Guides

Frozen Veggie Burgers by the Case

Frozen veggie burgers are the item most kitchens add first and think about least, which is how a menu ends up with a patty nobody wants to order twice. Buying by the case forces the decision to be made once and made properly: which patty, which format, how much freezer it eats and who is going to eat it. This catalog carries two fully cooked IQF cases, a veggie burger and a vegan burger, and the difference between them matters more than the name suggests. Here is how to choose, store and serve them.

What is a frozen veggie burger?

A frozen veggie burger is a pre-formed patty of vegetables, grains and plant protein, cooked and frozen before it ships, so the kitchen only has to reheat it. The two cases here are listed as Fully Cooked IQF Veggie Burger and Fully Cooked IQF Vegan Burger. Fully cooked means the patty arrives cooked and is reheated according to the instructions printed on the case, not built from raw. Both are bulk foodservice packs rather than Mon Cuisine items, and the current pack format for each is on its product page.

What does IQF mean on a burger case?

IQF stands for individually quick frozen: each patty is frozen on its own before packing, so the case holds separate patties instead of one fused block. That single detail is what makes a case practical. You can pull two patties for a household dinner or twenty for a service and put the carton straight back in the freezer, with no thawing of the whole case and no prying patties apart with a knife. A block-frozen pack forces you to commit the whole thing at once; an IQF case does not.

• Patties separate cleanly, so you take what you need and refreeze nothing
• Portion control is built in: every patty is the same size
• The carton stacks flat in a chest freezer or a walk-in
• Fully cooked, so the line reheats instead of cooking from raw
• Patty count and net weight are printed on the case and listed on the product page

What is the difference between the veggie burger and the vegan burger case?

The names are the first clue and the ingredient panel is the answer. One case is listed as a veggie burger and the other as a vegan burger, and the distinction between a vegetarian formulation and a fully plant-based one shows up on the panel printed on the case, not in a description written on a web page. If you are serving customers who ask for a fully plant-based patty, read the panel on the case you receive and order the item that matches it. Neither case belongs to the Mon Cuisine line, so neither carries the Kosher Parve marking.

Who buys frozen burgers by the case?

Anyone who needs a plant-based item on a griddle that is already busy. A burger is the lowest-friction plant-based menu addition there is, because the cook already knows how to run it, the bun and the toppings already exist, and the ticket time does not change. Households buy cases for the opposite reason: a burger is the meal a teenager will make without help, and a case means it is always available.

• Restaurants, bars and diners adding one plant-based entree to a grill menu
• Concessions, food trucks and stadium service working off a flat top
• Schools, hospitals and institutions that need a consistent portion
• Caterers feeding mixed groups where some guests do not eat meat
• Households stocking a freezer for fast weeknight dinners

How much freezer space does a case take?

One carton footprint per case, stackable, and because the patties are IQF you can work out of an open carton for weeks. Reseal it, write the date you opened it on the outside and store it toward the back of the freezer where the temperature swings least. A chest freezer or a dedicated upright swallows a case without trouble. A standard fridge freezer will hold one case at a time, which is why a household ordering two or three different cases should check freezer capacity before checking the cart.

How do kitchens run burgers off a frozen case?

Keep a small par level near the line and restock from the frozen carton between services, reheating according to the instructions on the case. Because the patties are fully cooked and individually frozen, the station never waits on a thaw, which is the usual reason a plant-based burger gets dropped from a menu. Build the rest of the sandwich the way you build every other one and the item takes no extra prep list.

• Hold a par level at the station and refill from the frozen carton
• Keep dedicated utensils if you are separating plant-based from meat service
• Label every opened carton with the date it was opened
• Rotate first in, first out so the oldest carton always moves first
• Do not refreeze patties that have already thawed

What should you check on the case before ordering?

Patty count, net weight, the ingredient panel and the date coding, in that order. Count and weight tell you the cost per portion and the freezer space; the panel tells you what is in the product, which is the only place that question is answered; the date coding tells you how fresh the stock you are receiving is. Anything else, including how the patty behaves on your particular griddle, you learn from the first case, which is why a first order is best built from a mix rather than a pallet of one item.

What else belongs in the same order?

Burgers cover one slot, so the rest of the order should cover the others. A loose crumble handles everything cooked from scratch, franks and breakfast patties cover concession and morning service, and a steak-style item covers the plate that needs a knife and fork. That spread is also the simplest way to reach the $300 minimum.

• Vegan Ground Beef Crumble and Mon Cuisine Meat Crumble for sauces, chili and fillings
• Vegan Franks and Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties for concession and breakfast service
• Mon Cuisine Vegetarian Grilled Steak for a knife-and-fork plate
• Veggie Pizza Crumbles for pizza, flatbread and pasta menus

How do you order frozen veggie burgers from Brooklyn?

Orders ship from 1810 76th Street, Brooklyn NY 11214 under a $300 minimum that applies to wholesale accounts and households alike, with delivery across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut. Mon Cuisine cases and bulk foodservice cases arrive in the same delivery, so a mixed order stays one delivery. For current pack formats, availability or a repeating order, call 347-516-9806 or write tarcus@vegangrandnews.com.

Before you order

Heating instructions, allergen information and certifications are printed on the case label. Always follow the label for the lot you receive: formulations and pack specifications can change between production runs.