Easy Vegetarian Loco Moco is a vegetarian take on the classic Hawaiian comfort dish.
Instead of a beef burger, this recipe features a soy burger patty served over white rice, topped with a fried egg, and smothered in a rich, flavorful savory gravy.
This meatless version brings you heartiness and flavor but is both beef and pork-free.
It’s a simple, satisfying meal perfect for a quick lunch or a cozy weeknight dinner.
And you can use leftover fluffy rice for this budget-friendly dish!
Loco Moco is a contemporary and popular Hawaiian dish of a beef burger over rice, topped with a sunnyside-up egg, and a beef gravy generously poured over the whole thing.
This recipe, however, is made with a soy burger, and the gravy is your favorite vegetarian gravy (I used onion soup mix).
And you can add your toppings of choice, such as fried onions or mushrooms.
And you can use leftover fluffy rice for this budget-friendly dish.
It makes a healthy lunch or dinner and is simple enough to make after a long, busy weekday.
And if you don’t want to use a soy burger, a veggie burger swap will work just fine!
A little about eggs
For many years eggs were considered a source of high cholesterol and a possible cause of heart disease, and people were warned against them and recommended to have only a few per week in their diets.
It is true that one large egg yolk has 200 mg of cholesterol. However, the additional nutrients that eggs contain may actually help LOWER the risk of heart disease by raising the “good” cholesterol in one’s body.
Eggs are high in protein and filling but low in calories. They have nutritional value and contain a large variety of vitamins as well as some antioxidants.
The color of the yolk depends on the diet of the hen, and different types of chickens may lay different colored eggs; white or brownish.
Egg white consists primarily of approximately 90 percent water and contains almost no fat or carbohydrates.
The yolk of a new egg is firm, but then it absorbs water from the egg white, which causes it to increase in size and become loose.
You may be surprised to know that raw egg white is sometimes used in the preparation of vaccines.
Many people believe that since eggs are found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket and very frequently near the dairy section, they are also dairy.
Nonetheless, eggs are NOT DAIRY. You CANNOT milk a chicken!
And beef has nutrition benefits!
Some cooking terms
What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?
When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).
The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it.
Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.
Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.
What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?
If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor-related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance-related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.
What does “savory” mean?
“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
What is needed to make vegetarian loco moco?
I hardly ever meal plan, so I like to keep a cupboard full of seasonings, spices, veggies, and canned goods in my kitchen to use whenever the mood strikes.
But these are all you need to have on hand to make this recipe even last minute!
eggs
soy burgers
cooked rice (fluffy leftover white rice is fine)
vegetarian gravy
(toppings, such as sliced fried onions or mushrooms, optional)
oil for frying
A little history about Loco Moco
The story goes that this crazy dish was created at a grill restaurant in Hilo, Hawaii, as far back as 1949.
Apparently, some local teenagers asked the owners of the grill to create an inexpensive meal by placing a hamburger over rice and smothering it with gravy. Then, the teens named the dish after one of the friends whose nickname was “crazy,” or “loco” in Spanish, and “moco” just rhymed well with it.
The egg was added to the dish at a later time.
Easy Vegetarian Loco Moco
Soy burger on rice topped with a sunnyside-up egg and smothered in gravy.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 soy burgers, cooked (or more, if desired)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice (fluffy leftover white rice is fine)
- 1 cup vegetarian gravy*
- sliced fried onions or mushrooms (optional)
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Coat a frying pan with oil or cooking spray.
- Fry to eggs sunnyside up.
- Place half of the cooked rice on each of 2 plates.
- Put 1-2 soy burgers on top of each pile of rice.
- Top each of the burgers with a sunnyside-up egg.
- Pour 1/2 of the gravy over each egg.
Notes
* Use your favorite vegetarian gravy
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 2140Total Fat: 122gSaturated Fat: 43gTrans Fat: 4gUnsaturated Fat: 62gCholesterol: 717mgSodium: 1763mgCarbohydrates: 83gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 167g