in the oats, lemon juice, pepper and salt.
Pulse until the leaves are well chopped and the mixture is green and clumps together. Don’t over mix though. It shouldn’t be completely smooth.
Scrape the mix out into the bowl with the lemon zest.
Top Tip: How To Press Tofu
- If you have unpressed tofu, you’ll need to press it before you can use it, in order to extract excess water. Take the tofu out of its pack and drain away the water its in.
- Wrap the tofu block in a clean tea towel and place a large plate on top.
- Place something heavy, such as a couple of tins of tomatoes or heavy frying pan on top of the plate.
- Leave for thirty minutes, by which time any excess water will have drained away, leaving you with a significantly smaller, but drier block.
Step 4. Grate Carrot
Grate the carrot coarsely and add to the tofu mix in the bowl. Give everything a good stir with a fork and taste for seasoning.
If you think it needs more salt, pepper or lemon juice, now is the time to add it.
Step 5. Cook Patties
Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. I use my cast iron skillet* for this.
Use a trigger ice-cream scoop*, if you have one, to scoop out balls of the tofu mix. This makes it easy to get even sized patties in a nice round shape.
Press the mix into the scoop to ensure it’s well packed, then draw a knife over the top to remove any excess. Drop the balls into the hot pan, spacing them a reasonable distance apart. Then use the back of the scoop to flatten them into discs.
A standard sized scoop will make eight large burger sized patties and a small scoop will make thirteen to fourteen smaller ones.
If you don’t have a scoop, drop tablespoons of the mix into the pan and shape the patties with a spatula once they’re in.
Fry the patties for five minutes, then turn them over and fry for a further three to four minutes on the other side. They should be hot on the inside and crisp and golden on the outside. Transfer to a plate and keep warm whilst you fry the next batch.
Add the remaining oil and repeat until you have no mixture left. I got seven patties to the pan in the first round and squeezed eight into the second.
Serve whilst fresh and hot. Alternatively, place on a wire rack to cool, then pack into an airtight container and store in the fridge. See my tips on freezing in the next section.
How Long Do Vegan Tofu Patties Last?
Once cooked and cooled, these vegan patties keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for three days.
How To Freeze Vegan Tofu Patties
Cook the tofu patties as per instructions and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Place them on a baking tray and freeze for one to two hours. Don’t leave them any longer than this or they will dry out.
Pop the frozen patties into a freezer proof bag or other container and put them back in the freezer. You can the take them out as needed. They’ll last for up to three months.
How To Reheat Vegan Tofu Patties
It’s very easy to reheat the patties, if needed. Just toast them on either side in a dry frying pan for two to three minutes. Alternatively use an air-fryer or place them on a baking tray in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.
If the patties are frozen, they’ll need an extra five to ten minutes to cook. Best done in an air-fryer or oven.
Other Tofu Recipes You Might Like
- Beer battered tofish (vegan fish n chips)
- Beetroot miso soup
- Tofu, lettuce & tomato sandwich
- Rice bowl with maple tofu
- Tofu scramble
- Vegan Schnitzel
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these wild garlic tofu patties, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties. PIN IT.
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties – The Recipe
Wild Garlic Tofu Patties
Equipment
- microplane (affiliate link) optional
- cast iron skillet (25 cm, 10 inch)* optional
Ingredients
- 1 lemon zest and 1 ½ tbsp juice
- 40 g wild garlic leaves washed, dried and roughly chopped
- 10 g fresh parsley washed, dried and roughly chopped
- 280 g firm tofu drained (and pressed if needed)
- 50 g rolled oats (porridge oats) (gluten-free if needed)
- ½ tsp sea salt or to taste
- good grinding of black pepper
- 1 carrot grated – no need to peel
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Whizz all of the ingredients, except the carrot and lemon zest, up in a food processor until the tofu turns green and the mixture starts to clump together. It doesn’t need to be smooth and it’s fine for the herb pieces to vary in size.1 lemon, 40 g wild garlic leaves, 10 g fresh parsley, 280 g firm tofu, 50 g rolled oats (porridge oats), ½ tsp sea salt, good grinding of black pepper
- Stir in the grated carrot and lemon zest.1 carrot
- Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add one tablespoon of the oil. As soon as its hot, dollop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot pan and form into round discs with a spatula (see note 1 below). Place them well apart, so you have room to manoeuvre.
- Fry for five minutes until crisp and golden on the bottom, then flip over and fry for a further three to four minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven.
- Add the remaining oil and repeat until you have no mixture left. I got seven patties to the pan in the first round and squeezed eight into the second.
- Check for seasoning and add a little more salt, pepper, lemon juice or all three to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for green vegan tofu patties with #CookBlogShare, which is hosted by Melissa Traub this week.
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Rebecca - Glutarama says
These intrigued me as I know of a woodland near me that has blankets of wild garlic. I love the fact that this can be made gluten free too. going to get harvesting real soon and give this a go.
Choclette says
Oh yes, if you know of a good spot, get harvesting Rebecca. The tofu burgers are fab – if you like the flavour of garlic that is.
nancy says
perfect tasty patties to go with any meal! love the aded protien
Choclette says
Thank you Nancy. Tofu patties are one of my favourite go-to protein bites. They’re so easy to make and versatile too.
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Absolutely LOVE the sound of these. I can almost smell the wild garlic! (Actually… I can smell wild garlic… It’s growing in abundance by the front door).
Thanks for sharing some delicious inspiration xx
Choclette says
Well who needs roses around the front door when you can have wild garlic? Fabulous that you don’t have far to go to forage. Do give the patties a go, they’re so good.
angiesrecipes says
Love wild garlic! Making them into patties sounds and looks really delicious.
Choclette says
Thank you Angie. As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a big fan too. The patties are really good.
Janice says
These look super tasty. I’m a huge wild garlic fan and I’m always looking for different ways to serve it.
Choclette says
Yes indeed and I believe you have plenty to pick. It’s wonderful stuff and these patties are really good and ever so easy.