This oversized, thick and bold veggie burger is perfect for anyone who craves a burger bash! Bring on the burger toppings, my Black & Beet Mushroom-Walnut Veggie Burgers recipe ahead..
before baking..
pink plump patties..
Baked into this..
And this..
Burger bash is on..
Last week I went to an awesome baby shower. It was a rainy, stormy, cloud-covered, grey day. The type of day where all you really want to do is curl up under a blankie and sip hot cocoa while watching old movies. But also the type of day that makes going out, venturing into the mess of bad weather a sort of challenge, making the destination somewhat magical once you get there. And it was. Being inside a warm and cheerful home filled with loads of friendly faces was perfection. Now this wasn't your typical, throw all the guys out so all the girls can get high on estrogen and gush at the sight of tiny pink baby clothes and the sweet mommy bump. Sure that all kinda happened anyways, but the guys (and puppy dogs) balanced things out quite nicely. See, this was a "beer & burgers" BBQ style baby shower. Totally guy approved. However, not vegan approved. Which was totally fine by me, I was perfectly happy sipping mugs of almond-milk infused hot lemon-Zen tea and nibbling veggie sticks, hummus and crackers. But the burgers were everywhere and everyone had a burger-filled plate. It was hard to ignore the sight of them, really. So I had to stare a bit and ponder one thing..
HOW COULD I MAKE THESE EXACT PLUMP, BLACK-N-PINK, JUICY BURGERS IN A VEGAN VERSION?
You know me. Always secretly veganizing. I see a food that people WANT and I want to stand up and shout, oh my goodness I could TOTALLY veganize that for you if you give me a shot! But obviously I'm not THAT kind of girl at a baby shower. So I quietly ignored the featured entree and prepared to veganize for my next veggie burger feast.
I noticed that the burgers had black spots from the charcoal BBQ-ing, they were textured and bumpy and the tones ranged from black to purple to brown and pink and red. OK, ok sorry hard core vegans, I do not mean to get so meat-detailed but this is important!
Why?
Well if VEGAN burgers could easily sit next to non-vegan burgers and not only rival them in flavor (easy) but truly rival them in appearance, well that is a great thing! So this BBQ inspired me to create a veggie burger that was not only delish, but also looked a bit like those non-vegan burgers.
I call this creation "The Contender" aka my Black & Beet Mushroom-Walnut Veggie Burgers. These plant-based babes could easily be placed in the ring with any beef-y burger.
These burgers contain a few black ingredients to give the burger appearance some depth. Black rice and black beans. I find that pink beet burgers do not usually have the tone and color contrast to look like a classic non-vegan burger, so the black helps there.
Oh, and I know some vegans hate it when bloggers try and create VEGAN recipes that LOOK LIKE MEAT. And I am normally not a big fan of that idea either. BUT the whole point of this is that I wanted to create something that I could actually set on a party table right next to the meat option and maybe someone would be so interested by the similarities of the two, they just might give the vegan version a try. And the best part about this burger is that it is made using WHOLE foods. No processed soy or TVP. Just whole, good, healthy ingredients like beans, walnuts, rice, seeds, spices. So dive in or serve up a platter of these burgers at your next burger bash.
Black & Beet Mushroom-Walnut Veggie Burgers
vegan, makes 3-4 fat & large burgers (or 4-6 smaller burgers)
1 ¼ cups canned black beans, drained, rinsed & mashed
1 cup cooked black rice, (½ cup uncooked)
¼ cup raw beets, grated on a microplane
1 ¼ cups fresh shiitake mushrooms. processed until crumbly, thick stems removed
½ - ¾ cup walnuts, processed until fine and crumbly
1 teaspoon smoky spanish paprika
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
a few pinches of pepper
flax liquid: 1 ½ tablespoon veggie broth + 1 ½ teaspoon ground flax seeds
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease the pan. I use coconut oil.
2. You can do this step beforehand for easiest prep: cook black rice. I use about ½ cup of rice and 1 cup of water or veggie broth. Add a pinch of salt if using water. Cover with lid and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 25-35 minutes or until rice is tender. Check on the rice about 20 minutes into cooking and add another splash of water if you the rice looks a bit too dry.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the rinsed beans. Mash them well with a fork.
4. In a blender or food processor, process the walnuts until they are crumbly and powdery. Add them to the mixing bowl.
5. Process the shiitake mushrooms the same way you did the walnuts, only the mushrooms with just be very crumbly, not powdery. Add them to the mixing bowl.
6. Add the cooked rice, beets, spices and all other ingredients for the veggie burgers to the mixing bowl. Start mashing with a fork and fold for about 5 minutes. You really want a very mashed and thick consistency.
7. You should be able to directly handle the mixture and form into patties. If the mixture is too wet you can either fold in a bit more walnuts, a spoonful of oat flour or you can place the mixture in the fridge to chill up a bit. If the mixture is too thick for your tastes, you can add in a tiny splash of veggie broth, until it thins out a bit.
8. Form patties and place on the baking sheet.
9. Spray or brush the tops of the patties with coconut oil or EVOO. (optional - adds a nice crispness to the tops.)
10. Bake patties at 375 for 25 minutes. Cool a bit before transferring to buns. Serve with any burger toppings you'd like!
Krystal Frazier says
Hi Kathy,
I'm wondering about the texture of the beets. I do not have a microplane. Do you imagine that chopping them in the Ninja on a low speed could work or slicing them via a regular grater could do the job? Thanks for your thoughts!
Sarah Pollard says
This is literally the first veggie burger that I have EVER liked. Just made them and they are absolutely delicious. Thank you!!!
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh awesome! Happy to hear that!
Kathleen says
Is there a good substitute for the walnuts for those of us who are allergic to tree nuts?
Yvonne Vairma says
I haven't tried this recipe yet, (can't wait to!) but it sounds to me like the walnuts are adding some fat and protein while even serving a bit as a binder to hold it all together. Based on that, I would suggest experimenting with a seed substitution if your allergies allow for seeds. Flaxseed comes to mind immediately because ground flax and water create a gelatin-like vegan egg replacement, as does ground chia with water. In both cases you're still getting some protein and fat, and as a bonus the fats contain healthy omegas! Otherwise, you might try shelled hemp seeds, which will pack even more protein, or ground sesame seed, which will add a thick tahini component. If anyone else on here can chime in from experience I'd be curious to hear your advice too. Otherwise, happy experimenting!
Laurel Wirtanen-Siloy says
Best. Burger. EVER. I made mine exactly as written, and topped with notzarella. Yummy. Amazing flavors. I was nervous on the vinegar but it was absolutely perfect.
Aaron says
i'm a meat eater and i have to say, wow that looks pretty good. I'm going to have to give it a try. I'm just looking to cut back on my meat intake. I think this would be great. I love hamburgers.
Fleur says
I need to make these asap. They look and sound divine! Thank you for the recipe.
Terry says
I made these tonight to bring for my lunches this week..they held together very well, but one did break a little so I tasted it..it was soo good! So looking forward to my lunch tomorrow!
DebbieDisco says
These were way easy to make and came out moist and delicious :d I happened to have beets and shiitakes from the farmer's market, and all of the other ingredients on hand (including black rice that had been sitting around for a year)! The flavors were balanced and tasty - I loved the hint of mustard. Mine aren't holding together that well, so I might add more of the flax mixture next time. Has anyone tried cooking them on the stovetop or grill?
Kathy Patalsky says
awesome! so glad you liked them!
12 generation says
these sound and look terrific. Do they hold up well if grilled?
Kathy Patalsky says
hm. Maybe. I would form them, then chill them and then grill over a super hot flame. Try to make the patties extra thick and dry.
RockMyVeganSocks says
Hmmm... not a huge beet fan, but I bet these are delicious!!!
Kathy Patalsky says
You cannot even taste the beets, really just for color and a bit of texture 🙂 Thanks!
pinstripepixie . says
A question about storage: Can the burgers be frozen, once you make them into patties, before they are cooked? Or would you suggest going through the whole recipe and just refrigerating the leftovers once the entire cooking process has happened?
Thanks so much!
saniel says
I always have more burgers leftover (uncooked) so I freeze on parchment paper in freezer and then put in freezer bag with directions and a date. Hubby will make when he wants a quick meal. Hope this helpz
Kathy Patalsky says
You can store the uncooked patties. I would freezer
Kristy says
YUM! What type/brand of bun did you use?
Kathy Patalsky says
Rudi's wheat buns #vegan
Betwisty . says
OMG these look like insane yumminess!!! I can't wait to try these!!!
Kathy Patalsky says
🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
thanks! 🙂
Jessica Campion says
These look beautiful! Can't wait to try them out!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Jessica!
Laurie A. says
These look absolutely fantastic! What a mouth-watering burger!!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Laurie!
Liz says
Do you use 1 cup of black rice and THEN cook it, per the ingredient list, or do you just use 1 cup of COOKED black rice as implied in the directions?
Also, for the beets, what size microplane did you use? Did you just use a zester?
KristinAtl says
Liz, I had the same question. The recipe as written seems to say to cook 1 cup of black rice. But if you read the directions, she directs us to cook 1/2 cup of rice to become 1 cup cooked.
Kathy Patalsky says
updated list to be more clear
Kathy Patalsky says
1/2 cup uncooked
lisatberry says
these look awesome...I would definitely pick this over a fatty beef burger
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh good! 🙂
Mia Skøtt Møbjerg says
YUM! I am so going to make these... Sound and look very delicious. Do you have any idea how many grams of shiitake you used?
Kathy Patalsky says
around 170g ? Like 6oz... does that make sense? 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
..and these were very fluffy shiitakes, so heartier, thicker mushrooms may require a bit less..
BabyJune says
Wow, these look delicious! I'm normally not a mushroom fan but these patties look like they would hit the spot! The resemblance to real meat is super impressive--I think I'll be making these soon. 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
The mushroom taste really fades, I like them more for their texture, chewy and meaty and fluffy. And the health benefits.
Jean Marie says
These look great we are looking for new recipes. We just started doing Vegan last year! We feel so much better!
Kathy Patalsky says
Awesome! so glad to hear that! 🙂
charity snowden says
how come this isn't in my mouth right. now.? you are most definitely one of my top recipe-creating idols, and i cannot wait to make these!
charity
Kathy Patalsky says
🙂
Dana Shultz says
These look incredible! I want to stuff my face into one immediately. Stunning photos!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Dana!!
Megan @fittingintovegan.com says
I am so going to have to try these. My one-and-only attempt at vegan burgers they fell apart (tasted good, but still) and I haven't wanted to try again. I will try these (minus the beet)!
Kathy Patalsky says
Keep trying! And if you have further binding issues, sweet potatoes, almond butter, chia seeds, tahini and more "flax eggs" can really help. (And you should be pretty good removing the beet for the texture, maybe just add in a splash more broth for that added hydration and a more sub with rice or more beans...)
Vegan Richa says
i love the black rice in these.. gives the burger such an amazing texture and color profile!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes! I am obsessed with black rice. 🙂 Thanks Richa!
coconutandberries says
These are stunning! And though I wouldn't say that about beef patties, I can definitely see what you mean about being similar in appearance.
They sound mighty tasty too with all those healthy whole food ingredients.
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes agreed ! thanks 🙂
Northwest Herbivore says
I'm excited to try these! A couple questions about the mushrooms: did you use fresh or rehydrated shiitakes? And any reason to think that a different type wouldn't work well? I generally like other types better, but I'd give these a go if you think the flavor and texture are better suited to this recipe.
Kathy Patalsky says
fresh shiitakes. They are nice and fluffy and chewy and provide a softness to the burgers. You could easily sub with a portobello or even oyster mushroom I would think.. Something a bit fluffy. Mushrooms are generally pretty easy to substitute for each other.
Lizz Clements says
Oh yeah, I would definitely make these for a BBQ. Yum!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Lizz!