Review: dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers

Or Dr. Praeger’s™ Purely Sensible Foods® California Veggie Burgers – to give them their full name. The package and name immediately suggests an ultra health forward product, and a glance at the package (see below) confirms these are very sensible patties in terms of ingredients and nutrition. The burgers are vegan friendly and indicate no GMO.

Indeed, these are the prototypical veggie burger most people would imagine if you asked them to describe a veggie burger. Comprised of multiple vegetables and oat bran, the ingredients are immediately noticeable in each patty. These are completely unlike contemporary competitors that seek to emulate traditional burgers look, feel and taste.

And therein lies the rub. As a regular veggie burger these are just fine, in contrast to newer products on the market, they’re a little lackluster. They have a very vegetal flavor as you’d expect from their ingredients and little in the way of protein (see below). For some folks, that’s going to be fine, others might be disappointed. I quite enjoyed the flavor of these veggie burger patties for what they were, but did feel the need to add quite a few toppings to help them along.

For those focusing first and foremost on health, these will tick all the right boxes. Also these burgers might be a fun way to introduce vegetables into a meal in a unique way too.

dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers what’s in the box

Four 2.5 oz patties come in the box, each individually plastic wrapped so you needn’t open all at once.

dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers cooking instructions

A plus point for these veggie burgers is their versatile cooking options – essentially you can prepare these however you like. Do note that given their predominant vegetable makeup, they become quite fragile very quickly. I’d shy away from throwing these directly onto a BBQ for example.

dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers nutrition and ingredients

This is the star element of this veggie burger. Just 120 calories and little in the way of salt or fat. Or protein for that matter. If you’re looking to your burger patty for a protein boost, you might want to look at adding other elements to your burger, each patty here comes in at just 5g which pales into comparison to some competing products.

What’s a fair price?

I paid $3.84 for these patties at my local Walmart. I think for four bucks and under, that’s a fair price.

What dishes can you make with dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers

Loaded up with some extra toppings, these make a more than acceptable quick meal option. Below I’ve gone with a slew of added veggies and slow to add a little richness. Makes for a quick and healthily lunch option for sure.

Looking for more vegan and vegetarian burgers

Check out all our reviews of meat free burgers:

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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.

I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen.  Follow along on Instagram too!