I was really excited to make these because there’s something so craveble about a burger and I love mushrooms in pretty much everything. The meaty taste of portobellos is perfect to make in a burger because it makes a substantial burger and has great flavor. I found a recipe on Pinterest for these and changed it around to omit oil, steak sauce, and  animal products (eggs and cheese). It turned out to be delicious and Josh kept telling me how good they were while he was eating. I used flax eggs to replace the eggs, nutritional yeast to replace cheese, and baked them to omit oil. We don’t have steak sauce so I added in BBQ sauce to give it a smokey flavor. I also added more mushrooms than recommended for more texture.

Anything that has to be held together to make a burger patty or meatball has been one of my hardest vegan adaptions because most of the time they don’t hold together or they’re way too mushy even after they’re cooked. When I find something that has a good texture when finished, I run with it. I tried several different things than the recipe told me to while making these and they turned out to be tasty.

I like my burgers to have a crunchy outside and tender inside, but I wanted them completely cooked through so they weren’t mushy so I started them off in the oven on 400* on parchment and then finished them on a grill pan to add a little more texture. The ciabatta roll was the perfect vessel for these because the nooks and crannies were stuffed with avocado and BBQ sauce and the bread was soft on the inside and toasty on the outside. YUM!

Chunky Portobello Burgers

3 portobello caps, cleaned and gills removed, chopped in small pieces

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, separated

1/2 cup breadcrumbs, the Kroger gluten free Italian are vegan

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2-3 tbsp BBQ sauce, I used Organic Brown Sugar BBQ sauce from TJ’s *no oil*

1 cup broccoli, diced

3 flax eggs (3 tbsp ground flax seeds, 7 tbsp water, mixed and set aside)

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire

salt and pepper to taste

Toppings- I used a toasted ciabatta roll from TJ’s, avocado, BBQ sauce, and lettuce with a side of roasted asparagus.

1. Preheat oven to 400* and chop up veggies.
2. Make flax eggs by mixing flaxseed and water then set aside to gel.
3. Add one can of rinsed beans to your food processor and pulse until semi-smooth. Add in the chopped broccoli and onion and pulse until combined.
4. In a large bowl, combine bean mixture, leftover beans from the can, chopped portobellos, garlic, nutritional yeast, flax eggs, Worcestershire, and breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Using 1/2 cup to scoop out the mixture, use wet hands to make 7 patties. Place on a parchment lined baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.
6. Take out to cool for a few minutes and then finish the patties on a hot grill pan to get more crunch.
7. Serve and enjoy!