Baked Mushroom Burger
These Baked Mushroom Burgers are a great departure from the bean-based burgers many plant eaters are familiar with. They’re equally at home on a bun as they are right on your plate topped with the sauce of your choice. With an ingredient list featuring mushrooms, garlic, onions, oats, nutritional yeast, and flax, you won’t have to head out to any gourmet shops to track down rare ingredients. It can even be made ahead and frozen, making this a great recipe for busy families.
Whole Food Plant-Based, Vegan, Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free, Gluten Free.
As much as I love a good bean-based burger, the truth is that I’ve been eating a LOT of beans since going plant-based. Sometimes I want to shake things up a bit and think outside the bean box, and sometimes I need to appease a burger craving even though I just had beans at my last meal.
Enter Baked Mushroom Burgers. Mushrooms might not be the go-to ingredient when most people make plant-based burgers, but I’m here to tell you that they should be! They work incredibly well at capturing that umami flavor of beef without the associated health and ethical concerns. At the same time, mushrooms are mild enough as a base ingredient to let the traditional burger flavors you add to this dish shine.
If you’re wondering how this could ever possibly have the right texture, I have good news: a flax egg is the secret to transforming chopped mushrooms and oats into something more akin to a familiar burger patty while adding dietary fiber, protein, and omega-3 fats.
If you’ve never made a flax egg before, don’t be intimidated – all you have to do is mix ground flaxseed with water and let it sit for 10 minutes. Remember, I want to make your life easier, not more complicated!
Now, I don’t know about you, but I love having some meals in my freezer ready to go for those days when dinnertime creeps up on you and it’s too late make something from scratch. I’ll often buy mushrooms on sale, chop them up when I get them home, and make a double batch of this so I can serve four and freeze the other half for days when I need less pressure at mealtime.
When I don’t feel like eating this in the traditional burger style on a bun or as a sandwich, I’ll serve it on a plate with grilled tomatoes, cauliflower and edamame on the side, topped with a generous dollop of my creamy pumpkin cheese sauce. Yum!
Ingredients:
Makes 4 patties
-500 g (17 oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced (around 13 medium mushrooms)
-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
-60 g (2 oz) onions (1 small), chopped
-1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed/5 g mixed with 2 ½ tablespoons water – set aside for 10 minutes)
-10 g (2 heaping tablespoons) nutritional yeast (gluten free if necessary)
-50 g (1/3 cup + 4 tablespoons) ground oats (gluten free if necessary)
-2 tablespoons tamari
Seasonings:
-1 teaspoon thyme
-1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
-pinch of black pepper (to help your body get the benefits of the turmeric)
-handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Method:
1. In a straight-sided pan, add some water (or vegetable stock). Use just enough to cook the onions and garlic so they don’t stick to the pan. Add the seasonings and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan, mix with the onions and garlic, and cover. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have shrunk in size and all the liquid has evaporated. Stir every 30 to 60 seconds to make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan.
3. Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms to the food processor, along with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Process for about a minute. Then, transfer the mixture to the fridge for at least an hour. You may prepare this mixture the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
6. Take the mushroom mixture out of the fridge and start forming into patties. TIP: I use a 4.5 inches (diameter) cookie cutter to get a nice circular shape. I place the cutter on the baking sheet and fill it about halfway up with the mixture, then press the mixture down with the back of a tablespoon. Gently remove the cookie cutter and repeat the process until you have formed 4 patties.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If your oven doesn’t have a 4D heating function, you’ll need to flip the burgers halfway through to make sure both sides are cooked evenly.
8. Serve with salad, homemade baked beans, on a burger bun or as a sandwich. The options are endless. These patties are also great for meal prep as they freeze very nicely.
Nutritional Facts per mushroom burger:
Calories: 106
Carbs: 15.6 g
Protein: 8 g
Fats: 2.3 g
Fiber: 4 g
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