My new favorite veggie burger is this mushroom and lentil bruschetta burger! Great texture, easy to make, and FULL of flavor.
We don’t like boring burgers around here! Just like this Southwestern Grilled Turkey Burgers and this Greek Turkey Burgers with Whipped Feta, today’s recipe is full of delicious flavors!
These mushroom lentil burgers are everything I want in a vegan burger! It took some recipe testing to get this one right but it is there and I know you are going to love it!
These burgers have the perfect texture, thanks to the oats, sunflower seeds, and panko breadcrumbs. I really wanted to infuse these burgers with lots of bruschetta flavors, so there is just a touch of balsamic vinegar in the patties.
While the bruschetta burgers were cooking I chopped up a SUPER simple bruschetta with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, more balsamic, and garlic. So you also get a bit more balsamic flavor from the bruschetta. (If you want to go all out, you could drizzle with balsamic reduction…YUM!)
These flavors were just perfect together, and this isn’t wimpy vegetarian food…this is enough burger to fill up my 6 foot 3 husbands! And he didn’t even have room for sweet potato fries or salad or any side dish.
You’ll love this lentil burger because
- it is an easy vegetarian meal
- the texture is amazing!
- you can cook it on the grill
- it only takes 3o minutes to make
The burger base
This burger starts with cooked brown lentils. I used canned lentils, but if you have dried lentils, you will need to cook them first (find directions here). Note that red lentils will not work in this recipe and other varieties have not been tested.
In addition to brown lentils, we are adding mushrooms, which brings umami and bulks out the burgers, sunflower sees, which bring texture, and rolled oats, which help bring structure and much-needed texture to the burgers. Without the rolled oats and sunflower seeds, these burgers have a delicious flavor, but the texture of mashed potatoes!
Building flavor
To build out the flavors of the burger, in addition to the umami-rich mushrooms, we are adding in Worcestershire sauce, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Together, these ingredients give the burgers flavor depth and dimension.
Toppings
To give these burgers a distinctive ‘bruschetta’ flavor, we add a topping that is heavy on the tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Consider these toppings completely optional, adding your own favorite toppings as you’d like. I will note that these small toppings make for a messy burger, so you could swap in favor of tomato slices, whole basil leaves and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.
Storage + make-ahead tips
If you’d like, you could make the burger patties ahead and store in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to cook them up:
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days
- Freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a reusable bag and freeze for up to 3 months
More Meatless Meals
- Hearty Lentil Soup
- Easy Red Lentil Dal Recipe
- Southwestern Sweet Potato and Lentil Jar Salads
- Vegan Bolognese
- Vegan Crockpot Chili (Freezer)
Mushroom Lentil Bruschetta Burger
Ingredients
Mushroom and Lentil Veggie Burgers:
- 100 g mushrooms 3.5 oz, 6 average cremini
- 1 cup brown lentils canned, drained and rinsed
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup Panko
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large slices of mozzarella
Bruschetta:
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 tablespoons red onion minced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil torn
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Other:
- 4 gourmet burger buns
Instructions
- Spread out a couple of paper towels and arrange the lentils and mushrooms on top. Allow to dry for 10 minutes.
- Place the mushrooms, lentils, garlic, worcestershire, salt, balsamic vinegar, and sunflower seeds in the base of a food processor, and pulse 10 times. Scrape down the sides of the processor, add the rolled oats and pulse 5 more times (or until it looks like the photo above).
- Scrape the contents of the food processor into a large bowl. Stir in the panko and eggs.
- Form ½ cup patties about 1 inch thick. Cook in a non-stick frying pan for 4 minutes, then flip. Cook for 2 more minutes, then place a slice of mozzarella on top and cook for another 2 or so minutes, until cheese is melted and burger is cooked through.
- Bruschetta Stir together all bruschetta ingredients and set aside.
Rosemary
I made this to use up some fresh basil and mushrooms I had in the fridge. The recipe fed 3 people, and my husband, a carnivore, , enjoyed his very much. I would make this recipe again, and I am sharing it with friends
Denise
I’m so happy your family enjoyed the burgers, Rosemary! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Anta Kusuma
What a nice post its really awesome blog and this post barger sandwich is really niceeee…….
Denise
Thank you sou much, Anta <3
James
I haven’t even tried this veggie burger yet and it’s already my new favorite- just from the photos!! Texture is everything, so I am glad this one has got it going on!
Denise
Thanks so much, James!
Shilpa Malhotra
Wow, really, I can’t get over that delicious taste! So simple and yet – sooo great. Thank you for this recipe – it’s a real keeper
Denise
I’m so glad you liked it, Shilpa! I need to make it again before fall hits us!
Roshani Khanna
Oh my gosh this looks so good! I am over here drooling over this dish right now.
Denise
Thanks so much, Roshani!
Morgan
This looks sooo good! I love all of the extra toppings packed in between the buns. Can’t wait to give this tasty treat a try! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Denise
Thanks so much, Morgan! This is one of my favorite burgers ever! I hope you like it 🙂
Amelie Moore
Love the flavours going on here and this would be perfect for breakfast!
Kristine | Kristine's Kitchen
We made these for dinner tonight and LOVED them, Denise! The burgers were perfect, and the onion and tomatoes on top were just right. I added some avocado too… just couldn’t resist. 😉
This is going to be our go-to veggie burger recipe from now on. Even the kids ate them!
Denise
Oh avocado sounds amazing on these! I’m so glad you liked them, Kristine! (And thanks so much for catching my recipe typo!)
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze
I agree you have to have a burger during summer!! Denise I’m not one for a veggie burger, but I have to tell you this looks awesome! And I agree no mashed potatoes in your burger! PS love love your photos. <3
marcie
I’ve never made my own veggie burgers and have been wanting to forever. These are really making me want to get to it! I love the mushrooms and lentils, and those bruschetta flavors sound delicious! This is the perfect thing to use up my garden tomatoes!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
Burgers are one of the best parts of summer! These look amazing. I made a veggie burger recipe a few years ago and the texture was exactly that, mashed potatoes. I just though maybe veggie burgers weren’t our thing – but maybe it was the recipe I tried! Have to try this one!
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven
Veggie burgers can be so hard to nail, and it definitely looks lik you’ve done it here! Seriously swooning over all this summer goodness and I seriously love these photos too!
Kristine | Kristine's Kitchen
I can’t wait to try these, Denise! I try not to eat beef burgers too often, so I’m excited for this healthy veggie version! And, your photos of these burgers are gorgeous!!!
Kelly
This is just the burger I need to get my hubs on board with veggies burgers! It has everything I love and yay for not being wimpy too! Looks delicious and the bruschetta topping sounds amazing!
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen
I love veggie burgers and this one looks delicious, Denise. Love the bruschetta topping – a perfect summer addition!
Medha
This looks amazing! Love the savory mushroom and lentil combination with the bruschetta- delicious 🙂
Denise
Thanks so much, Medha!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
Oh MY! You know I LOVE these burgers Denise..(!!) No doubt veg burgers can be tricky, but you nailed it with these! I can’t wait to give them a go.. the balsamic is making my mouth water!
Denise
Thank you so much, Traci! I hope you like them 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
OMG, I haven’t even tried this veggie burger yet and it’s already my new favorite- just from the photos!! Texture is everything, so I am glad this one has got it going on! Plus I am loving the bruschetta up in here! Gimme gimme gimmmmeee! Cheers!
Denise
LOL! Thank you so much, Cheyanne 🙂
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
Trade you one of these veggie hamburgers for one of my veggies hot dogs…!!!!
Denise
DEAL! And now I’m heading over to check yours out!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
It’s definitely not summer without a burger! And I think this might just become my new favorite veggie burger, too! I love the mushrooms and bruschetta in here. Sounds so flavorful and perfect for an easy, summer meal!
Denise
Thanks so much, Gayle! So easy. Love easy summer dinners 🙂