These Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers hit every mark. They're hefty, have great texture with the walnuts and oats, and they can easily be made in advance and frozen. The burgers need just a handful of pantry ingredients, but are probably the most flavorful veggie burgers you've ever eaten.
For Spring Break, Desi, Jay and I drove up to Niagara Falls via Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Erie, New York. It's a road trip Desi and I have made many times before, often with relatives visiting from India who are eager to see -- usually in equal measure -- the falls and the Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Pittsburgh, one of the oldest Hindu temples here in the United States, and a key American landmark for many south Indians. 🙂
Desi and I skipped the temple this time, but we did stop long enough in Pittsburgh to take Jay up and down the cable car at the Duquesne Incline. From up top, you have stunning views of this beautiful city of rivers and bridges, one of our favorites.
Our road trips are often breathtakingly speedy-- we cover a lot of ground each day (we once drove up and down to Niagara in a day and a half, to accommodate a couple of friends from India on a tight schedule), and this one is no different. This morning, we started out in Erie, which sits along beautiful Lake Erie, one of America's five Great Lakes. After visiting the Presque Park Isle and seeing not one but two lovely lighthouses (have I told you I'd go to the ends of the earth to see a lighthouse, I love them so), we started out for Buffalo, home to yet another lighthouse, and on to Niagara Falls, our final destination.
Tonight, we walked down, with hundreds of tourists, to see the falls lit up at night. For Jay, who is visiting the falls for the first time, it was an awe-inspiring experience. I look forward even more to tomorrow, and to showing him the falls by day, in their natural splendor. It's a sight that needs no gilding, with neon lights or otherwise, and it never fails to take my breath away.
When we do road trips, I try and pack a couple of days' meals so we can at least start out eating healthier meals than the food one tends to grab at highway rest stops. These delicious Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers were in our cooler, along with slices of my vegan carrot cake, and together they made the trip that much more fun.
I have a great many delicious, hefty, grillable veggie burger recipes that I've shared with you on this blog, and these Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers are a proud addition to that list. They are utterly flavorful, have great texture from the beans, walnuts, and mushrooms, and they hold up beautifully on the grill. I flavor them with pantry staples: dijon mustard, garlic powder, tomato ketchup, thyme, salt, and pepper. That's it, really, other than the beans, walnuts, and mushrooms, of course.
I am off to bed now, I can't wait any longer to see the falls tomorrow. I hope you'll try these Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers, and do let me know if you make them. Top them with some cole slaw, like this delicious carrot and golden beet slaw for extra deliciousness.
More delicious veggie burgers
Vegan Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried pinto beans (soaked overnight, then cooked until tender, and drained. Can substitute with three cups of canned beans)
- ½ cup walnuts (lightly toasted)
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 4 cups button mushrooms (or crimini mushrooms, sliced)
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon ketchup
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Toss the mushrooms with some salt and pepper. Arrange on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are dry. Place the mushrooms in a food processor and pulse 5-10 times until they are coarsely ground but not in a paste.
- I continue mixing the rest of the ingredients in the food processor. Next, add the walnuts to the food processor bowl, pulse three to four more times until coarsely ground, then add the beans and the oats and pulse three to four times until everything is well mixed. I like some whole beans or large pieces in the mix for more texture.
- Add the ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, salt and black pepper to taste, and the thyme. Pulse a few more times until everything comes together.
- Using your fingers, shape the mixture into eight patties.
- Heat a skillet and coat with cooking spray. Place the patties on the skillet -- I cook four patties at a time in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Cook four to five minutes each side on medium high heat or until brown spots appear. Flip and cook the other side.
- Once the patties have cooled, you can separate with wax paper and freeze. Throw on the grill when ready to eat, or reheat and serve.
Cheryl Dennis
Made these for the first time! They were great! My husband loved them best! This recipe will be a new regular in our house… He does love beans but hated all the bean burgers I have tried! Thanks for this great recipe!
Andy Mellor
I made these and they were very good but I couldnt see thyme mentioned in the ingredients so I used dry thyme and had to guess at the amount. Can you tell me the amount you used please
Vaishali
Hi Andy, sorry about that--it's 1 tsp of dry thyme. I've added it.
S
Hello, the more recipes I look at the more I want to try, unfortunately I cannot consume tomatoes (ketchup, sauce, etc) so do you recommend something else to bind the patties? cheers.
S
EJ
I made these at the weekend to take to a bar-be-que party where there were 2 vegetarians (myself included) and a vegan. All eight burgers vanished very quickly and we loved them. But I always have a problem with cups and spend ages looking up on the internet what cups of different ingredients are in ounces or grams. It would really help if grams or ounces for us outside of the USA, were given too.
Berta
Quick question: the canned pinto bean amount does not change when you adjust the amount of servings when printing. Is there any way to fix that? And can you confirm that 1/2 cup dry pintos is equivalent to 3 can of cooked beans? Thank you in advance. I just found your website today and I have a few recipes that I must try ASAP!
Vaishali
Hi Berta, about 1 cup dry beans would be 3 cups of cooked--so around 24 ounces. If the cans you're using are around 14 oz, you can use two. I'll check on the servings slider. Thanks.
Rebecca
I made these today and I'll definitely be making them again. I used canned beans, changed the oats for oat bran and added some fresh parsley.
Thanks so much for an awesome recipe?
Katherine
I have tried so many different bean burgers and these are our absolute favourites. My little ones are both very picky eaters and always ask me to make these. Thank you!
Vaishali
Wow, this recipe is simple, but so delicious. I made these for guests over the weekend, and no one could get enough. Amazing.
Ruth Eisenbud
We seem to be going in opposite directions... you are going away from India, I am going towards India.. I spent the long easter weekend at an Indian classical music festival... where I was not exposed to the celebration of cruelty that is easter, with its hone roasted hams, roasted leg of lamb with rosemary....
Instead I listened to music that made my soul blossom... learned of the kindness of the Indiam music community in my area and ate wonderful Indian traditional vegetarian foods such as poha, pongol, sugi upma, vada, idli sambar, jaipur pulao, dal etc.
As far as I am concerned pongal, which I had for the first time is the ultimate comfort food.... If you could provide a recipe, I would appreciate it very much.
The friend I stayed with sticks pretty close to the traditional Indian vegetarian diet.... I felt light and strong after eating this food. If is meant to sustain, without the heaviness of most western vegan cooking, especially the kind that mimics meat.
All in all it was an uplifting and thrilling weekend... as I write I am listening to dhrupad sung by the Gundecha Brothers... it is calming soothing and energizing...
Vaishali
I can never go away from India. It lives in my heart, my face, and my being.
Jennifer
Your trips sounds like the ones I grew up with. My family always packed lunches and drove 8-11 hours all the way to Maine in one day. Growing up with packing our own meals made going vegan seem like stressful while traveling. Nothing seemed new about bringing a few lunches with me.
Vaishali
🙂 It's also an Indian thing. I don't remember an outing, as a child, where my parents didn't pack our lunches.