Recipe Build a Better… Burger
May 30, 2017
This satisfying vegan Lentil Walnut Burger is layered with so much scrumptiousness, your more traditional-burger friends may want a bite. Why show up at the barbecue with a pack of bland, frozen veggie burgers that will fill you up with too many calories, extra sodium, and little nutrition? In a few minutes, mix up savoury lentils, walnuts, and portobello mushrooms with candy-sweet caramelized onions in your food processor to make these easy plant-based patties with the recipe below. Then pass on the ketchup to top with creamy avocado pesto, spinach, caramelized onions, and fresh sliced tomatoes.
Watch:
How to make a better veggie burger with a plant-based patty on a sprouted whole grain bun
Ingredients
For the Lentil Walnut Burger Patties:
- ½ medium onion , thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp ground flax
- 2 ½ Tbsp water
- ¾ cup walnuts , toasted and cooled
- 1 cup portobello mushrooms (about 1 medium cap), roughly chopped
- ¾ cup lentils , cooked (we used Eden Organic canned lentils, rinsed and drained)
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs (we used Squirrelly Bread and our recipe for homemade sprouted breadcrumbs)
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- to taste coarse salt
- to taste ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
To Serve:
- 4 Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery Organic Sesame Hamburger Buns (or Silver Hills Bakery plain Sprouted Hamburger Buns), toasted if desired
- to taste your favourite plant-based burger toppings and condiments
Featured Product Burger Buns with Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Mix flax and water in a small dish and let sit for 15 minutes, until thickened.
- While your flax gels, toast walnuts in a dry pan until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
- Sauté onions in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until caramelized and let cool. You can add a pinch of salt to draw out the moisture and a pinch of sugar to speed caramelization, but time and patient stirring works equally well.
- In a food processor, combine sautéed onions, toasted walnuts, and mushrooms and pulse until mushrooms are coarsely chopped. Add lentils, seasonings, breadcrumbs, flax mixture, and remaining oil, then pulse until combined and mixture holds together. Do not over-process; there should still be some lentil and mushroom pieces for texture.
- Divide into 4 equal parts and form into patties. Pan fry burger patties until warmed through, or freeze for later.
- Serve on Silver Hills Sprouted Whole Grain Burger Buns (with or without sesame seeds, toasted or fresh from the bag). Top with your favourite sauces, condiments, and fresh veggies.
Try these handy tips!
- One standard 398ml / 14oz can of lentils = 1 ½ cups of cooked lentils, so you can double this recipe and use up the whole can.
- Using dried lentils? Remember they more than double in volume from dried to cooked, so you’ll need ⅔ cup of dried lentils to make roughly one can worth of cooked lentils. Be sure to use green or brown lentils (not red) to get the right texture for this recipe.
- Use up leftover cooked or canned lentils as a protein boost in your next salad.
