This is not your average veggie burger.
Lentils and cashews give this burger the substance to be protein-packed and filling, while the curry and coriander give a big kick of flavour. I normally don’t bother with a bun when I’m eating burgers at home, but these ones are nice with fresh burger buns, topped with radish, avocado, cheese and whatever else you want. I put a bit of chipotle mayo on the tops of mine as well—can’t go wrong.
This recipe is from the Canadian Living Vegetarian Collection, my favourite all-veg cookbook. I have used oats instead of breadcrumbs, but if you prefer to use breadcrumbs, that’s what I used this time (it’s also what they call for in the original recipe) and it works well too.
Sidenote: There’s one exception to the store bought veggie burgers. President’s Choice makes a Portobello Swiss Burger which is really yummy (although it’s still soy-based), but it’s easier to barbecue than homemade ones because they stay together really well.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 4 cups white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
- 1 19oz can lentils, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp. curry paste
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
- Avocado slices to garnish (optional)
- Radish slices to garnish (optional)
Method
In a dry skillet, toast cashews over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to food processor.
In the same skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of the oil over medium-high heat; saute mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt and pepper until no liquid remains, about 5 minutes. Add to food processor.
Add lentils and curry paste to food processor; pulse to combine, scraping excess food from the sides with a rubber spatula. Mix in oats and coriander. Shape mixture into four 1-inch thick patties.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat; fry patties until crusty, turning once so they don’t fall apart, about 16 minutes. Top each finished burger with your favourite veggies and slap it between a bun.
the vegetarian ginger 
Hi Veronica! Lately I’ve been trying to think up ways to make “interesting burgers”. Yours here fits the bill perfectly and sounds so good. 🙂
Hi Sofia, I’m glad you like them! Hopefully they fulfill your burger needs 😛
Oh. Wow. I love this recipe! Pretty much anything with cashews is a must-make for me, and the pics are mouthwatering!
Thanks very much! The cashews are a great additive–I was afraid they might be a bit dry but with the mushrooms and everything else it balanced out nicely.
Every now and then I’ll browse the “Food” section, but rarely will I find something that I’ll actually end up eating. This could end up being one of those, though! Looks delicious and more importantly, healthy!
I’m glad it sparked your interest!
This looks wonderful. Goodness. I want to eat it now.
Reblogged this on Pookito's Blog and commented:
Sorry, your Burger looks so good, I need to reblog it. 🙂
Thank you!
🙂
Wow! That looks yummy ^_^
I have to admit, it was 🙂 thanks!
YUM..thanks for the share! :-0
wow! great!
Veronica! This is pretty much the most beautiful veggie burger I’ve ever seen… love the idea of the chipotle mayo. With the ‘white mushrooms’, did you just use the smallish button mushrooms? I’ve also been using oyster ones recently, but they’re a little ‘slimy’ (in want of a better word!) so I was wondering if they might not meld together in the patty so well. Can’t wait to try this recipe though! x
This looks sooo good! *drooling*.
Hi! These look delicious and I’m totally going to make them. What did you use for the curry paste? Red curry paste?
Hi Heather, I used Patak’s Original Mild Curry Paste. It’s got a purple label, not sure if its available outside of Canada though. Sorry if that’s not much help! It doesn’t specify much else
Bookmarked!! I like your site!
My spouse and I stumbled over this recipe and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so I am just following you. Look forward to reading more!
This is amazing! I used kidney beans instead of lentils, soaked the cashews in water instead, and zucchini/pepper instead of mushrooms — didn’t have much in the fridge this week… — and it turned out delicious! I think it is a very versatile recipe, you can just throw in whatever and it is great. Could use many different spices for flavours too.
Glad to hear it turned out with the substitutions!