Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers. Great on the grill.

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.

Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers 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. 🙂

Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers Desi and I happily 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 bundt 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. Here’s the recipe.

Bean Walnut Mushroom Burgers

This Bean Walnut Mushroom Burger hits every mark. It’s hefty, has great texture with the walnuts and oats, and it can easily be made in advance and frozen. It needs just a handful of pantry ingredients, but is probably the most flavorful veggie burger you’ve ever eaten.

1 cup dry pinto beans, soaked overnight, then cooked until tender, and drained. Can substitute with three cups of canned beans
1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup rolled oats or quick-cooking oats
4 cups button or crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste

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.