Here’s how to make a portobello mushroom burger everyone loves: grilled or fried! Tasty and meaty, irresistible with cheese and a special sauce.
Oh hello. Meet: Your perfect Portobello Mushroom Burger. This giant fleshy mushroom is irresistible on its own. But add it to a burger bun and pile it on with toppings and it’s downright outrageous! So that you can prepare it at any time of the year, we offer two methods: grilled or fried. We prefer it as a vegetarian grilled meat recipe to enjoy on the charcoal-scented patio… but we are! It’s fantastic any time of the year. Here are all the tips for the whole better Portbello mushroom burger (we think).
Do you like portobellos? Try these delicious Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms or any of our Portobello recipes.
Make a portobello mushroom burger: grilled or fried!
To get the best portobello mushroom burger ever, grilling is the number one method, in our opinion. But if it’s not summer and you want to make some, roasting is almost as delicious. Here’s a breakdown of the two methods:
- Grilled Portobello Burger: Using our grilled portobello mushroom method: Grill these babies over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. Start with the gill side up so that excess liquid gets into the grates when you turn them over.
- Toasted Portobello Burger: You only need 15 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit to roast your mushrooms! Be sure to drain the excess liquid. Sometimes we like to add a few shakes of liquid smoke before roasting to mimic a roasted flavor. Just be careful not to overdo it!
Two important things to know about Portbello burgers
The key to the perfect portobello mushroom burger is the topping. One important thing to remember: Portobello mushrooms are soft in texture. Sometimes they can get a bit lost in the bun. This is why toppings are so important. They add contrasting textures to create a satisfying sandwich.
Something else: Portobello mushrooms don’t fill! Since you’re using them in place of a protein, you’d think they’d be as filling as a burger. nope! A portobello mushroom burger is only filling if you add protein toppings. That’s why we like to top ours with cheese…
Load up the toppings to add texture and get the fill!
If you keep these two things in mind, you can build a portobello mushroom burger that has texture and tiers! Here are the toppings we chose – but of course you can get creative and use whatever you like:
- Much cheese! To keep it hearty, we like to add lots of cheese (two slices). Replace your favorite vegan cheese with a plant-based sandwich.
- Crunchy Vegetables: Lettuce and red onions help add texture and crunch
- Tomato: Because it’s just good.
- Sauces: It is also important to add good sauces to enhance the flavor. We like to add basil pesto because it’s garlicky (optional) and then of course our special burger sauce which is super flavorful, creamy and flavorful all at the same time.
Garnish with special sauce
We created this special burger sauce especially for these portobello mushroom burgers! Veggie burgers especially need good sauces, as without them they can be dry or bland. This burger sauce is like all your favorite burger condiments rolled into one and tastes a bit like Big Mac sauce. Here’s what it contains:
- organic ketchup
- mayonnaise
- Mustard (either Yellow or Dijon)
- pickle juice
- Hot sauce
What to serve with portobello mushroom burgers
These Portobello Mushroom Burgers are a great summer veggie recipe and vegan dinner idea! There are many sides that go well with burgers, here are some of our favorites:
- fries! Try our oven fries, our sweet potato fries or our parmesan truffle fries
- Grilled Potatoes. Try grilled potatoes, grilled baked potatoes or grilled sweet potatoes.
- Coleslaw. Try creamy coleslaw, pickled coleslaw, Mexican coleslaw, red coleslaw, or broccoli salad.
- Corn. Try grilled corn 3 ways: perfect corn on the grill, corn in foil, or corn in the husk.
- Bean salad. Enriched with vegetable protein, it is perfect for preparing a hearty meal. Try the simple bean salad.
- Potato salad. Try creamy potato salad, French potato salad or dill potato salad.
More great veggie burgers
There are many other ways to make a veggie burger! Try them all:
- Best Veggie Burger This delicious veggie burger is coated in BBQ sauce and won’t crumble on the grill! It really is the best you will find.
- Best Chickpea Burgers A supremely satisfying plant-based dinner! Here, they’re grill painted and served with vegan bacon and flavorful mayonnaise.
- Black Bean Burger full of flavor! Top with special sauce for a treat.
- Falafel Burgers Easy to make and healthier than regular falafel! Serve with or without bread, topped with your choice of sauce.
This portobello mushroom burger recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegans, plant-based and dairy-free, use or omit vegan cheese and load up with other toppings!
The description
Here’s how to make a portobello mushroom burger everyone loves: grilled or fried! Tasty and meaty, irresistible with cheese and a special sauce.
- 4 Portobello mushrooms
- 2 at 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8th Slices of provolone or sharp cheddar cheese (or vegan cheese substitute)
- To serve: bun, lettuce, tomato, red onion, basil pesto (optional), special burger sauce
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (375 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit) or an oven to 450 degrees*.
- Clean the portobello mushrooms and remove the stems. Place them gill-side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle the top with olive oil and rub the bottom with your hands. Then place them gills up on the sheet pan and sprinkle them with garlic powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt and some black peppercorns. Rub them in until evenly coated.
- For the grilled method: Place the mushrooms, fin-side up, directly on the wire rack and grill until tender and juicy, 10 to 14 minutes. Liquid collects in the cap. Turn the mushrooms (this will allow the liquid to flow into the grates). Then add the cheese slices and cook for another 2-3 minutes until melted. Tip: Step up your burger and grill the burger buns on one side, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute!
- For the roasting method: Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until tender. Drain off excess liquid, then sprinkle with cheese and cook for a further 1 minute until cheese melts.
- Surcharge: Arrange the mushrooms on the buns. Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, basil pesto (optional) and special burger sauce.
Remarks
*If you want to add some smoky flavor to the roasted version, add a few puffs of liquid smoke to each mushroom (it’s strong, so don’t overdo it).
- Category: main course
- Method: Grilled or fried
- Kitchen: American
- Diet: vegetarian
