Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers are made of grains and chopped mushrooms. They have a neutral flavor and pair well with any burger toppings.
Many years ago (we're talking more than a decade here), there was a type of veggie burgers that were commonly available in Canada called Gardenburgers. They were available at Costco under the Kirkland Signature brand, but if I recall correctly, they were originally made by Money's (the mushroom company), but I could be wrong.
They are no longer available at Costco, and best I can tell, anywhere else. I'm not sure how long they've been gone, but I'm fairly sure I haven't seen them since I moved back to Canada in 2020.
These veggie burgers were grain and mushroom-based, and they were my favorite. I'll eat other veggie burgers now, but I don't like that many of them seem to have very prominent flavors that overpower my burger toppings (I'm looking at you Chipotle Black Bean Burgers). And don't even mention the "Impossible" style burgers. I'm not a fan.
I decided that I would do my best to create the veggie burgers of my past and I gotta say, I nailed it. My son told me today "I just love these veggie burgers!" when I made him one for dinner, and this kid is normally a meat lover! Let's learn how to make Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers.
How to make Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers
Ok, I'm not going to sugarcoat things. Making these veggie burger patties is a process. They require 4 different cooking steps (cooking the grains, cooking the mushrooms, baking the patties, and frying/air-frying/grilling the patties just before serving).
Using quick-cooking or precooked grains can save you some time, as can making a double batch (it's no more work than making a single batch), and keeping the patties ready-on-hand, frozen can help to minimize the work.
Start by cooking the barley and the rice. As there are various options as to what type to use, and all require different cooking times, make sure to follow the directions on the package.
Next, start soaking the oats. This simply requires covering them with a couple of inches of cold water and letting them sit.
Next, prep the mushrooms. Brush any dirt off of them, break them into smaller pieces, and put them into the bowl of your food processor (I recommend doing this in 2-3 batches to get the most evenly chopped mushrooms). The goal is to coarsely chop them. Alternatively, you could do this by hand.
Now use a box grater to grate the onion. Add the chopped mushrooms and the grated onion to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until most of the excess moisture has been cooked off, about 15-20 minutes.
Drain any excess water from the barley, rice (if needed), and the oats. Press as much extra water from the oats as possible through a fine-mesh strainer. Add the grains to a large bowl with the cooked mushroom mixture. Add the remaining ingredients (salt, eggs, shredded cheese, cornstarch, garlic, smoked paprika, and black pepper) and mix well.
Decide what size you want to make your patties and measure out the portions (I recommend ¼ to ½ pound - I used ⅓ pound, and it was a good size for me). Using a burger patty press or by hand, form the portions into patties (they will be roughly the texture of thick oatmeal) and carefully place the patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the patties for about 30 minutes, until they are completely set. They are safe to eat now, but I recommend cooking them again to crisp and brown the edges. You could also refrigerate or freeze the patties at this point to use later.
Right before serving, cook the patties again (you can even do this straight from frozen): either in a skillet with a little oil, in an air-fryer, or on the grill. Serve with a bun and your favorite burger toppings.
Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers Ingredients
- Dry barley - to save time, use quicker-cooking barley, vs hulled barley which can take around an hour to cook. To make your veggie burgers gluten-free, use a gluten-free grain like additional rice (I suggest using two different types in this case) or quinoa.
- Dry rice - you can really use any type of rice here. I used a wild rice blend that had been hanging out in my pantry for awhile. For maximum fiber and more chewy texture, use brown rice. For maximum time savings, use Minute Rice or pre-cooked rice.
- Dry rolled oats - if you need your veggie burgers to be gluten-free, make sure the oats are labeled as such.
- Mushrooms - use either white or brown (cremini) mushrooms.
- Medium onion
- Canola oil or neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Kosher salt or MSG-salt
- Large eggs
- Shredded mild cheese - you want to use a good melting cheese that doesn't have a strong flavor here. Something like mild cheddar, marble, mozzarella, or Monterey jack
- Cornstarch
- Garlic
- Smoked paprika or hot paprika
- Freshly ground black pepper
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Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one ⅓ pound patty. If you make your patties larger or smaller than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly. The nutrition information is for the patty only and does not include a bun or any burger toppings.
The nutrition information uses regular hulled barley, white rice, and colby jack (marble) cheese for the calculations. Using different ingredients may result in slightly different nutrition information, but I don't expect the changes would be drastic.
To make these Mushroom Grain Veggie Burger patties gluten-free, replace the barley with a gluten-free grain like additional rice or quinoa. Also, make sure that the oats you are using are labeled as gluten-free.
Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In two separate small saucepans, cook ¼ cup (50 g) dry barley and ½ cup (90 g) dry rice according to the directions on the package (note that cooking times will vary depending on what type you choose to use.) Drain any excess water when done cooking. Add both cooked grains to a large bowl.
- While you're waiting for the grains to cook, continue prepping the other ingredients. Place 1 cup (90 g) dry rolled oats in a medium bowl and cover with a couple of inches of cold water. Soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain using a fine-mesh strainer, pressing out any excess water with a spatula or spoon. Add to the bowl with the other grains.
- Wipe any visible dirt from 24 ounces (680 g) mushrooms, break them into ½ to 1-inch pieces, and add the pieces to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse the food processor until the mushrooms are coarsely chopped (alternatively, do this by hand with a large chef's knife). Make sure not to overfill your food processor as this will make it difficult to get the mushrooms cut into uniform pieces. For a full-sized food processor, I recommend processing 24 ounces of mushrooms in 2-3 batches.
- Grate 1 medium onion using the large holes of a box grater.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon canola oil or neutral-flavored cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the processed mushrooms, the grated onion, and half of the kosher salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring often, until all of the excess liquid has cooked off, about 15-20 minutes.
- Add the cooked mushroom mixture to the bowl with the grains. Stir in the remaining half of the kosher salt, 3 large eggs, ¾ cup shredded mild cheese, ¼ cup cornstarch, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. The mixture at this point will be quite wet and resemble thick oatmeal.
- Move oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Turn on the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Decide how large you want your patties to be (I made mine all ⅓ pound or 151g, and this was just right for our appetites and buns. Anywhere from ¼ pound to ½ pound would work). Use a measuring cup or kitchen scale to measure out portions for your patties. By hand or using a hamburger patty press, form the portions into patties of your desired size. Carefully place the patties onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the patties until they're fully set, about 30 minutes. If they're not set in the middle yet, place them back in the oven for about 5 more minutes. Larger patties may need a few extra minutes. At this point, they are safe to eat, but I recommend cooking them a second time to crisp and brown the edges. You could do this right away, or you could refrigerate or freeze the patties for later.
- Right before serving, I recommend cooking the patties again to reheat/crisp and brown the edges. You can do this immediately after baking, from the fridge, or from frozen.
- In a skillet: heat a Tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cover. Cook until the bottom of the patty is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip the patties and repeat on the second side.
- In an air-fryer: Brush or spray a very light layer of oil on both sides of the patties. Heat in your air-fryer until the outsides are crisp and the center is hot, about 10 minutes at 425°F.
- On the grill: Heat the grill on medium-high to high heat and clean the grates with a bristle-free grill scraper. Turn the heat down to medium and lightly oil the grates. Place your Mushroom Grain Veggie Burgers on the grill and cook until browned on the bottom, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the patties and repeat on the second side.
Nutrition
Notes
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