Vegan Mushroom Bean Burger

Mushrooms are surprisingly similar in taste and texture to meat when cooked, so they are the perfect ingredient for vegetarian veggie burgers.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon canola oil, or vegetable oil; divided
• 1 small onion, white or yellow; diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, diced
• 0.5 teaspoon cumin
• 0.75 cup fresh mushrooms, diced small
• 1.5 teaspoons egg replacer
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 16 -ounce can pinto beans
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 4 hamburger buns
• For serving: baby spinach, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers

Steps

1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the diced onion and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion is soft.
3. Add the green onions, cumin, and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are browned. If needed add a little bit of oil. Set the cooked onion and mushroom mixture aside.
4. Combine the warm water and egg replacer, mix together, and reserve. In a separate bowl, mash the beans with a fork until well softened. Alternatively, pulse them in a food processor, but don't puree, simply coarsely process the beans. Add the egg replacer mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Combine the mashed beans mixture with the onion and mushroom mixture and add the parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix well until you have a homogeneous mixture.
6. Shape the mixture into patties about 1 inch thick—the perfect thickness for the burgers to cook all the way through and develop a crusty outside.
7. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. An indoor grill pan is also a wonderful option to cook these patties.
8. Place on burger buns, add fresh veggies, and enjoy.