Copycat recipe: How to replicate Slutty Vegan's 'One Night Stand' plant-based burger
Mackensy Lunsford
Veganism is no longer a fringe diet. What used to be the territory of hippies is now a widespread phenomenon, driven in part by health concerns. According to data from Google Adwords, vegan-related online searches increased by 47% in 2020, the year COVID took hold creating a more sedentary shift in the average lifestyle.
But not all vegan food is meant to be healthy. Slutty Vegan, an impossibly popular Atlanta food truck turned brick-and-mortar, is a prime example.
"I didn't expect the business to be as popular as it was when we opened the doors," Aisha "Pinky" Cole, who launched Slutty Vegan in 2019, told The American South and Southern Kitchen reporter Todd Price.
Read the whole story here: Black-owned vegan restaurants are spicing up Southern cuisine
The restaurant's popularity stems in part from the fact that Cole's food is hardly austere. A glance at the menu reveals a full array of sauce-laden, deep-fried fare. It looks, in a word, delicious.
"Realistically, should you eat Slutty Vegan every day?” Cole told Price. “I say you shouldn’t eat anything every single day. I’m just being honest.”
Southern Kitchen set out to replicate the flavor of one of Slutty Vegan's most popular burgers for home cooks who can't make it to Atlanta or who aren't lucky enough to live near one of the food truck's tour stops.
After testing out a number of vegan patties, one stood head and shoulders above the rest: Beyond Meat’s plant-based burger patties, easily found in most grocery stores. Here's how to use them to make your own at-home version of Slutty Vegan's “One Night Stand” burger.
One Night Stand Burger
This is a close approximation of a One Night Stand Burger, as created by former Southern Kitchen editor Ryan Shepard. Will it taste exactly the same? No. Will it be delicious? Absolutely.
Serves: 2
Hands On Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 slices Upton’s Naturals seitan bacon
1 (2-count) package Beyond Meat burger patties
2 slices Parmela Creamery sharp cheddar-style cashew cheese
2 vegan brioche-style buns, sliced
Annie’s Thousand Island dressing, for serving
Follow Your Heart Original Vegenaise, for serving
Lettuce, for serving
Sliced tomato, for serving
Instructions
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and caramelized, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Return the now-empty skillet to medium-high heat. Add the seitan bacon and cook, flipping occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add burger patties to the now-empty skillet and cook on medium-high heat until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-low and place one slice of cheese on top of each burger. Let the cheese melt then remove from the heat.
Spread the mayonnaise on the bottom half and dressing on the top half of the buns. Top with the burgers, followed by the caramelized onions, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Serve immediately.