If you know me, in real life, it’s no secret that I L-O-V-E a burger. I’m pretty much into them at any time of the day and while beef burgers are queen–I love a veggie/legume burger too. I’m not talking the freezer-section kind (nothing wrong with those), I’m talking about the kind you can whip up at home and load with savory flavors.
In the last year I’ve fallen in love with the humble lentil (I make this Lemon-Lentil soup on the regular). Paired with mushrooms, this burger doesn’t give you the texture of meat (that’s okay though it’s a veggie burg!) but, what it does have is a ton of fiber that really fills you up. Like, I’m-ready-for-bed-now-full. While talk of filling fiber may not be the sexiest thing ever, these burgers won’t leave you feeling like something is missing.
To ensure maximum flavor, I load these burgers with savory aromatics in the form of lots of sauteed onion and plenty of garlic. The mushrooms are sweated, then cooked to deep brown deliciousness. A few sun-dried tomatoes further punch up the flavor. There are lentils, breadcrumbs, and an egg to keep things together. I like to pan cook these burgers with a little grape seed oil, which has a high smoke point allowing you to get a super crispy crust on the outside of the lentil burger–which is key for texture and maximum deliciousness. I topped the burgers with sweet roasted tomatoes, caramelized onion*, a super easy avocado spread, as well as some spinach, grainy mustard, and a little swiss for good measure.
*Let your onions get some more caramel color–I was impatient and hungry for lunch…don’t be me.
Lentil-Mushroom Burgers
adapted from Cooking Light
Makes 4 large burgers
I used dried brown lentils for this recipe. I cooked 1 cup dry, which yielded 2 cups cooked. You only need 1 cup for this recipe–but, you can use the remainders dressed with a little vinaigrette and some vegetables, they would make a really nice salad, or make soup, or another batch of burgers!
5 whole wheat hamburger buns
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 package (6ounces) cremini mushrooms, stems and caps chopped
3-4 sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup cooked brown lentils (method below)
1 egg
salt and pepper
grape seed oil, or preferred oil
roasted tomatoes
caramelized onions
avocado yogurt spread
spinach/swiss optional
Process 1 burger bun in a food processor to make crumbs. Set aside.
In a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high and saute onion with a pinch of salt until soft and a few bits turn brown around the edges. Add the garlic, stir, and cook an additional 30-60 seconds. Scrape the onion mix into a bowl. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, heat it over high and add the mushrooms followed by a pinch of salt–let the mushrooms sweat–they will release a lot of liquid. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms turn deep golden brown. Scrape the mushroom mixture into the bowl with the onions–set aside to cool to room temp.
In the food processor add the sun dried tomatoes–process to mince, add the onion/mushroom mixture and process until mushrooms are finely diced. Add the lentils, process so that some of the lentils are pasty and some are still whole. Scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs, egg, a pinch of salt and pepper–to combine well. Allow the mixture to rest about 30 minutes in the refrigerator–this makes it easier to form the patties.
Divide the lentil mixture into four portions. Form each portion into a ball and flatten into a patty. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add about 2 Tablespoons grape seed oil to the pan. Add the lentil patties and cook on each side until crisp and deeply golden–about 3-5 minutes per side depending on the heat of your pan. If using cheese, add the cheese to the patties after the first flip.
Serve on toasted buns with desired condiments.
Lentils
1 cup dried lentils–rinsed and picked over for rocks and shriveled lentils
2 cups water
In a saucepan add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain if there is any remaining water.
Roasted Tomatoes
1 pint grape tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and pierce the tomatoes with a knife and spread across the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have slumped over and begun to caramelize.
Caramelized Onions
1 large onion, sliced
olive oil
salt
Heat a saute pan over low heat. Add a few teaspoons olive oil, onions, and a pinch of salt. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until deep golden brown and sweet.
Avocado-Yogurt Spread
1 ripe avocado
3 Tablespoons plain greek yogurt
salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
Mash the all of the ingredients together in a bowl to form a smooth spread. Salt to taste.
Megan
YUM. I need this ASAP. And I need to get grape seed oil! I had no idea about that smoke point biznass.
cindy
yeah man! you need it all!
Annie Lindsay
Ooooo!! Lentils are SO filling so I bet this is a great burger to keep hunger away for hours. I love a satisfying veggie burger.
cindy
they really are!
Billy
Cindy Guuurrrrl I’m feelin’ these burgers and and I’m definitely feelin’ those roasted tomatoes all up on my next burger.
cindy
Billy, you just need ’em in yo life.
Jessica
Oh yum! And these photos are so fun and colorful!
cindy
Thank you!
NicoleD
Oh, yes! I love a good burger, too, but the veggie kind are a nice change of pace. Excellent topping choices!
cindy
I’m glad you approve, Nicole 🙂
Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen
Do you ever watch The Chew? They were making veggie burgers on there yesterday, and I’ve been craving one ever since – it’s like you read my mind! These look absolutely delicious!
cindy
I do AND I was watching that episode while eating one of these for lunch, ha!
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
Cindy – these burgs look fab, as per usual. I love me a good veggie burger too! (or any kind of burger, really)
cindy
Thanks Amanda! Burger love!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition
I love making up my own veggie burger recipes, but I’ve never tried lentils! Sounds like you’ve got a lot of good flavors goin on up in there 🙂
“I was hungry and impatient for lunch” can pretty much sum up 99% of the times I’ve set out to make caramelized onions – I always seem to end up with caramelized-ish onions, haha!
cindy
haha, yeah…impatience in the kitchen always kills caramelized onions, it happens 😉
Ari @ Ari's Menu
Holy cow, this looks like absolute perfection!! I love veggie burgers, and all of the flavors here just look incredible!
cindy
Thanks Ari!
Laura Dembowski
I keep thinking about trying to make veggie burgers. These sound easy and super tasty!
cindy
they are easy and much tastier than store-bought 🙂
Shirleen @ Sugar and Spice
I happen to be looking at all kinds of ways I could use up some mushrooms I have. Well…’some’ doesn’t really describe it. More like an entire commercial carton! Bought some direct from a producer on a road trip a over the weekend. I’m liking these lentil and mushroom burgers Cindy – it’s summer here at the moment, so there’s nothing like a ‘shroom burger cooked on the bbq! 🙂
cindy
amazing! I would love to have a huge box of mushrooms…I love em. And a bbq’d version sounds great…I might freezer the patties or add another egg before grilling, to ensure they keep it together 🙂
Sara @ The Cozy Herbivore
Simply stunning! I love me a good homemade veggie burger, but the toppings really take this baby over the top. Gorgeous, and I bet everything works so well in tandem for a filling and scrumptious lunch. Can’t wait to give it a try!
cindy
Thanks Sara! I’m a sucker for a toppings loaded burger.
Suzanne
Love the lentil burger idea! and all the toppings, fabulous the way you put it together into a fun dinner.
cindy
thanks!
Brittany
Whaaat, I need this avocado-yogurt spread in my life!!
Also, these burgers look super delish from top to bottom. 🙂
cindy
yeah you do!
Lindsay
I would have to tranquilize my husband before he would touch these (mushroom/avocado hater) but I WANT THEM! Ugh :-/ Looks like I’ll have to find a lonely night to cook for one.
Melissa (Alienbody)
A link on BlogHer brought me to this recipe! Holy guacamole, it sounds delicious! I’m on a juice fast right now, but I’ll be planning to make this soon…without the bun, unfortunately. Darn gluten.
cindy
yay! Thanks Melissa!
Valerie @ Pursuit of Sweetness
Ugh veggie burgers are the best! I actually had a lentil, mushroom, OLIVE veggie burger the other week…If you like olives, you have to try it! It was shocking and awesome.
cindy
I LOVE olives, I will definitely try that next time. Were they mixed into the burger?
tanja
Hi there! Loved your recipe, but was wondering about something. In the ingredients you list roasted tomatoes but in the recipe you mention somewhere sun dried tomatoes and was wondering if you are referring to the roasted ones.
cindy
Hi, Tanja! Actually, there are both! It seems I missed adding the sun-dried tomatoes to the ingredients list. The sun-dried tomatoes go into the patty mixture and the roasted ones are for topping. I’ve fixed it, sorry about the confusion!
tanja
Great, thanks!!!!!
tanja
Did you use the ones in oil or the dry ones?
cindy
I used oil packed ones, but rehydrated dried ones will work 🙂
Sasha
Made these last week. So so delish!
cindy
yes! I’m so glad. Thanks, Sasha!
Diana Z
I’m halfway through making these and got hungry so I started eating the avocado spread as a dip! I also grated a healthy dose of lemon zest into the avocado mixture and it was delicious. Thanks for this recipe! I look forward to eating the complete package tomorrow.
cindy
awesome! let me know how it goes!
Diana Z
They turned out really well! I wasn’t sure how much to use for bread crumbs, but I ended up adding about 1/3-1/2 cup. 🙂
cindy
Awesome! I actually just grind up 1 burger bun and use that for the bread crumbs. I’m so glad you liked them! thanks, Diana!
Rebecca
YUM! I need to make this – I’m a veggie burger – a – holic!
http://www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com
x
Vanessa
This looks amaaazing! 🙂
http://cafecraftea.blogspot.com
Natalie
Thank you! I just made these, I didn’t have burger buns so I used wraps and made mini burgers with the sauce, tomatoes and mozzarella – wow they were well received!